The key to building a successful retirement income practice as many clients move from accumulation to distribution is having a view of the strategies that the various financial services "silos" are engaging in, and joining the Retirement Income Industry Association (RIIA) is one of the best ways to do that, said Francois Gadenne, founding chairman of RIIA, at RIIA's 2007 annual meeting in Boston September 17. Since being launched in 2005, RIIA's membership has grown to include members from virtually all of the financial services sects: 26 advisors, and the number is growing; four plan sponsors; 38 regular members, which includes firms like AIM Investments, BlackRock, Merrill Lynch, Morningstar, and Deutsche Bank, to name a few; and a number of well-know consulting and research firms. "RIIA is the place to come to see the other strategies outside of your silos," Gadenne said.
The retirement ground is shifting, Gadenne said, and advisors and other financial services executives are realizing that the shift from asset accumulation to income generation is, indeed, "real."