To those who haven’t witnessed it first-hand, guardianship may sound like a heroic assignment in which bigger, stronger, more seasoned protectors keep individuals who are unable to fend for themselves. However, as the ragtag super hero team the Guardians of the Galaxy has come to learn, the reality of assuming guardianship (over a single person, let alone the entire galaxy) is far less than ideal.
Given projections for a 100,000 financial advisor shortfall over the next 10 years, successfully recruiting next-gen advisors has taken on added urgency for both our industry as a whole and the wealth management firms seeking to thrive within it.
Meeting this demographic challenge head-on is complicated by the evolving nature of wealth management. Increasing numbers of breakaways forgoing the wirehouse model, as well as the growing presence of aggregators, consolidators and private equity, are altering the landscape. The expansion of W-2 models in the independent space is redefining what it means to be independent. At the same time, technological innovation, particularly AI, offers great promise and an equal amount of trepidation.
The generational differences next-gen advisors and their clients bring to the table – priorities, expectations, skills and values – present yet another challenge when it comes to effectively engaging this group. However, meeting next-gen advisors where they are is a solid recruiting practice some firms can’t get their arms around. There’s a reason firms currently thriving in the marketplace with younger advisors are enjoying success…Read More
...We are at our best as educators and space-makers for a deeper engagement with the financial world, and all our work with our clients should spur on hope.
Many people in my profession would not make an immediate leap from the late physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking to our work of capital markets, mutual funds and financial planning. This is understandable. Our work in financial advising is overtly pragmatic. It’s either mathematical or fervently personal, with little room for theory or imagining the “why” behind what we do. It is—I suggest—so much like the world of science Hawking was awakened to 50 or more years ago. He watched as the imaginations of his peers went deeply to the practical, to the technological, while he dreamed of deeper questions about how and why.
...
