Wealthy Investors Say Bigger Is Better When It Comes to Advisory Firms: Cerulli

One of investors’ main criteria for selecting an advisor is the type of firm that employs the advisor, according to recent research from Cerulli Associates.

Thirty-nine percent of investors who work with an advisor and 32% of those who are unadvised favored “a large, national organization,” with wealthier investors in both groups — those with upward of $1 million of investable assets — particularly favoring this option. 

These respondents also tend to be older, which reflects more comfort with established brands, Cerulli said.

Twenty-eight percent of respondents reported no strong preference for the type of firm with which their advisors are affiliated. Cerulli noted that this emphasizes the potential of brand-level marketing to elevate a firm’s perceived capabilities and trustworthiness among undecided prospective clients.

The research found that only 18% of investors who work with advisors and 19% of unadvised ones favored advisors who own and operate their own locally based practices. The figure dropped sharply for less wealthy advised respondents, to 13% of those with $250,000 to $500,000 of investable assets and to 8% for those with less than $250,000.