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[pullquote]Interesting times…[/pullquote]

“2013 was a great year for the wealth management industry, and comp packages are more or less increasing across the board.”

“That said, it won’t surprise anyone to learn that the rich are still getting richer—meaning that the biggest producers are still getting the lion’s share of the rewards.”

“Pay plans have also been tweaked to encourage more product sales and to discourage turnover through greater use of long-term retention packages.”

“But the most important incentives—and this too is far from a shocker—have been put in place to drive growth, especially at the high-end of the wealth spectrum.”

“The industry’s message to advisors is loud and clear: Either go big, or go home.”

Surprising? No, not really, because the bigger issue is how to address the “crisis” of advisor shortage. (And, most experts agree, it is quickly approaching the “crisis” level.) Every wealth management firm is facing the demographic challenge of an aging advisor population.

“Successfully training new advisors would enlarge the talent pool, reduce the costs of recruiting and promote a team approach, since newly trained advisors would tend to share the same values and preferences as those who trained them…. yet, most firms are still struggling to give training its due.”

Interesting times, with much more to come on this subject.

(OnWallStreet.mag. Elliott M. Kass, Editor, March 1, 2014).