Fi360

Fiduciary Links: The Growing Business of Banks and Advisory Services

Posted by fi360 Team on March 10, 2014

>>>Bankers will grow, conservatively, in their competition with RIAs in the next five years, according to this Fidelity Institutional Wealth Services study. The study, which included over 140 bank executives, uncovered a few keys to success, as well as the unique challenges faced by bankers in the wealth management business. The findings represent a change from recent years, and a shift in focus for management.

The unique challenges perceived included internal training and the need to keep up with technology. First on the list was the perception of investors. Read the list, and accompanying information, here. A large factor for concern was the ability to integrate this growing line of business with the other bank’s business lines.

Some banks, in an effort to function as RIAs, have simply purchased RIAs and then attempted to integrate their services into the bank. This has resulted in varied levels of success. You can read the specifics of several such situations in this RIABiz article.

Fidelity’s study supports a rising commitment by bankers to broaden the banking business to successfully include advisory services. Overcoming the considerable challenges in achieving this, however, is not as readily answered.

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