It's all coming together

The era of silos for financial advice is over. So, allow me to take time to look at a few areas where formerly distinct services have started to converge.

I’ll start in the retirement plan advice sector, where the firms that manage defined-contribution plans, for myriad reasons, have started to expand the services they provide to plan participants. InvestmentNews launched RPA Convergence last year in response to this new reality. This week’s acquisition of Prudential’s retirement business by Empower in a $3.5 billion deal proves this reality.

But it’s not just retirement plans. In the traditional financial planning realm, advisers continue to see the need to expand their services beyond portfolios. The goal of the unified managed household remains out there, albeit in the distance, but pulling in services that extend to health care and longevity represents the inescapable direction of advisers to provide full service, not just investment service.

And then there’s the confluence of generations. You’re not just serving the client who wants to provide for the next generation anymore. Increasingly, clients are helping their parents, planning their own futures, and guiding their heirs. The pandemic has only extended this reality. That generational collision has brought additional factors into the relationship. This convergence has motivated advisers to consider ESG and diversity in order to better serve each of these groups and keep every group in place.

There are no more silos.