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NewsRIAs

45% of ultra-wealthy clients opened accounts without telling advisors

A NewtonX survey also found 41% of clients with more than $10 million would switch primary advisors if doing so were frictionless.

45%UHNW clients who opened a new relationship without telling their advisor

At a glance

  1. In the same survey, 47% said they had pulled assets from an advisor, often without explaining why.
  2. Only a quarter of respondents said their primary advisor could see 90% or more of their wealth, while 54% said the advisor saw less than three-quarters of it.
  3. RIAs and family offices fared better on conflicts: 6% of their clients said the firm had recommended something that served its own interests more than theirs, against 51% at large banks. 72% had been with their primary advisor at least five years, but 41% said they would switch if it were frictionless.

45% of clients with more than $10 million in investible assets started a new financial relationship in the past three years without telling their existing advisor, according to a NewtonX survey reported by Financial Advisor Magazine.

In the same survey, 47% said they had pulled assets from an advisor, often without explaining why.

Only a quarter of respondents said their primary advisor could see 90% or more of their wealth, while 54% said the advisor saw less than three-quarters of it. Some 68% spread money across two or more wealth managers.

RIAs and family offices fared better on conflicts: 6% of their clients said the firm had recommended something that served its own interests more than theirs, against 51% at large banks. 72% had been with their primary advisor at least five years, but 41% said they would switch if it were frictionless. Just 17% planned to switch in the next year, a gap the survey attributed to "inertia, more than conviction."

Tenure outruns commitment among ultra-wealthy clients

Share of ultra-wealthy clients giving each answer, %

Source: NewtonX survey via Financial Advisor Magazine
Show as table
ItemShareCountOf
With advisor 5+ years72%
Would switch if frictionless41%
Plan to switch in next year17%

Reported by the RIA desk from Financial Advisor Magazine. Published . Corrections

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