Episode Summary

A wide-ranging conversation with Michael Kitces covering niche practices, fees, brands and RIA valuations. Ben Harrison joins Jeff and Bruce to chat about the goings-on at Pershing, the INSITE conference and custody issues.

Episode Notes

Interview with Michael Kitces — Niches, fees, brands and RIA valuations — 0:50-41:30

• Niche practices — what’s behind their rise and salience.
• Why the old niches are less unique.
• Subscription fees vs. AUM fees — how they work together, where the industry is heading, and why.
• What limits the AUM model.
• Financial advisers’ changing views on Bitcoin and crypto.
• Moving out of the day-to-day advising, and brand-building in the advisory space.
• Why RIAs deserve the valuations they’re getting in the merger market.

Interview of Ben Harrison — 42:10

• Pershing’s realignment and the convergence of different wealth markets.
• Impact for RIAs.
• Competitive pressure vs. changing market.
• The INSITE Conference: virtual vs. hybrid vs. in-person.
• Support for clients — is it time to go back to the office?
• The future of custody in a Big Three world
• Changes in custodial fee arrangements?

This episode sponsored by:

Broadridge is a global fintech leader whose infrastructure powers investing, corporate governance & communications. Visit Broadridge.com

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Guest Bios

Michael E. Kitces, MSFS, MTAX, CFP, CLU, ChFC, RHU, REBC, CASL, is the head of planning strategy for Buckingham Wealth Partners, a private wealth management firm in St. Louis, Missouri, that oversees approximately $50 billion of client assets. In addition, he is the co-founder of the XY Planning Network, AdvicePay, fpPathfinder, and New Planner Recruiting, former practitioner editor of the Journal of Financial Planning, and the publisher of the e-newsletter The Kitces Report and the popular financial planning industry blog Nerd’s Eye View through his website www.Kitces.com, dedicated to advancing knowledge in financial planning.

Ben Harrison is a managing director and member of the Executive Committee for Pershing. He is co-head of our wealth solutions segment, which serves wealth-oriented broker-dealers, registered investment advisors and trust companies, and the evolving and converging needs of these clients. Prior to this role, Ben led our RIA custody business and before that, both business development and relationship management for the advisory marketplace.