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January 10, 2020 at 01:11 PM
2019 was a momentous year for the wealth management industry.
Among the highlights: Schwab said it would buy TD Ameritrade for $26 billion, Goldman Sachs bought United Capital for $70 billion and Schwab, TD, Fidelity and several more firms ended commissions for stock, ETF and options trading. The Securities and Exchange Commission finalized its Regulation Best Interest rule for broker-dealers and several states, including New Jersey and Massachusetts, introduced their own fiduciary rules for BDs that would hold them to a higher level of service for clients than the SEC’s rule would.
While all that and more was going on, the U.S. stock market soared. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq had their best year since 2013, gaining 29% and 35%, respectively, despite growing instabilities around the globe including the U.S.-China trade war, Brexit and raging fires in California and Australia.
2020 promises to bring more big changes to the wealth management market, which Aite Research Director Alois Pirker says will be “redefined” by the tie-up between Schwab and TD Ameritrade, one of its chief rivals. At the same time, global tensions and the looming climate crisis will lead more clients of wealth managers to push for “purposeful investment opportunities,” namely ESG and impact investments in their portfolios, and the growing number of retirees dealing with issues of aging and longevity will challenge advisors to provide more varied, client-centric services than many have traditionally offered. There will also be more consolidation, increasing competition from the 401(k) market offerings and different compensation schemes as the wealth management industry continues to evolve in 2020.
Visit the slide show gallery above to view the top 10 trends in wealth management that Aite is expecting in 2020 — what it calls the 2020 Wind of Change.
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