Wealth Managers Make More Money

Wealth managers who outsource their investments, back office, and even practice management functions earn significantly higher incomes than those advisors who try to do it all themselves. That’s the primary finding of “All The Right Moves,” a new study commissioned by AssetMark Investment Services, Inc. and conducted by CEG Worldwide.

In January 2005, CEG surveyed 1,028 independent broker/dealer reps to understand the key elements of practice success. Respondents were first divided on whether they followed a “wealth manager” or an “investment-generalist” business model. Each group was then further divided into those who used turnkey asset management providers (TAMPs) and those who didn’t. The survey results equate pre-tax income with success and found that half of the wealth managers using TAMPs enjoyed incomes in the $500,000 to $750,000 range. Only 11.5% of the non-TAMP wealth managers and 5.3% of the TAMP-affiliated investment-generalists made it into this elite income group. None of the non-TAMP investment-generalists earned more than $499,999, and fewer than 20% earned more than $250,000. The study also found that while none of the TAMP-affiliated wealth managers earned less than $100,000, more than 40% of investment-generalists failed to reach that threshold.