Retiring boomers say goodbye to advisors

By Danielle Andrus

Commentary January 29, 2009 at 07:00 PM

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The Retirement Income Industry Association recently released new research that says as boomers retire they will limit the number of relationships they have with financial institutions.

"This is a life-stage phenomenon made more dramatic by the sheer number of Boomers in retirement and entering retirement," notes Larry Cohen, vice president and director of SRI Consulting Business Intelligence and co-author of the study. "When Boomers reach the empty nest stage, they discover that they no longer need all of the financial relationships that they have accumulated over 40 years of homebuilding and career development."

Boomers will decrease the number of relationships they have with financial institutions and create new ones as their needs change.

"Trust is the lifeblood of financial relationships and the glue that holds them together," Francois Gadenne, executive director and chairman of RIIA, said in a press release. "Relationships that last for generations thrive when the industry itself is perceived to be stable and unchanging. The mergers and buyouts of banks and other financial institutions getting headlines over the last few months have undercut consumers' trust of their institutions and removed the illusion of stability."

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