For advisors serious about outpacing market expansion, there are no shortcuts to success.
If demographics are any indicator, the market for financial advice is about to be turned on its head.
A shrinking advisor population, with some 37% of advisors expected to retire by 2032, is expected to catalyze a succession plan shake-up.1 Meanwhile, demand for advice could be reaching a fever pitch, fueled by possibly one of the most significant wealth transfers in generations.2
On the surface, it sounds like the ideal scenario for advisors to move beyond market-rate expansion and hit new levels of organic growth. But it may not be as simple as some advisors might think, said Derek Bruton, a strategic growth specialist and Senior Managing Director at Gladstone Group Inc.
Not all advisors will come out ahead, Bruton said. That’s because genuine organic growth takes perseverance, strategy, time, and money.
His advice? “Saddle up.”
According to Bruton, advisors should prepare to navigate an industry crisscrossed by consolidation as firms scale their solutions with increasingly sophisticated technology and new avenues for marketing their services.
Demand for financial advice is solid, Bruton explained, but advisors need to be persistent, innovative, and patient as they dig deep to pursue new levels of organic growth.
The following is an excerpt from episode 18 of TradePMR’s Synergize podcast. The transcript has been edited for length and clarity.
Derek Bruton, Senior Managing Director of Gladstone Group Inc.: “It appears the number of people seeking financial advice outnumbers the number of people providing financial advice.
There’s a market out there, but it’s become very competitive.
That's a factor and a product — or a byproduct — of all the consolidation we've seen in the industry. The big have gotten bigger. They've become more battle tested. And their platforms are amazing.
You see all the ads. Is there a single NFL game where you don't see a Fisher Investments ad or a Mariner Wealth Advisors commercial? They're all out there marketing.
For a mom-and-pop advisor, with $200 million or $250 million in AUM, who doesn't have that marketing muscle, who doesn't want to spend whatever it is for 30 seconds on a Super Bowl ad — they have to think of other creative ways to get out there and get their name in front of potential clients.
There's a lot of ground to cover in social media. It's become inexpensive to do a lot of these things, but you still need to know how to do them right. You can't blast emails and then quit after three months, because you haven't gotten a single client from the effort.
There's an element of persistence that accompanies these approaches. Some advisors lack patience. They think, ‘If it's not working and I spent a lot of money, well, I'm not going to spend any more. It didn't work after three months.’
I believe, the best thing an advisor can do is really saddle up. Go to your favorite custodian or your favorite consultant, and ask them: How they can help prepare you to go to market? How can they help you grow effectively and organically?”
The Synergize podcast explores the evolving role of the financial advisor in an emerging AI-driven world. Hosts TradePMR Chief Client Growth Officer Bill Coppel and Senior Editor Ryan Neal bring together thought leaders and industry experts across a range of disciplines, sharing insights designed to help registered investment advisors thrive in the industry of tomorrow. Listen and subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts , Spotify, and YouTube.
About TradePMR
For more than two decades, TradePMR has worked with growth-minded independent registered investment advisors (RIAs), providing innovative technology tools and support designed to transform their businesses. The privately-held brokerage and custodian services provider (Member FINRA/SIPC), based in Gainesville, Fla., works to streamline investment advisors' operations through comprehensive custodial, operational, and trading support. For more information, visit www.TradePMR.com.
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Derek Bruton, Gladstone Group, Inc. and any other third parties mentioned are not affiliates of TradePMR.
1 40% of Advisory Assets Will Transition in 10 Years, According to Cerulli, Cerulli Associates, Published June 13, 2022.
2 Cerulli Anticipates $124 Trillion in Wealth Will Transfer Through 2048, Cerulli Associates, Published Dec. 5, 2024.
