TD AMERITRADE Survey: RIAs Continue to Add Clients and Assets

“RIAs’ independent, fee-based and fiduciary approach to wealth management continues to resonate with investors,” Tom Bradley, president of TD AMERITRADE Institutional, said in a statement. “Dissatisfaction with full-commission brokerage firms continues to be the top reason independent advisors report gaining clients. Respondents also indicate their clients prefer the personalized service and competitive fee structure provided by independent advisors and that, as fiduciaries, RIAs are required to offer advice that is in the best interest of clients.”

TD AMERITRADE International reported these key findings from its quarterly survey:

• Responding to the growth of their businesses, the number of RIAs increasing salaries and bonuses jumped from 20% to 39% over the past six months. Advisors increased spending on employee benefits by 50%, professional development and training by 32%, technology by 17% and staffing by 16%.
• The number of cost-cutters declined by 40% over the last six months, with 83% of RIAs surveyed saying they had avoided cutbacks. Advisors who decreased business spending trimmed an average of 25%, mainly from travel, marketing, salaries and bonuses.
• RIAs remained steady and bullish in their long-term approach to investment management, despite market volatility, with a 50% allocation to equities, up two percentage points from the previous quarter and up three points from the prior year. The survey indicated advisors were moving out of cash as allocations were down from 15% to 9% from the previous quarter. Fixed income and international investments allocations remained steady from the previous three-month period at 26% and 12%, respectively.
• RIAs were increasingly positive in their outlook for the economy, with more than 53% indicating optimism, up 40% from the previous year.

Michael S. Fischer ([email protected]) is a New York-based financial writer and editor and a frequent contributor to WealthManagerWeb.com.