Practice Management

The retirement planning business is a people business.

For some years now, advisory firm owners have enjoyed a sellers’ market that has spurred record merger and acquisition volumes.

High-end brokerage firms are seeing the appeal of being able to serve the middle and mass affluent markets, thanks in large part to the success of Fidelity and Charles Schwab.

We are confident that PANC 2020 will be the premier event for retirement specialist advisers to meet the right people, hear the best ideas and create new opportunities. Join us at our new venue in Arizona!

Speakers and attendees at the event, which drew some 200 leading female advisers from across Edward Jones, emphasized the importance of mentorship and providing a robust support structure for new advisory professionals.

Fidelity reports there were 127 registered investment adviser merger or acquisition transactions during all of 2019, which is up 44% over 2018.

A look at the results of the PLANADVISER Practice Benchmarking Survey between 2011 and 2019, showing some areas of significant evolution in the way advisers build and run their practices. 

Fee compression hit recordkeepers first, then asset managers. Advisers are next, experts agree, but they can learn some important lessons from their service provider partners.

Deal volume and value eased during the third quarter after an “unprecedented” first half of 2019.

One adviser charges a flat fee up to certain asset levels, and then additional basis points as plans grow, while another emphasizes the detailed, time-intensive fiduciary work he does for clients when asking for a fee increase.

Advisers need to balance the many demands on their time that come from running and expanding a practice.