Once only the purview of institutions and the super rich, alternative investments (AI) have already begun to populate the portfolios of ordinary investors. Whether used defensively to add diversification, or as proactive tools to access hard to reach asset classes, alternatives, especially among advised investors, are here to stay. Today, just three in ten (29%) [...]

Affluent investors are likely to rollover approximately $300 billion from their former employers’ sponsored retirement plans (ESRPs) to IRAs in 2012. However, attracting these assets is becoming more competitive as investors search beyond the traditional rollover providers for advice and guidance. A number of full service providers have made significant gains in attracting potential rollover [...]

Nearly a third of Active Traders, investors who make three or more trades on a monthly basis via a self-service online trading platform, indicate they are likely to open a new online trading account in the next six months. While this group of investors recognizes 19 online brokerage providers, only six firms have a solid [...]

For many years, the three major exchange traded fund (ETF) providers—iShares, State Street, and Vanguard—have been able to grow share by leveraging their volume, early pioneer status, and strong brand reputations. However, the ETF landscape is changing, as new providers enter the market or continue to announce their intent to offer solutions in this growing market segment.

It wasn’t long ago that many advisors avoided Putnam Investments, whether due to poor performance, lack of wholesaler support, or lingering associations with the mutual fund market timing scandals of 2003 and 2004. However, today advisors are taking a second look at one of the oldest mutual fund families in the United States.

Once viewed as a low-risk way to generate additional returns on funds, structured investment vehicles have taken some heat recently as companies reinvested securities collateral in them and they sank in value during the market downtown.

In an ironic turn of events, National distributors are the biggest beneficiaries of the 15% increase in advisor
satisfaction reported in the 2010 Advisor Brandscape. Last year, wirehouse reps were the least-satisfied group
of advisors across all channels.

Cogent Research is pleased to introduce the inaugural edition of Retirement Planscape™. This new Perspective Series report is a comprehensive examination and view into the world of today’s defined contribution retirement plan sponsors—from their present concerns about the economy and well-being of their employees to their engagement and satisfaction with the intermediaries, asset managers, and providers that service their plans.

While the financial services industry has been busy courting the in- or near- retirement Boomer generation, an emerging wave of younger, affluent investors has been silently growing, building wealth, and seeking financial services firms who will give them what they want. This group of Generation X thirty and forty somethings comprise about one-fifth of affluent investors in the United States and bring a unique perspective to the financial landscape.

As competition continues to increase in the wealth management industry, discovering new sources of customers has become more important than ever. Moreover, as a sizeable portion of affluent Americans are on the cusp of moving into a de-accumulation phase, the motivation to attract younger investors is stronger than ever. Firms that are successful in attracting [...]