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Wealth management

The most in-depth stories in Financial Planning in 2023

By Staff report
December 17, 2023 5:00 AM
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Financial Planning's staff prides itself on writing in-depth feature stories on the most pertinent topics in wealth management. These issues matter to our readers and the firms they work for.

In 2023, stories touched on the challenges of succession planning, advising clients about Medicare, expungements, attracting and retaining talent, and so much more. We also offered our lists of top young brokers, rising stars, top RIAs and IBDs, and people we expect to make the news in 2024.

Scroll down to check out all those stories.

Deal handshake

The toll of succession

Succession planning can be a minefield. Besides the business issues, there is an emotional toll that can come from passing down a long-run business or taking over for a loved one. Nathan Place explored ways transition teams can navigate these successions successfully.

READ: Surviving succession: Navigating the emotional minefield of transition planning
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Reputation management

Some brokers use a process known as expungement to remove reputational blots from their records. Others, however, don't have the time or resources. Dan Shaw explored the process that some say offers a restoration of reputation for those wrongly maligned while others claim it's too easy for bad actors to remove warranted warnings to potential investors.

READ: Misleading disclosures linger as advisors try to rebuild reputations with expungement
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40 brokers under 40

Each year, we survey the wealth management industry to find the top-producing brokers under 40 years old. We list top overall brokers, as well as regional. Victoria Zhuang also analyzed the ways in which wirehouses can keep top young talent.

READ: These are the top 40 brokers under 40 in 2023

READ: These are the top 40 regional brokers under 40 in 2023

READ: Top advisors reveal how wirehouses can retain the best young talent
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When Jackie Robinson was a banker

Jackie Robinson famously broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball in 1947. But his work did not end on the field. Lesser known, Robinson worked for a Harlem bank with a mission to improve access to capital for Black patrons and decrease the wealth gap. Tobias Salinger's award-winning reporting told the story of Robinson's ongoing fight against discrimination even after his playing days had ended.

READ: How Jackie Robinson's financial legacy lives on in the industry today
Most respondents said they ask managers about settlements and non-disclosure agreements, however survey results suggest that allocators haven’t paid attention to sexual misconduct.

Hybrids and blurred lines

Wealth managers are increasingly registering as both advisors and brokers these days, roles that  carry different standards of care for their work with clients. Clients, however, do not always understand those nuances and whether their wealth managers are practicing under the fiduciary standard or Regulation Best Interest. This poses myriad potential issues for both clients and advisors, as Dan Shaw discovered.

READ: Blurred lines: How hybrid advisory firms confuse clients and cloud wealth management
Virtual reality office

The metaverse, maybe

Immersive experiences. Connected virtual worlds. Deeper interactions. That's the promise of the metaverse. How much of a factor will it be in wealth management? Or will it be a factor at all? Justin L. Mack explored those questions in his award-winning feature story.

READ: Why the metaverse, for wealth management, is still a big maybe
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Cash sweeps

Brokerages invest upward of $1 trillion of client money in sweep accounts each year, yielding far more for the firms than the clients. While it's all spelled out in the fine print, it's unclear if clients understand the missed opportunities and whether the practice is ethical. Tobias Salinger explored the issue and polled brokerages about their stances on sweeps.

READ: The wealth management industry's $1T conflict of interest

READ: Cash sweeps: Checking the fine print on a conflict of interest
Skillful worker stand together showing teamwork in the factory.

Gigs and retirement

High net worth clients are coveted, but the rise in employee organization offers wealth managers new opportunities. Nathan Place talked to advisors about how they might build business by working with the likes of Amazon employees and gig workers who are unionizing.

READ: How new unions could mean big business for wealth managers
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Broker compensation

Brokerages need to attract and keep talent. The most effective way to do that is with big paychecks for brokers. Each year, Financial Planning analyzes the pay grids from the largest brokerages to see what producers at all levels can expect to make. Also, check out Victoria Zhuang's story on what advisors could expect in terms of pay in the last year.

READ: What to expect in advisor pay in 2023

READ: Best advisor pay for the $2M producer

READ: Best advisor pay for the $1M producer

READ: Best advisor pay for the $600K producer

READ: Best advisor pay for the $400K producer
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The soul of ESG

As sustainable investing principles weather a growing backlash, the biggest asset managers are pivoting in how they talk about environmental, social and governance funds. Lynnley Browning reported on how the climate is heating up.

READ: The battle for the soul of ESG
Cybersecurity

Celebrating a cybersecurity stalemate

Cybersecurity is often discussed in the context of being a race to win, a game to dominate or a war to emerge from as the last man standing. But as Justin L. Mack heard, simply keeping up with the hackers might be the biggest win wealth management firms can hope for.

