SAN DIEGO - Adapting to a changing client universe is critical for advisors, says TD Ameritrade Institutional president Tom Nally.
The wealth shift to the echo boomer generation presents big opportunities: The wealth accumulated by Generations X and Y will increase to $28 trillion by 2018 from $2 trillion in 2011, he said Thursday morning in a keynote at the companys big annual advisor conference.
But planners will need to adapt for a new client base, he argued, citing a study that found 86% of younger investors said theyd fire their parents advisors. Advisors will need to upgrade their technology, embrace social media and bring in younger team members.
To that end, Nally announced a pair of programs intended to help develop talent for the professions growing needs. The NextGen Scholarship program will award 10 separate $5,000 scholarships to students enrolled in undergraduate financial planning programs annually beginning in 2013. In addition, the company will make a $50,000 annual grant to a university that best demonstrates a commitment to educating the industrys future financial professionals.
TD Ameritrade Institutional is also hosting 30 undergraduate financial planning students at the conference, giving them networking opportunities and allowing them to pursue possible job placements -- in his keynote, Nally encouraged advisors at the conference to sign up to interview them.
Nally also announced a couple of other new programs for the company:
A new Web-based version of iRebal, TD Ameritrade Institutional's portfolio rebalancing software, will be offered to advisors at no extra cost via the Veo custodial tool. The product, which promises more efficient trade processing, will be free to advisors who custody assets with TDAI; for other advisors, a multi-custodial desktop version of the software costs a one-time $10,000 implementation fee plus a $20,000 or greater annual licensing fee.
Nally also announced a Fiduciary Leadership Summit this summer to discuss regulatory policy and consumer awareness of RIAs. The summit -- which the company hopes will bring together advisors, industry advocates, leading consumer groups and elected officials -- is intended to yield an advocacy action plan, the company says.
