SAN FRANCISCO, May 18 (Reuters) - More independent registered investment advisers are adding clients and attrition is slowing as an increasing number of investors leave traditional brokerages, online broker TD Ameritrade Holding Corp said on Wednesday, citing a study.
Seventy-three percent of 501 registered investment advisers, or RIAs, said they added clients over the past six months, up seven percent over the same period last year, according to the survey conducted in late March by Maritz Inc for TD Ameritrade.
Five percent reported losing clients compared with eight percent last year.
'The survey shows RIAs' independent, fee-based and fiduciary approach to wealth management is a key consideration when investors are choosing an advisor,' said Tom Bradley, president of TD Ameritrade's institutional business, in a statement.
Omaha, Nebraska-based TD Ameritrade provides brokerage and custody services to more than 4,000 fee-based registered investment advisers. Its competitors include Charles Schwab Corp, which serves more than 6,000 RIAs and has more than $650 billion in RIA assets under custody.
The survey found that 56 percent of new RIA business came from traditional commission-based brokerage houses and broker-dealers.
The RIA model has been gaining in popularity as investors seek independent, fee-based advice and traditional brokerages have shrunk, merged or gone out of business following the economic downturn.
Still, the obstacles to independence are substantial, requiring business acumen and the ability to master technological, regulatory and management challenges. RIA's top concerns in the survey were regulatory changes, cited by 40 percent; profitability, cited by 28 percent; and the macro-economic environment, listed by 27 percent.
(Reporting by Philipp Gollner, editing by Bernard Orr) Keywords: ADVISERS/SURVEY (philipp.gollner@reuters.com ; +1 415 348 4720; Reuters Messaging: philipp.gollner.reuters.com@reuters.net ) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
Seventy-three percent of 501 registered investment advisers, or RIAs, said they added clients over the past six months, up seven percent over the same period last year, according to the survey conducted in late March by Maritz Inc for TD Ameritrade.
Five percent reported losing clients compared with eight percent last year.
'The survey shows RIAs' independent, fee-based and fiduciary approach to wealth management is a key consideration when investors are choosing an advisor,' said Tom Bradley, president of TD Ameritrade's institutional business, in a statement.
Omaha, Nebraska-based TD Ameritrade provides brokerage and custody services to more than 4,000 fee-based registered investment advisers. Its competitors include Charles Schwab Corp, which serves more than 6,000 RIAs and has more than $650 billion in RIA assets under custody.
The survey found that 56 percent of new RIA business came from traditional commission-based brokerage houses and broker-dealers.
The RIA model has been gaining in popularity as investors seek independent, fee-based advice and traditional brokerages have shrunk, merged or gone out of business following the economic downturn.
Still, the obstacles to independence are substantial, requiring business acumen and the ability to master technological, regulatory and management challenges. RIA's top concerns in the survey were regulatory changes, cited by 40 percent; profitability, cited by 28 percent; and the macro-economic environment, listed by 27 percent.
(Reporting by Philipp Gollner, editing by Bernard Orr) Keywords: ADVISERS/SURVEY (philipp.gollner@reuters.com ; +1 415 348 4720; Reuters Messaging: philipp.gollner.reuters.com@reuters.net ) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.