Finding next gen of advisors proving difficult

The majority of advisors are getting older and the cohort willing to take their places is scarce–even on Wall Street, says the New York Times.

Advisors in the U.S. are more than 50 years old, on average. While some plan on working past retirement age, others are looking to find successors and future industry leaders to take their places.

But the public’s distrust of the banking sector following the financial crisis has made the prospect of working on Wall Street less attractive to graduates. Only 5% of all advisors in the U.S. are under 30 years old. Instead, young people are looking to technology firms and social media start-ups for employment.

Another shift that has affected financial industry employment is the trend towards fee-based compensation, the New York Times reports. Fee-based services are beneficial for experienced advisors with a large book; young advisors starting out won’t have as large an AUM, and so aren’t paid as much.

Read the story here.

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Staff

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