RIAs Are Least Dependent on Value-Add Support: Survey

The fastest growing segment of the financial advisor market is also the segment least dependent on outside support from asset managers, insurance companies and broker-dealers.  That’s just one of many findings from Practical Perspectives’ latest survey on “Value Add Support to Financial Advisors.”

The survey found that more than 7 in 10 advisors rely on what Practical Perspectives terms “value-add support,” and these resources are having a growing influence on the products and services that advisors use, but “RIAs stand apart” from this trend. Fewer RIAs are heavily reliant on outside support, and many don’t use any support from insurance providers, according to the survey.

Overall, advisors favor client-approved materials and economic or market-related forecasts, outlooks and commentaries; materials that are unbiased and objective; educational rather than product-driven; and designed for client interaction rather than in-house use, according to the survey.

But the use of value-add products and services differ across channels and direction.  For example, RIAs are also much less likely to view in-person office visits, conferences or offsite meetings, or client sponsored-events as very useful. They are more focused on their internal needs rather than having a client-facing component.

That’s not the case for wirehouse advisors, who tend to favor in-person visits, or regional advisors, who tend to prefer favor off-site meetings and conferences. More than two-thirds of wirehouse and regional advisors are focused on “client-facing value” programs and tools. In contrast, independent advisors—as well as RIAs – find technology tools useful.

“Support needs vary, with RIAs and independent advisors being distinct in many cases relative to more traditional wirehouse and regional practitioners,” according to the report.