Nearly Half of Advisers Don’t Focus on Rollovers

From its findings, Cogent divided advisers into three tiers of achievement in capturing the rollover market. “Low” rollover advisers have up to $3 million in rollover assets, “mid” rollover advisers have between $3 and $5 million, and “high” rollover advisers have more than $5 million in rollover assets.  About one-third of advisers would fall into the highest tier, Cogent found.

Moreover, the highly successful rollover advisers convert more retirement accounts and the size of those accounts is 2.4 times larger, averaging $344,000, than advisers who fall into the second tier in terms of rollover success. 

The study highlights a significant opportunity for both asset managers and advisory firms to focus on winning both individual retirement accounts (IRAs) and employer-sponsored retirement plan conversions, Cogent said. “These assets are available to be won and those who work hardest succeed at winning them,” said David Feltman, Managing Director for Syndicated Research. “Given the propensity of retirees to move their employer-sponsored account at retirement, these funds are a ripe opportunity.”