October 05, 2009
--- It’s been a challenging year, but independent registered investment
advisers (RIAs) are optimistic, according to a quarterly survey by TD
AMERITRADE Institutional. ---
Polled advisers are upbeat about both their jobs and the U.S. economy. Half of advisers gave top ratings (9 or 10 out of 10) to job satisfaction, up 10% from last quarter. Nearly half of RIAs have an optimistic outlook of the economy for the remainder of this year, up 25% from May, according to the survey.
The survey indicated that RIAs are continuing to pull in clients as investors continue to choose independent advisers over full-commission brokers. Nine in 10 polled RIAs reported total client numbers are up or remained steady over the last six months, similar to the results of the last survey (see “RIAs Say They Continue to Poach from Wirehouses”). More than 60% of RIAs surveyed added clients, 30% saw no change, and less than 10% lost clients.
RIAs who reported growth said 72% of new client assets came from wirehouses and broker/dealers. Dissatisfaction and lack of trust in full-commission brokerages (46%), as well as overall preference for the independent advice model (44%), are top reasons clients chose an RIA, according to the survey.