August 04, 2009
--- Independent advisers concentrate more of their assets in
employer-sponsored retirement plans compared to other adviser channels,
according to Cogent Research. ---
Overall, more than half (55%) of advisers in all channels are managing at least one employer-sponsored retirement plan (ESRP), according to Cogent’s annual Advisor Brandscape report.
Advisers in independent firms are more likely than other advisers to be involved with managing or providing advice on ESRPs, with more than half (60%) using them, followed by regional and national advisers (both 57%). Forty-one percent of registered investment advisers (RIAs) manage ESRPs.
For independent advisers, ESRPs make up 13% of their assets—more than any other adviser channel. Forty percent of advisers in the channel hold at least 20% of their
assets under management (AUM) in ESRPs. The Cogent report notes that
the results confirm that independent planners have successfully
positioned their practices with plan sponsors and leveraged
relationships with other professionals for referrals.
However, wirehouses still manage the largest chunk of ESRP dollars. National wirehouse advisers have 37% of employer-sponsored retirement assets among advisers, followed by advisers at independent firms (33%). RIAs come in third with more than a fifth of assets (21%), and regional and bank advisers hold small slivers (5% and 4%, respectively).
Wirehouses are more prominent in the institutional and retail space than in the retirement space. For instance, wirehouses lay claim to 45% of institutional assets and 40% of retail assets, the research shows.