A weekly update on issues important to the Investment Management industry
Following a decade of (fairly) steady appreciation, RIA stocks finally capitulated with the market downturn and growing concerns over fee compression and asset flows. As a leading indicator, such a decline suggests the outlook for these businesses has likely soured over the last year or so.
Happy New Year to all our readers and subscribers! Here are the five most popular posts from 2018.
As year-end approaches, we hope to spread some cheer with the greatest only asset management themed holiday quiz. Merry Christmas! We will be back in January.
Last week was turbulent for equities around the globe, but Focus Financial (Nasdaq: FOCS) was hit particularly hard. Less than five months since IPO, Focus closed Friday at $27.45, decidedly below where the offering priced at $33, and not much more than half the share price achieved less than three months ago.
The recent controversy surrounding Ric Edelman’s cease-and-desist letter to his former partner, David Bach, is another reminder of how difficult it can be to sustain wealth management partnerships despite their (sometimes) obvious advantages. This week’s post will explore the sources of these disputes and what you can do to avoid them.
Generational differences were prominent as I spent time with my grandparents, parents, and cousins over the Thanksgiving Holiday. But why and how should Financial Advisors take note of these differences as they market and structure their services to meet the needs of different age groups?
While equity market volatility was relatively subdued during the third quarter, 2018 as a whole has seen much higher volatility than last year. This volatility may be an opportunity for active asset managers, although the industry continues to face fee pressures and increasing costs. Scale is increasingly important for asset managers as assets flow into lower fee products due to secular trends in the industry and de-risking during recent periods of heightened volatility.
As we do every quarter, we take a look at some of the earnings commentary of pacesetters in asset management to gain further insight into the challenges and opportunities developing in the industry.
The announcement from Merrill Lynch last week that they were cutting advisor compensation stood in stark contrast to a lawsuit filed in October by former Wells Fargo brokers, alleging that their practices had been impaired by association with the bank. While Merrill feels comfortable flexing their brand muscles by redirecting advisor cash flow back to the firm, Wells Fargo is accused of actually having negative brand value. These two situations highlight the dynamic interaction between investment management professionals and the firms they work for while demonstrating the significance of branding to build professional careers and advisory firm value.
Much of the sector’s recent press has focused on succession planning and M&A trends, so we’ve highlighted some of the more salient pieces on these topics and a few others that are making news in the asset and wealth management industries.
Earlier this month, Matt Crow and I attended the BNY Mellon / Pershing RIA Symposium in San Francisco. The conference was well attended, and the presentations were excellent despite the constant drone of fair wage protesting outside the hotel venue. For this post, we’ve elected to summarize some of these presentations and their potential implications for your business.
