As advisors age, demographic and social trends are creating new client niches.arthobbit/iStockPhoto / Getty Images
The youngest baby boomers will hit retirement age in 2030, and it should surprise no one that the cohort makes up a significant share of the advisor population.
A recent report from Investor Economics, an ISS Market Intelligence company, found the average advisor age in Canada increased to almost 53 from about 50 in 2015, and that almost four in 10 advisors have been in the business for more than 20 years.
Advisors over the age of 55 represent almost 40 per cent of all full-service brokerage advisors in Canada, managing about half of all assets under management (AUM) and revenue, the report says. (Those over 65 make up more than 11 per cent of advisors and account for 14 per cent of AUM.)
While that experience is a benefit to clients, it suggests there hasn’t been an influx of new, younger advisors. And the report says an aging advisor base may also raise concerns for firms about growth: will advisors at the tail end of their careers be invested in growing their books, or will they be content to continue working past 65 while serving their existing clients?
Joel Schlesinger reported this week on how firms are addressing the succession challenge and retaining clients.
Part of client retention is relating to the growing number of new female and younger, digitally savvy investors skeptical of advice. As Barbara Balfour reported this week, demographic and social trends are creating new client niches for advisors to serve. For example, women’s growing share of wealth presents an opportunity.
Since the pandemic, more clients have been interested in remote work – sometimes from abroad – as well as mid-career breaks or early retirement in more affordable countries, creating another niche for advisors who can help with the financial complexities of such moves.
How are demographic trends challenging or enhancing your practice? Let us know.
– Mark Burgess, Globe Advisor assistant editor
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