Fee-based advisor channel enjoys rapid growth

The study pegs the number of financial advisors across all channels at 352,000, of which 21,000 are fee-based and 11,000 are registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The report notes also that fee-based financial advisors have gathered $3.0 trillion assets under management. Registered investment advisors account for $2.5 trillion of the AUM total.

The report makes observes also the following:

• The number of financial advisors across all channels will decline slowly to 312,000 by 2017.
• Two-thirds of wirehouse and regional broker/dealer brokers who move on their own in any year migrate to other wirehouses or regional broker/dealers.
• The number of successful “break-away brokers” going independent is likely closer to 400 per year, down from 500 in 2009.
• Break-away brokers have shorter tenures than the average financial advisor at 11 years versus 14 years.
• Break-away brokers have higher assets under management than the average financial advisor at $243 million versus $231 million.
• Break-away brokers have higher revenues than the average financial advisor at $1.2 million versus $1.1 million.
• Geneos Wealth Management, VSR Financial Services and High Tower Advisors are the leading break-away broker aggregators with 71, 30 and 18 acquisitions, respectively.
• High Tower Advisors is the leading break-away broker aggregator in terms of assets under administration with $19.0 billion; and in terms of average firm assets under administration with $1.0 billion.
• VSR Financial Services and Geneos Wealth Management are the leading break-away broker aggregators in terms of revenues with $92 million and $70 million, respectively.