Majority of Public Doesn’t Know RIA Model Exists: Advizent’s Goldman

The good news, he added, is that advisors are in an industry with the "wind at their backs."

"The market for advice is huge and there is money at all levels," Goldman noted. "People are leaving banks and due to a lack of trust, revealing a real opportunity for advisors to build their businesses by building trust."

One myth is that the high-net-worth is where advisor need to target their effort, but technology means the low-net-worth can be profitable and there is a "ton of money in the middle."

"Another myth is that we are all retiring and it will be all about losing assets to de-accumulation," he countered. "Yes, people are retiring, but money is headed this way as well."

A third myth involves the notion that "the wirehouses are done and banks are done.

"Wirehouses still manage over half of the assets in this country. Their model may be broken, but they're fixing it. The notion that you're the only game in town that's winning is just false."

He then hit upon numbers that got the attendees attention. He claimed $2 trillion are currently held with RIAs out of the $13 trillion in managed money and $28 trillion in investable assets. Currently, firms with $500 million in assets under management and above manage 61% of those assets.

"This, obviously, is a huge opportunity," he noted.