"But Prudential still dominates the competition in the single most important loyalty driver--range of VA product features," said John Meunier, Cogent principal and Brandscape report co-author.
Cogent says that Sun Life Financial and Allianz Life both made sizable gains in the past year to crack the top ten loyalty list.
After Jackson and Prudential, the rest of the top ten goes as follows: Lincoln National Life Insurance (Choice Plus); Ameriprise Financial/RiverSource Life Insurance; Nationwide Financial; MetLife; Ohio National Life Insurance; Sun Life; Allianz; and Aegon/TransAmerica.
The Need For Succession Planning
By Mike Byrnes
A recent study of 502 TD Ameritrade Institutional RIAs made it clear that advisors need to do a better job of planning for succession and grooming the future leaders of their firms. Of the respondents, 11% said they were concerned about succession planning, down from 15% the previous quarter. At the same time, only 40% said they have a plan in place. If that percentage holds true for the entire industry, that means that more than half of advisors do not have one. Plus, many that have outdated agreements need to re-evaluate their existing plans.
A positive note from the survey: More advisors are developing a plan, evidenced in the big jump from 4% to 22%
of responses.
The average age of the survey's respondents is 54 years. "However, the mindset of an advisor in his or her 50s is most likely on business building, not retirement," said Zohar Swaine, the managing director of product and strategy at TD Ameritrade Institutional. "Advisors are so focused on taking care of their clients and growing their business, they often give little thought to how they'll leave it and can be blindsided by the amount of time it takes to create and execute an effective succession plan. By starting early, advisors can create, finance and execute a successful succession plan."
Advisors without succession plans should ask themselves: Do I want my firm to outlive me? Do I want my employees to have a long-term home for their careers? What is the best thing for my clients and my own family?
"Buyers are always looking for ways to discount the multiple, like saying the book has an aging population," said George Tamer, TD Ameritrade's director of strategic relationships. He noted that TD Ameritrade has had situations where an advisor will pass away and it is too late to create a succession plan. "At that point, we are helping the staff or the widow wind down the business," he said. "At that point, it is too late [for the family to step in], as we have to take the instructions from the end client. We can't take instructions from the widow, if she is not listed in the business."
The survey found that 50% of respondents anticipate implementing an internal successor; 11% plan to sell the businesses; 8% will look to merge with another firm; and 30% are still undecided. The biggest reason there is no succession plan in place is that no clear successor has been identified (according to more than half of those surveyed).
Most RIAs need to find the right person in the near future to bring into the firm, but almost half believe there is a talent shortage in the industry. The good news for job seekers is that RIAs are looking to add to staff in several areas with specific talents. The bad news is that only 7% of the respondents had formal mentor programs, leaving it up to the youth to network, take professional development and training programs and job shadow.
In short, advisors need to do a better job of preparing the next generation for leadership. After all, advisors are not getting any younger.