Elite RIA firms struggle to expand talent pools

social media marketing, Putnam Investments

Most elite RIA firms are not taking necessary steps to increase their talent pools.

Finding, hiring, developing and retaining good talent is seen as the best way to grow a financial advisory business in the next few years, but according to a new poll released April 10, few elite RIA firms seem to be taking the steps needed to succeed at these challenges.

Leaders of some of the nation’s largest advisory firms admitted they are struggling to identify the right talent, expand their talent pools, and implement initiatives that help drive diversity, according to a poll conducted at the 2019 Elite Advisor Summit held by BNY Mellon’s Pershing last month inFort Lauderdale, Fla.

“Talent shortage is by far one of the biggest threats to growth among advisory firms,” said Gabriel Garcia, managing director, Advisor Solutions at BNY Mellon’s Pershing. “It is critical that advisory firms start putting in place measures that will increase their appeal as a ‘best place to work,’ build their reputation in the marketplace and, perhaps most importantly, help them tap into new and diverse talent pools.”

The 2019 Elite Advisor Poll, conducted among the executives attending the two-day, invitation-only event, reveals that the majority (59%) of the leaders at the country’s most preeminent registered investment advisors (RIAs) and institutional firms are finding it challenging to find the right fit for their firms.

About 4 in 10 (41%) are not entirely satisfied with their firms’ efforts to hire women or ethnic minorities. For the majority (59%) of executives responding to the poll, the main challenge in hiring women and ethnic minorities is the lack of enough qualified talent from these pools.

Yet, when asked what their firms are doing to reach a more diverse talent pool, almost half (47%) of the executives indicated that they have not implemented some of the best practice initiatives and programs, such as recruiting at schools with a diverse student base, removing subconscious biases from job descriptions, diversity training, etc.

Additional highlights from the poll

The Elite Advisor Poll was conducted live via mobile phones during the 2019 Elite Advisor Summit, which took place March 11-13 in Ft. Lauderdale.

The poll gauged attendees’—which comprised 86 executives of some of the nation’s largest advisory firms representing an average AUM of $9 billion and a median AUM of $1.8 billion—views and concerns around talent and technology.

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