During Advisor Group's Wealth Management Symposium on Thursday, the firm announced the rollout of its Next Gen and Better Together programs across the organization.
Next Gen "builds upon the success" of the program that was initially piloted at Advisor Group subsidiary Securities America, Advisor Group said. It "brings experienced financial advisors and Advisor Group leadership together with younger professionals to identify specific strengths to emphasize, areas for further development, and opportunities to grow through strategic partnerships and mentorships," the company noted.
Better Together, meanwhile, was initially launched as a six-part webinar series to assist financial advisors in enhancing their efficiency and "identify new growth strategies by leveraging resources now available across the full enterprise," including the Retirement Income Planning team and Business Coaching and Consulting, Advisor Group said.
Each Better Together webinar features different financial advisors explaining their real-world experiences working with the National Sales & Consulting team and its positive impact on their businesses.
New Role for a Ladenburg Exec
The firm also announced at its virtual event that Philip Blancato was named chief market strategist for all of Advisor Group, in addition to serving as president and CEO of Ladenburg Thalmann Asset Management, a role he has held since 2004. Advisor Group finalized its acquisition of rival Ladenburg in February 2020, three months after announcing plans for the deal.
In his new role, Blancato will provide advisors across the company's network with "insight and visibility into the key trends that are shaping the markets and which will impact their clients and portfolio management strategies in the months ahead," according to Advisor Group. He will also provide additional client-approved resources for advisors to leverage.
"Today's wealth management professionals are balancing an evolving regulatory environment, rising client expectations, and unpredictable markets," according to Jamie Price, Advisor Group CEO and president.
The firm, therefore, is "investing strategically in the tools and platforms these professionals need to navigate these changes while expanding their advisory-focused relationships with clients," he said.
The impact of Advisor Group's support for advisors who act as fiduciaries to take a comprehensive approach to wealth management is reflected in the company's recent results, it said.
In 2020, despite the sharp downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Advisor Group saw a 236% year-over-year increase in net new assets, with assets on the firm's Wealth Management Platform (WMP) increasing 22%, it noted.
Of the net new assets on the WMP, 36% went to Advisor Group's recently enhanced Unified Managed Account (UMA) platform. During the same period, assets held on the UMA platform soared 79% overall, while the number of accounts almost doubled, growing 94%, the firm said.
2 More Practices Join Advisor Group
Just ahead of the event, Advisor Group said it recruited two wealth management practices based in Pennsylvania that collectively oversee $323 million in total client assets to its network.
