About a third of investors added a new relationship with a financial services provider last year, according to a report from Hearts & Wallets.
The report found juggling multiple relationships is the norm for investors. Fifty-five percent of consumers with more than $500,000 in investable assets work with at least three firms, up from 49% the year before. Many of those consumers use a full-service firm and a self-service firm, although some work with multiple high-service firms "to obtain different advice perspectives," according to a statement form Hearts & Wallets. Others use a combination of low-service firms for their Web tools.
Most firms had between 70% and 80% of their customers splitting assets between their company and at least one other retail firm or defined contribution provider.
Full-service firms had the most primary relationships, according to the report. They're generally the most trusted; about half of respondents gave them a score of nine or 10 on a 1-10 scale for most trustworthy.
In spite of that, Hearts & Wallets noted that "contrary to popular belief, self-service has deeper reach among affluent and high-net-worth customers than full-service." The report found three-quarters of households with at least $3 million and 70% of those with more than $500,000 use a self-service firm.
