Displaying items by tag: recruiting

A shifting economic and demographic landscape is prompting financial advisors to evolve their strategies, particularly as women are set to control $34 trillion in U.S. assets by 2030. Yet, advisors currently manage a smaller share of female wealth, with many women engaging financial planners later in life. 

Remote work has also changed the profession, with more advisors and clients opting for virtual meetings, while new talent is emerging in nontraditional markets. Advisors are increasingly launching independent RIA firms and exploring complex tax strategies like delayed RMD withholding to better serve clients. 

Building strong, trusting relationships is now seen as more valuable to clients than investment advice alone, according to recent surveys. 

Finsum: As the great wealth transfer accelerates, buying and selling books of business is also gaining importance, with success hinging on transition planning, client retention, and profitability.

Thrivent is ramping up its recruiting efforts to hire nearly 600 new financial advisors in 2025, aiming to counteract the anticipated wave of advisor retirements expected across the industry. 

While the broader advisor workforce has grown only 0.3% annually over the past decade, Thrivent’s hiring initiative would represent a 2% increase, far outpacing the trend. The firm is targeting early-career professionals for salaried virtual advisor roles in key cities like Denver, Atlanta, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, and Dallas. These roles are intended to serve as stepping stones to more advanced positions, either within Thrivent’s employee structure or through its independent RIA, the Thrivent Advisor Network. 

With over a third of U.S. advisors projected to retire within the next ten years, Thrivent is focusing on building a younger, more diverse advisor base aligned with future client demographics. 

Finsum: It’s worth noting this trend in recruiting and what incentives are offered to attract this talent. 

Raymond James is addressing a quieter challenge in the wealth management sector: helping independent advisors scale their teams amid growing client demands. This week, the firm introduced Talent Sourcing, a new in-house recruitment service that offers personalized hiring support, including candidate outreach and screening tailored to each advisory team's needs. 

The service aims to bridge the talent gap across roles ranging from junior advisors to specialized support staff, allowing advisors to focus on growth without sacrificing service quality. It arrives as competition for top advisory talent intensifies, especially following LPL's $2.7 billion acquisition of Commonwealth Financial. 

By providing a vetted shortlist of candidates, Talent Sourcing complements Raymond James’s broader suite of advisor tools, including its Paraplanning Services launched last year. 

Finsum: Ultimately, this initiative not only strengthens internal practices but also positions the firm to meet evolving client expectations for more comprehensive, value-added financial services.

Advisors are constantly asking where the wealth management industry is headed—who’s hiring, who’s losing talent, and which models are gaining favor. In response, the Advisor Transition Report was created to fill a gap: a clear, data-driven look at advisor movement that wasn’t available anywhere else. 

The latest report uncovers five unexpected insights, including the surprising uptick in recruiting despite market highs that typically encourage advisors to stay put. It also highlights the rise of boutique and regional firms like RBC and Rockefeller, which are gaining ground thanks to competitive deals and a balance of flexibility and support. 

Even firms often labeled as “losers” in the recruiting wars, such as Merrill and Edward Jones, made meaningful hires, proving the narrative is more nuanced than headlines suggest. Ultimately, this intelligence isn’t just for those considering a move—it’s essential knowledge for any advisor aiming to future-proof their business.

Finsum: Trends are shifting in recruiting and studies like this can help advisors and BDs stay abreast of advisors needs.

LPL Financial has significantly ramped up its use of advisor loans, reporting $2.14 billion in outstanding advisor loans in 2024—a 57% jump from the prior year—as part of its aggressive strategy to recruit and retain talent. 

These forgivable loans, often used as incentives for advisors to join or stay with a firm, have become a cornerstone of LPL’s growth model. The firm’s acquisition of Atria Wealth Solutions, a broker-dealer network with 2,400 advisors and $100 billion in assets, likely contributed to the spike, as LPL aims to retain 80% of Atria’s advisors during the transition. 

LPL’s scale as a self-clearing broker-dealer gives it a cost advantage, allowing more room to offer attractive loan packages compared to smaller competitors. The company expects to complete the advisor transition from Atria by mid-2025, further consolidating its position as the industry’s largest independent brokerage.

Finsum: While this strategy does require a lot of capital it could be a way to attract new talent.