With their client rosters and assets growing, independent RIAs are staffing up, and many are adding women to their employee ranks, according to latest Advisor Index Survey released Tuesday by TD Ameritrade Institutional.
Some 40% of 502 advisors in the quarterly survey said they were considering adding staff in the next six months, and a quarter of those said they would hire a female advisor to help attract and retain female clients.
Nine in 10 advisors surveyed reported that the total number of their clients had increased or remained steady over the past year. They reported an average annual revenue growth rate of 15%.
Respondents indicated that 57% of new client assets continued to come from full-commission firms, up slightly from 55% in the 2011 survey. In a telephone interview with AdvisorOne, George Tamer, director of strategic relationships at TD Ameritrade Institutional, attributed this to investors becoming better educated, and realizing that RIAs' interest is aligned with their own.
Tamer said that in his discussions with RIA firms, he had identified two factors that explained the uptick in hiring. Large firms in particular, but also small and midsize ones, are preparing for growth they expect in the next six months, and are keen to grab market share from wirehouses.