The financial advice industry is going to go through major changes over the next decade due to demographics and an evolving culture. The average financial advisor is 65 years old and thinking about retirement and succession planning rather than growing their practice. For younger advisors, it presents a unique opportunity to advance their careers.

David Wood, the founder and chief visionary officer of Gateway Financial Partners, remarked that “There’s an overwhelming need for advisors to pick up some of these practices from retiring advisors.” Gateway Financial is a hybrid RIA with more than 170 advisors collectively managing $6.5 billion. Lately, the firm has been focusing on helping its independent advisors grow their practices through acquisitions. 

Wood believes that this is “the best time ever to be in the financial services space”. He believes that the demand for financial advice has never been higher, while a third of advisors will be retiring over the next decade, creating a vacuum for younger advisors. 

He also believes the culture is changing which will open up more opportunities for female advisors to thrive. Specifically, the industry is evolving from a focus on selling products to forming relationships and financial planning. Currently, women account for 30% of advisors, he expects that this number will increase over the next decade due these changes and the retirement wave of older, predominantly male advisors. 

Finsum: There are two major changes in the financial advice industry. One is that a third of advisors will retire over the next decade. The second is that the industry is evolving from selling products to building relationships and financial planning. Here’s why this is creating an opportunity for younger and female advisors.