Is the RIA world suffering from a 'cliche crisis'?

Is the RIA world suffering from a "cliche crisis"?

Seriously, when 94 top firms use the same 20 terms, including "fiduciary," "goals-based," "personalized," "independent," and "peace of mind" to describe what they do, it does seem at the very least that brand messaging has turned into bland messaging.  

The question arises after a brand analysis study conducted by strategic communications firm Gregory found that 94 firms listed on the CNBC Financial Advisor 100 scored below 8 out of 10 for brand originality. Forty-two percent of the list scored in the "generic" range, with website copy that could be swapped firm-to-firm without a single reader noticing, according to Gregory’s report. Furthermore, the study showed six firms scored below 4, deploying up to 25 clichéd phrases across their primary web pages.

Joe Anthony, president and co-owner of Gregory, blames in part the explosion of growth in the independent RIA channel for the surge in overused marketing terms. As the number of RIAs multiplied, Gregory says more firms started describing themselves based on what they were moving away from as much as what they are – brokers focused on “fee only” language, wirehouse refugees zeroed in on terms like “independent” and the cascade of newly minted CFPs gravitated to “fiduciary” and similar terms.

“The stats are startling, as more than 15,000 SEC-registered firms now collectively manage $130+ trillion in assets. With 3,000 or more new advisors breaking away from broker-dealers each year and 15,000 LinkedIn profiles carrying some variant of "financial advisor," the language of differentiation has become the language of sameness,” Gregory said. 

How they can avert this comes down to positioning more around who they are serving and the issues they are bringing to the wealth planning discussion, according to Gregory.

“Hitting on the relatability to client issues goes a lot further than self-description,” Gregory said.

Meanwhile, Jeff Fuhrman, president at Bogart Wealth, points out that there has always been a degree of brand similarity in the RIA industry, partly because the business has been built on trust, discretion, and regulatory sensitivity where familiar language was effectively encouraged. Many firms grew through referrals and long-standing relationships, where credibility was established over time, not through a first impression. That model required less precision in how firms described themselves.

In his view, what has changed is the intensity and visibility of the issue. As private equity and M&A activity accelerate, firms are scaling faster than their ability to clarify their identity. He adds that AI is also amplifying the echo chamber, making it easier to produce polished messaging that sounds credible but often says very little. At the same time, the buying process has shifted as well.

“Clients are forming opinions before a conversation ever takes place, through websites, social media, and third-party prospecting platforms that introduce firms without the benefit of human interaction. The result is a sea of sameness where firms appear interchangeable at the surface level, even when their underlying capabilities differ. The result is that clients are being asked to make engagement decisions without clear points of distinction,” Fuhrman said.

Ultimately, clichéd messaging weakens differentiation, and without differentiation, value erodes. Firms that sound like everyone else eventually get treated like everyone else. When that happens, says Fuhrman, firms compete on price, not value.

“That pressure shows up in margins, growth, and the type of clients you attract. It also creates internal confusion, because teams cannot consistently articulate why the firm wins or what makes it distinct. In an M&A context, the risk becomes more tangible. Buyers are looking for a durable, repeatable growth engine, and if the story sounds generic or interchangeable, they struggle to see it. Sellers want to join a firm with a clear point of view and a path that makes their business stronger,” Fuhrman said.

Saira Rizvi, director of marketing at Procyon, for one, says the most common words firms use, like “personalized”, “holistic”, and “goals-based”, are not wrong. The problem is they have been used so often it no longer differentiates one firm from another.

“When firms rely on the same language, it does not reduce competition. It intensifies it. Firms are trying to stand out while saying the same things as everyone else. If two firms both claim to offer personalized, holistic advice, the client has no clear way to distinguish between them. As a result, decisions often come down to price, familiarity, convenience, or responsiveness rather than true differentiation,” said Rizvi.

Moreover, she says that when messaging is less defined, it can lead to variation in how the firm is communicated and delivered. Advisors may naturally describe it in different ways, and the client experience can become less consistent over time.

“This is where a gap can begin to form between what is intended and what clients actually experience,” Rizvi said.

As to how firms can refresh their messaging to highlight differentiators, stand out in the market, and demonstrate authentic values to clients and prospects, Gregory’s Anthony says firms can’t expect marked improvement if they are not investing in the talent and leadership needed to be thoughtful in all aspects of their marketing. He points out, for example, that fewer than 30% of the firms studied for the survey have a chief marketing officer or a marketing director by title.

“If firms are serious about making sure they don’t fall victim to the cliche landmines we see all around us, it starts with being serious about telling your story and marketing your business,” Anthony said.