Financial Planners & Investment Advisers Industry Profile

Companies in this industry provide customized investment advice and financial planning services. Major companies include US-based Ameriprise Financial and AXA, and units of diversified financial services companies such as Morgan Stanley, as well as AMP Limited (Australia) and IGM Financial (Canada).

The value of assets under management (AuM) worldwide, an indicator of demand for financial planning and investment advice services, is about $120 trillion in 2023, according to Boston Consulting Group. AuM is forecast to be about $205 trillion by 2032, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.5%, according to Credence Research.

The US industry includes about 20,000 establishments (single-location companies and units of multi-location companies) with combined annual revenue of about $40 billion.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Aging populations, the shift to defined contribution retirement savings plans, and frothy markets in recent years are fueling growth of assets under management and demand for investment advice. Competing with independent financial planners and investment advisers for clients are Wall Street brokerage firms switching from a sales business model to a fee-for-service business model on retirement accounts, as well as CPAs with Certified Financial Planner designations. The proliferation of free online tools (sometimes called robo advisers) is proving popular among cost-conscious investors. As investors become more comfortable with digital financial advice, some providers of digital advice in the financial planning profession in the US are predicted to manage $2 trillion in assets by 2029, ...