FA Magazine July/August 2022 | Page 40

58.24 %
Charles Schwab riAs ’ PrimAry CUstodiAns
33.90 %
Fidelity how the industry behaves when it has an ownership consisting of both institutional capital as well as private capital owners ,” says Philip Palaveev , the founder and CEO of the Ensemble Practice ( and a Financial Advisor magazine contributor ). He points to the results from this year ’ s RIA survey results suggesting that 42 % of the top 100 firms have institutional ownership . That number would likely be higher if the firms were being more candid , he contends .
According to David DeVoe at DeVoe & Co ., an investment bank and consultant that facilitates mergers and acquisitions , the number of deals has not yet slowed or reflected the market fears . “ Technically in the marketplace , we have not seen a decline . … We have not anecdotally seen any compression in valuation . That said , the arrows in the marketplace are pointing more downward regarding valuation than upward .”
His first quarter report finds midsize and smaller sellers spiked in the first quarter : “ Sellers with less than $ 1 billion in AUM increased to comprise 70 % of all transactions for the first quarter , a significant uptick from 59 % in 2021 ,” the report said .
totAl AUm in 2021 By size rAnge
Size Range
26.78 %
TD Ameritrade
8.80 % Pershing
numbeR Of fiRmS
97.57 %
AUM Fee
Hourly
Flat Fee /
Retainer
2021 aum ( billiOnS ) how Firms ChArge For serviCes
28.09 %
45.88 %
2020 aum Of Same fiRmS
10.49 % Other
% change
> $ 1billion
331
$ 3,342.15
$ 2,547.40
31.20 %
$ 500 million < $ 1 billion
88
$ 64.12
$ 58.77
9.12 %
$ 300 million < $ 500 million
49
$ 19.31
$ 15.96
20.97 %
$ 100 million < $ 300 million
51
$ 10.30
$ 8.60
19.75 %
$ 50 million < $ 100 million
7
$ 0.56
$ 0.45
24.81 %
< $ 50 million
8
$ 0.19
$ 0.13
44.61 %
TOTAL AUM
534
3,436.62
2,631.30
30.61 %
DeVoe said that consolidators drove most of the M & A activity in the first quarter , picking up 55 % of sellers . The list is dominated by many of the usual suspect acquirers , including Beacon Pointe Advisors , Creative Planning , Mercer Advisors , Mariner Wealth Advisors , Cerity Partners and Wealth Enhancement Group .
Scott Slater , an M & A specialist at Fidelity Institutional and vice president of practice management and consulting , says about the M & A environment this year , “ Through May , we ’ ve seen 93 deals in our reporting , which is up 29 %, largely because you ’ re seeing smaller transaction activity , but even the client AUM is up 12 % to $ 135.2 billion . So it ’ s still up and going .” Fidelity ’ s report found that some of the biggest players are driving activity .
Critics say RIA firms have been able to paper over what is actually slow growth with inflated asset prices and bigger AUM fees . If assets are now declining , firms that aren ’ t growing are going to be exposed — and at a time of higher fixed costs , specifically the cost of employees who have suddenly become very expensive . “ There ’ s been a reprice on talent ,” says Palaveev .
“ We , as I am sure others are as well , are experiencing challenges in hiring talent with the nationwide labor shortage ,” says Marty Bicknell , the CEO of Mariner Wealth Advisors , based in Overland Park , Kan . “ There has definitely been a shift to where it is
what mostly Accounted For your Asset inflows in 2021 ?
New assets from existing clients
21.91 %
Assets from new clients
43.26 %
Market performance
32.40 %
Assets from mergers or acquisitions
8.61 %
what mostly Accounted For your Asset outflows in 2021 ?
Assets withdrawn by retired clients
41.95 %
Assets lost by clients who died
10.86 %
Assets withdrawn by clients for personal use
29.03 %
Assets withdrawn by clients who left the firm
16.85 %
Advisory Firm ChArACteristiCs caTegORY mean 2021 mean 2020 % change median 2021 median 2020
% change
Number of client relationships
4,339.45
4,047.09
7.22 %
603
547
10 %
Firm assets per client *
$ 6,359,523.10
$ 5,914,082.14
7.53 %
1,997,367.13
1,754,413.82
14 %
Overall assets per client **
$ 1,483,049.86
$ 1,217,548.94
21.81 %
NM
NM
NM
* A comparison of assets per client at each ranked firm . ** A ratio of total assets to total clients at all ranked firms . NM = not meaningful .
36 | financial advisor magazine | July / august 2022 www . fa-mag . com