Across all channels of the financial services industry, advisors report bigger books and client rosters, on average. However, the rates of growth over the past four years aren't as robust as the latest annual numbers appear to indicate
Concerns focus on firms' back office, technology and receptiveness to advisor feedback. Nonetheless, firms are delivering in the areas in which advisors place the greatest value
Once considered pariahs within financial services firms, compliance officers are now viewed as “partners” in doing business, who are “eager to help” and respond “immediately”
Pablo Fuchs, senior editor at Investment Executive, and Clare O'Hara, staff writer, discuss key themes from the 2013 Insurance Advisors’ Report Card. Trends this year show a dip in satisfaction with marketing support — but dramatic improvements in several key areas, including social media and compensation. Fuchs and O’Hara spoke at the TMX Broadcast Centre in Toronto.
The increasing demand for wealth-management support services is being driven by baby-boomer clients who may have a significant amount of assets and greater need for more sophisticated financial advice
Advisors surveyed for this year's Report Card series say advertising and marketing support are important, but the strategies they would like to see their firms employ in these areas differ substantially
Obtaining professional designations will help advisors offer greater value-added services in the years ahead
Advisors are seeing their pay nudge higher than in past years, but there remains an overall sense of displeasure when it comes to their firms' practices in the compensation department
The financial services industry continues to be slow on the uptake
The firms that were rated highest by their advisors are each quite different in their business models and desired clientele