Wealth Management
National brokerage firms are now sharing updates to financial advisors' compensation plans for 2025, a yearly event that often brings new requirements for earning bonuses or changes to how firms prioritize client segments.
Merrill Lynch's 2025 plan, announced Wednesday, surprised many by largely maintaining the current structure, which has been rewarding advisors for onboarding new clients and encouraging existing ones to use Bank of America banking services. Merrill reported 5,500 new client relationships in the third quarter, with client assets reaching $3.5 trillion, an 18% increase from last year.
The only notable adjustment for 2025 is a reduced banking growth award threshold, dropping from 55% to 35% for advisors operating without a nearby Bank of America branch. Other large brokerages, also introduced modest 2025 updates, such as reduced pay on smaller accounts and increased incentives for internal referrals, respectively.
Finsum: These incremental changes reflect the industry's focus on stability while selectively encouraging growth and broader client relationships.
Goldman Sachs Asset Management has partnered with GeoWealth to deliver customizable, open-architecture investment models for registered investment advisors (RIAs). These models, accessible through GeoWealth’s unified managed accounts (UMA) platform, include SMAs, ETFs, direct indexing, mutual funds, and alternatives, allowing RIAs to tailor them to clients’ unique goals and tax considerations.
Starting with mutual fund and ETF models, Goldman plans to expand offerings to include equity SMAs, fixed-income solutions, and direct indexing in the coming months. Responding to demand from RIAs for scalable, personalized portfolio solutions, the partnership aims to streamline account management, simplify paperwork, and boost operational efficiency.
Goldman’s multi-asset solutions team will power these custom models, leveraging the firm’s capabilities with API integrations across 42 tech vendors.
Finsum: These solutions can increase flexibility greatly for RIAs and provide a streamlined process for clientele.
TradePMR has introduced Fusion SYNC, an AI-powered tool designed to ease the custodian transition process for registered investment advisors (RIAs). By allowing advisors to upload complete client data and automatically transferring it to TradePMR’s Fusion platform, Fusion SYNC aims to reduce manual data entry and speed up transitions, potentially cutting transition time from weeks to days.
The tool also cross-checks for errors, minimizing the need for manual corrections and improving data accuracy. Jon Patullo, TradePMR’s chief product officer, emphasized that Fusion SYNC aims to ease the burdens of custodial transitions, helping advisors maintain client trust through streamlined service.
With 40% of advisory assets expected to change hands in the next decade, Fusion SYNC positions TradePMR as an early AI adopter in custodial services.
Finsum: Lean into technology, and particularly AI when it comes to changing custodians as it can greatly aid the data transfer process.
More...
Renewable energy stocks, once at peak valuations in 2020-21, are struggling with investor pullbacks and face extended uncertainty partly due to U.S. election concerns. Interest in the sector has been eroded by competition from Chinese renewables, strong returns on conventional energy, and issues like supply chain disruptions and grid connection challenges.
Although the Inflation Reduction Act has supported renewable investments in the U.S., analysts warn that the potential return of Donald Trump to office could redirect funds to fossil fuels, while a win for Democrat Kamala Harris might revive confidence in renewables.
Even with lower interest rates, a new boom on the scale of 2020-21 is unlikely, as renewable growth has slowed. The sector has seen 17 consecutive months of net outflows, losing over $11 billion in 2024 alone, with major funds like the iShares Global Clean Energy ETF losing 28% in unit numbers.
Finsum: There could be a serious opportunity to find value in these ETFs at the current price levels.
Pension and Benefits Monitor and Fiera Capital hosted a webinar titled “The Rise of Private Real Estate Credit in Canada’s Evolving Investment Landscape.” Industry leaders, including Michael Le Coche from Fiera Real Estate, discussed the advantages of private real estate credit as an alternative to traditional fixed-income options.
The asset class offers higher yields, enhanced diversification, and stability amid market volatility, making it increasingly appealing. The event highlighted how Basel IV regulations are reshaping lending, with private credit filling gaps left by banks.
Experts also discussed the unique regional dynamics within Canada’s real estate markets, which impact private credit strategies. Additionally, the importance of sustainable practices in real estate credit was emphasized, aligning environmental goals with financial performance.
Finsum: With rates falling again the real estate market could really look to open up given the tight supply constraints.
Investors are pouring funds into bitcoin-tracking ETFs, with recent flows suggesting a surge in interest tied to the upcoming U.S. election and potential pro-crypto policies. The iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF saw an impressive $872 million in a single day, reflecting hopes for a Trump victory, which could foster more favorable cryptocurrency legislation.
Bitcoin gained around 12% in October, with some analysts attributing this rally to rising expectations of a Republican sweep. As election week nears, bitcoin futures data shows investors are bracing for heightened volatility, with possible daily swings near 3.7%.
Open interest on crypto derivatives has also reached a record high, signaling elevated activity ahead of the election. However, market indicators suggest traders anticipate that volatility will taper off after the election, allowing bitcoin’s upward trend to potentially continue.
Finsum: Trump as positioned himself as the pro crypto candidate but even some of Harris’ policies also indicate a favorable landscape for digital currency.