Added on December 2018 in M&A Issues
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Summary: The financial advice industry frequently focuses on the rise of registered investment advisers and the independent broker-dealer market when it talks about trends in the business. But quietly making a comeback are regional broker-dealers, firms that traditionally focused on a specific part of the country but which in some cases have grown into national firms.
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Summary: A Chinese proverb says that the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second-best time is now. That same wisdom applies to fixing the troubling lack of diversity in our profession. We as an industry must take action now or risk becoming irrelevant within our lifetimes.
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Summary: The Securities and Exchange Commission announced the 2019 examination priorities for compliance examinations and inspections late Thursday. Next year, according to the SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations, emphasis will be put on digital assets, cybersecurity and investor issues like fees, expenses and conflicts of interest.
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Summary: It's time for a better valuation method for wealth management. Most criteria today rely on objective data points — assets under management, number of accounts, product mix or fee-based revenue. They're important measures for sure, but limited in their ability to accurately predict the potential challenges and opportunities facing the practice.
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Summary: After a couple of years of decelerating revenue growth in the Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) industry, it's easy to get excited about the topline results revealed in the 2018 InvestmentNews Study of Pricing & Profitability. Firms in the study reported revved-up median revenue growth of 11.7% in 2017, compared with 5.0% in 2016 and 6.9% in 2015. When you couple such heady growth with profit margins that hover around 25%, it's easy to conclude that the industry's growth engine is running smoothly and firms should stick with whatever they're doing now. The message would seem to be: “If it's not broken, leave it the heck alone.”