READ: Why wealth managers should celebrate stalemates in the never-ending cybersecurity battle
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Welcome to the jungle

M&A is alive and well in wealth management, and one of the major strategies firms have for growth. But what those companies really want is organic growth. Elijah Nicholson-Messmer explored exactly what organic growth really is and how firms succeed in finding it.

READ: A guide to navigating the organic growth jungle
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Safe, but not sound

Ukrainians fleeing the war ravaging their country might wind up physically safe in the United States. But many who considered themselves financially secure in their homeland burn through their savings in months or even weeks here. Nathan Place discovered how bureaucratic red tape is financially devastating some Ukrainians and how wealth managers can help.

READ: The price of escape: Why Ukrainian refugees are losing their savings in America
Home for sale

The right REITs

Real estate investment trusts have long been decent investments, but last year's economic realities made them less attractive in some cases. Still, as Dan Shaw reported, good deals can be found by discerning investors.

READ: The essential guide to REITs as real estate becomes less alt and more mainstream
Hiring

Recruiting and retaining

In a market in which firms are scrambling to attract talent, it's the little things that can make a difference. Victoria Zhuang found that firms are getting creative with the ways in which they attract new hires.

READ: How to woo advisor talent in a tough labor market
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Rising stars

Financial Planning's Rising Stars award celebrates young professionals and career changers who are advancing the profession through their accomplishments and contributions to the community of advisors and clients across the country. This year, we honored 10 planners, including Eric Rodriguez, an RIA founder, author and podcast host.

READ: These 10 innovative planners are FP's Rising Stars for 2023

READ: Why Eric Rodriguez, an FP Rising Star, wants to change the conversation around money
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Independent and elite

Financial Planning's annual IBD Elite series explores issues specific to independent broker-dealers and ranks the firms based on a number of factors. Tobias Salinger offered an explanation of the role offices of supervisory jurisdiction — often misunderstood — play in the industry.

READ: IBD Elite 2023: What the heck is an OSJ?

READ: IBD Elite 2023: The independent brokerages with the most CFPs

READ: IBD Elite 2023: Which independent brokerages have the largest RIAs?

READ: IBD Elite 2023: The 10 firms with the largest percentage of women among their financial advisors

READ: IBD Elite: The 15 largest independent brokerages in wealth management

READ: IBD Elite 2023: Deep dive into independent wealth manager data
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Shutting off the fintech faucet

The past year and a half has been a wake-up call for firms forced to face the reality that wealthtech funding is no longer growing on trees. Justin L. Mack found that startup capital that once felt like free money suddenly came with a heavy cost, and difficult market conditions put the squeeze on would-be fintech founders. But it's not all doom and gloom.

READ: Why wealthtech running out of 'free money' isn't as bad as it sounds
Balance rocks

The weight of referral programs

Schwab and Fidelity have massive referral programs that steward clients into RIAs. But which firms benefit from those influxes of customers? And who gets left out in the cold? Tobias Salinger made that the focus of this year's RIA Leaders series, which also includes rundowns of the largest firms.

READ: Schwab and Fidelity referrals give certain RIAs business, deal others out

READ: These are the 20 largest fee-only RIAs, ranked by AUM

READ: 11 more views on RIA referrals from Schwab, Fidelity, rivals and experts

READ: These are the 10 largest fee-only RIAs, ranked by advisor headcount

READ: RIA Leaders 2023: Download FP's list of the 150 largest fee-only RIAs
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The rise of family offices

The growth of family offices has made them difficult to ignore, both as potential employers and as high-end clients to serve. Victoria Zhuang reported on how these powerful entities represent the financial interests of the world's richest people and have grown to become large, stellar bodies in the universe of wealth management.

READ: What the growing family office sphere means for wealth managers
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Managing Medicare

On paper, Medicare has a simple mission: Provide government-funded health insurance for Americans aged 65 and older. But since it was enacted in 1965, the program has grown far more complicated. As Nathan Place found, advisors can build entire businesses around Medicare, while others certainly need to know the ins and outs.

READ: The financial advisor's guide to Medicare

READ: Inflation Reduction Act is causing 'dramatic' rise in Medicare premiums, experts say
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24 people to watch

Who will make wealth management news in 2024? These were Financial Planning's staff predictions.

READ: 24 people who will shape wealth management in 2024
Staff report
Wealth management Independent BDs RIAs Succession planning Broker dealers Technology Fintech Regulation and compliance Diversity and equality Retirement ESG Cyber security Alternative investments Recruiting
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