6 hurdles for U.S. securities industry

The U.S. securities industry faces six main challenges, says IIAC president and CEO Ian Russell.

Read: IIAC calls new T1135 impossible

• Dealing with demographic change – “The dramatic shift in demographics is altering the techniques in providing wealth management services, and the types of products and services offered,” Russell says.
• Absorbing the regulatory burden – More regulatory requirements are coming as the rollout of Dodd-Frank continues.
• Making up for a wave of retiring investors – Russell says 25,000 advisors will retire in the next four years, and all indications suggests the industry isn’t ready for the transition.
• Rebuilding investor trust and confidence – The problem worse in the U.S. than in Canada, according to Russell. “Trust can be restored most effectively as advisors and firms engage constructively with their clients, build deep financial relationships and work within the construct of a financial plan.”
• Building retirement savings – A slow-growth outlook is making it very difficult to prepare clients for retirement. “Advisors are faced with a double-edged sword, the need for proper asset allocation to generate adequate portfolio returns, and the need to optimize income in these portfolios.”
• Strengthening advisors’ productivity and effectiveness – “The time required for more customized services for individual clients conflicts with the time required for providing investment advice and managing client portfolios, and dealing with the administrative responsibilities for compliance purposes,” Russell says. He suggests technology and specialized discretionary accounts as two possible solutions.

Read more here.

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Staff

The staff of Advisor.ca have been covering news for financial advisors since 1998.