Wealth management on the brink of an "exciting" era

“We’re on the edge of something really exciting in wealth management,” says Lori Van Dusen, founder and CEO of registered independent advisor firm LVW Advisors.

This excitement comes from various factors, Van Dusen points out. For one, fees aren’t necessarily being compressed but rather advisors are “being asked to do more for the fee,” she says.

“There’s more integrated financial planning, banking, insurance. I'm not talking wirehouse-style, but I'm talking about the ability as an advisor to really quarterback and integrate things.”

She sees the industry moving towards two trends in particular. One of those trends, not surprisingly, is a transfer of wealth to women, which will likely mean more women moving into the financial planning space as female clients will want to work with female advisors.

“Most of the wealth over the next decade, or at least half of it, is going to be enhanced by women. We know there's a generational wealth transfer going on. We also know that there's more wealth going into the hands of women being created by women, yet the business is still so male-dominated so that's an interesting conundrum that we've got to figure out.”

Van Dusen is also quick to point out that most RIAs still don't have proper succession planning in place, leading to a loss in next-gen advisors and a focus on multi-generational wealth planning. This is a main focus for the Pittsford, New York-based firm as she asserts advisors should also be following suit.

“The other thing we're being presented with, and we proactively look for is multi-generational wealth. We also know statistically the vast majority of children of clients hire a different advisor. They don't stick with the advisor [their parents have].

"One of the things people should be really focusing on is building that next-gen team and keeping that next-gen team happy, educated with a career path and making sure you're bringing them into every client meeting," she added.

These client meetings should also involve both parties of a relationship because they get concerned about lifestyles, life transitions or "some aspect of wealth management."

Fintech, Van Dusen believes, will also be used to help meet clients where they’re at, as she says business development is going to take place in a lot of different formats.

“You have to think about a person who's a millennial or younger and how you’re going to interact and build a relationship with them,” she says. “We brainstorm a lot about those kinds of things, and how to engage the next gen.”

With the advent of AI, it’s no secret that advisors will see increased productivity gains, Van Dusen added, where firms can automate their use of “really smart people,” making it more seamless for those in an operations role who are very client-facing.

“When I think about our people, they're not just doing paperwork, or helping transact. They're the first line of defense around clients and a lot of times, clients prefer talking with them. They have really deep people skills, they're smart and process-oriented. We're looking to solve for some of this now, but I think [AI] is going to evolve and be a game-changer.”

Van Dusen went independent in 2008 and has since been recognized among a few leaders who paved the way to go RIA. After being in a wirehouse herself and running her own firm for several years, she believes the line between wirehouses and RIAs are becoming blurred.

“Some of the smarter big bank wirehouses are getting that the RIA space has been growing and they have not,” she says. “It's clear that [when you’re an RIA], you have more flexibility and you can create the firm you want based on the clients’ needs.

“I think the wirehouse banks get it. They're trying to figure out how to capture that space and that growth. I don't know how it's going to look or how it's going to play out, but I just know it's happening.”

Name: Lori Van Dusen
Position: Founder and CEO
Company: LVW Advisors
Founded: 2011
AUM: Approximately $2.2 billion