Wall Street is getting a little long in the tooth.
So many of its multimillion-dollar “producers” are hedging that brokerage firms run the risk of losing billions of dollars as these hotshot financial advisers head for retirement paradise.
That’s the startling conclusion of a new report from Cerulli Associates that shows 43 percent of financial advisers are over age 55.
“Broker dealers continue to struggle to recruit new young advisers into the industry to offset those advisers who are nearing retirement,” says Cerulli analyst Kenton Shirk.
The average age of an FA today is just shy of 51. Nearly one in three is in the 55-to-64 age group.
Many are coaching clients who are nearing retirement themselves and struggling with their finances.
A study by Pershing concluded that a mere 5 percent of advisers are younger than 30.
Wall Street will need to recruit 237,000 advisers in the next decade to keep up with the exit of so many. The problem: It takes 11 years to transform a rookie into a pro confident enough to succeed his or her aging master.
Cerulli is suggesting that firms encourage their work teams to recruit and train more junior advisers in specific areas to improve their success rate. And firms should step up their game, it added, helping advisers groom the next generation.