The global wealth management industry is facing challenges that are causing a dramatic rethinking of the fundamental business model upon which the industry has thrived for the past several decades.  Strategies will have to be modified to continue the industry’s growth.  Many issues now facing industry participants must be considered in light of a changed economy, capital market, and regulatory environment.   We believe that to succeed, wealth managers need to acknowledge and thoughtfully respond to the industry’s troubling trends, including:

Lost Client Wealth.  Assets under management for the world’s wealthiest have fallen approximately 20%.   After years of doubled digit growth, this decline seems even larger than it already is.

Crisis of Trust.  A significant number of clients are dissatisfied with their wealth managers. Given the industry’s highly visible and publicized cases of fraud and the recent poor market performance of some highly touted investments, investor trust is the lowest it’s been in memory.  In fact, recent studies have shown that many investors are considering changing and consolidating the number of advisors with whom they deal.

Increased Cost Structures.  Higher cost levels built up during the prior years of industry expansion have added a hard-to-eliminate layer of expense.  In addition, industry profit margins are at a five-year low.

Dramatically Changing Client Needs. Client needs have become increasingly diverse and are no longer primarily performance dominated.  While investment performance is still at the core of an investment relationship, new risk appetites, broader service requirements, and individual-specific advice are gaining ground.

Lack of New Growth Strategies.  As the industry emerges from its current downturn, the successful firm in the new era will need to create new growth strategies to increase market share.  Whether through organic growth, merger, or capital event, each of these strategies requires a very different approach and core strengths.

Misaligned Organizational Models and Personnel.  As firms adjust to the new marketplace realities, many realize that their current organizational structure and even the skills of existing personnel aren’t sufficient to succeed in the new era of wealth management.

Impending Dramatic Regulatory Changes.  As a result of the recent financial crisis and several highly visible industry scandals, the question is not “if” regulations and guidelines will change but “when” and what  the magnitude of the change will be. 

Global Wealth Management Practice

At FPL Associates, our Global Wealth Management practice supports clients as they adapt to these changing times and helps them optimize their organizations with successful business models for this new era of wealth management.  We do this through a combination of skills and beliefs that is unique to the wealth management consulting industry.

We have a deep understanding of the global wealth management industry.  We have a 20-year proven track record of leading and delivering high-impact strategic and operational engagements in the wealth and capital management industries.   Our consultants have worked with leading wealth management firms on a wide range of issues.  This accumulated knowledge allows us to quickly diagnose an issue and provide a solution which is both easy to understand and efficiently implemented.

Tangible results and creative solutions.  We are results driven.  We work directly with our clients to deliver custom high-impact and measurable solutions to their most pressing problems. 

Defined service offerings and proven approaches.  We do not try to be “all things to all firms.”  Our services are not pre-packaged.  While our approach is highly individualized, we come to each engagement with a well-defined set of project expectations, deliverables, and desired results based on our extensive management consulting experience.

Our Service Offerings

We have two primary service offerings: Enterprise Assessment and Enterprise Optimization.  Given these challenging times, both of our service offerings are targeted to produce actionable results for our clients in the most efficient and effective way possible. 

For firms that recognize that they are not performing as well as desired but don’t know where to focus we suggest the Enterprise Assessment.  During this intense and quick engagement, we review our client’s current financial, operational, organizational, and competitive position.  We contrast this existing position with its long-term goals, objectives, and potential marketplace scenarios.  Our key deliverable is an actionable set of recommended improvement initiatives. 

For firms that have a better understanding of their areas of concern or have completed the Assessment engagement and would like assistance in executing their improvement initiatives we suggest Enterprise Optimization.   This service offering encompasses an extensive set of activities that help position a wealth management firm for future success or, in some cases, survival.  While our offering covers the entire business model, we highly suggest our clients focus only on those areas where the biggest impact can be made. 

The areas we focus on are closely aligned with the targeted results our clients desire.  Our proven approaches and extensive wealth management expertise allow us to quickly customize our service offerings to only focus on those segments and functions that will deliver the most pressing and critical results. 

Positioning for Future Success              

The global wealth management industry is at a very important juncture.  One very successful era has come to a sudden and visible close.  What will the next era look like?   Who will thrive and who will survive?  How will successful firms operate and what strategies will they employ?  These are the questions FPL Associates' Global Wealth Management Practice answers for our clients.

Contact              

For further information please contact Rodney Mann, Managing Director, at (312) 368-5088 or at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .