Advisers are also optimistic about growth in their
assets and the number of plans under advisement in the
next year as part of their practice growth. In fact, when
asked what the most significant growth areas in the next
year would be, new plan acquisition (including things such
as prospecting, broker of record changes, and increases in
referrals) garnered 19.2% of responses, well in front of the
second and third most popular growth areas of rollovers
and specialty services (such as group benefits, insurance,
and health and welfare plans).
However, although they think the most opportunity
for growth is in new plan acquisition, the adviser survey
respondents also have the most concern over sales and
marketing of their practices. When asked for their top
concerns, sales and marketing was part of 22.5% of the
answers. This was followed by revenue and expenses and
ongoing plan services; each received 14.1% of responses.
Advisers in this space continue to cluster at the national
full-service wirehouses ( 25.5%) or independent broker/
dealers ( 27.3%). As the quest for independence remains
strong, those in the category of dually registered adviser
have shown significant growth; last year, only 4.7% of
adviser respondents said they fit in that camp while, this
year, nearly four times that level ( 19.0%) are. However, the
registered investment adviser (RIA) continues to make up
nearly one-fifth of the advisers ( 17.2% are RIA only).
Although independence seems to be attractive to
many, advisers seem happy with their broker/dealers. In
fact, 69.8% of advisers say they either “like” or “love” their
broker/dealers (only 4.1% say they are planning a move).
Further, 44.3% say their broker/dealer positively affects
the level of services they provide to retirement plans.
Most advisers say their broker/dealer is offering expertise in 401(k) and defined benefit plans, sales support for
retirement plans, RFP or provider search support, and
asset allocation models.
The continued prevalence of the wirehouse and
independent broker/dealer business models might help
explain why a clear majority of advisers (65.7%) say they
serve as broker of record on retirement plans and another
20.1% say they sometimes do.
So, what does this mean for you? Well, sometimes
it isn’t enough to know what you are doing for clients.
Knowing what your competitors are presenting can help
you play your cards right the next time you are at the
other side of the RFP table. —PA
Total qualified assets under advisement
Assets of largest qualified plan client
Number of plans
Plans lost in 2008
Plans gained in 2008
Average plan retention
Is your practice:
An individual adviser practice
An advisory team (≤ 5 advisers with the same clients)
An advisory firm*
* multiple advisers, each with own book of business
Average
$869.2mm
$644.4mm
$172.4mm
Median
$165.0mm
$100.0mm
$24.0mm
Total
213
1,320
7 years
26.5%
42.0%
31.5%
adviser firm affiliation
z National full-service wirehouse 25.5%
z Independent broker/dealer 27.3%
z Regional broker/dealer 5.2%
z Insurance brokerage 1.9%
z Bank brokerage 0.7%
z Registered investment adviser 17.2%
z Dually registered (RIA and B/D) 19.1%
z Other 3.0%
Tenure as retirement plan adviser
z Less than 1 year 1.9%
z 1 – 3 years 4.3%
z 3 – 5 years 15.0%
z 5 – 10 years 18.8%
z 10 – 15 years 21.7%
z 15 – 20 years 19.3%
z 20+ years 18.8%
me ThoDology
In July 2009, online survey questionnaires were sent to those
8,500 people subscribed to the PLANADVISERdash e-mail
newsletter, as well as to 1,000 advisers taken from client lists
supplied by DC recordkeepers. Of the 324 responses, 267
were considered valid. The survey questionnaire, developed
by PLANADVISER editorial and research staff, consisted of
more than 60 questions, with a significant emphasis on the
scope of the adviser’s qualified plan business.
of assets of retirement plans
z 100% 19.0%
z 90 – 99% 14.7%
z 80 – 89% 13.7%
z 70 – 79% 7.1%
z 60-69% 4.7%
z 50 – 59% 9.5%
z 40-49% 9.5%
z 30-39% 5.2%
z 20-29% 7.6%
z less than 20% 9.0%
