Top 3 wholesalers to account for almost half of advisor assets by 2027

Wholesalers may find it harder to gain the attention of financial advisors as the market becomes increasingly competitive.

For an intermediary or asset manager, the stakes are high, with advisors indicating that those in their top three relationships account for more than 44% of their overall assets. This has increased 4 percentage points in the past five years and is set to grow another 3 points by 2028.

The findings are from Fuse Research Network’s recently published report, Wholesalers: The Advisor View, which included a survey of 600 advisors from across all channels conducted in June.

“The right products with competitive performance are table stakes when it comes to winning business, which wholesalers cannot control,” says Michael Evans, director of benchmark research at Fuse.

Evans added that wholesalers need to focus on delivering what they can control.

“Detailed investment knowledge, a solid relationship with the advisor and access to firm experts are some of the highly valued qualities among advisors,” he said. “Also, as asset share among advisors becomes more concentrated, sales management must monitor and evolve their sales support models to ensure advisors are receiving world-class service, so their firms have a potential shot at reaching one of the sales podium positions.”