It’s no secret that the wealth management industry is facing a talent cliff. Twenty percent of advisors are expected to retire over the next few years and if that sounds bad, it is and it gets worse.

“Over the next decade, 109,093 advisors plan to retire, comprising 37. 5% of industry headcount and 41. 5% of total assets,” according to a January 2024 report from Cerulli Associates.

Compounding those woes are data indicating that being a registered investment advisor (RIA), certified financial planner (CFP) and the like simply isn’t a desirable career choice for many young people. Alone, that creates a looming talent shortage, one exacerbated by the points that many of the young people entering the industry aren’t doing so because it’s their first career choice (it’s not) and as a result, they throw in the towel after a couple of years.

Alarming as those data points are, they don’t imply that things are hopeless in terms of replenishing the advisor well. In fact, the J. D. Power 2025 U. S. Financial Advisor Satisfaction Study indicates the avenues for attracting and retaining talent are things advisors are already doing in terms of building their business, confirming these pursuits are transferrable to bolstering the industry’s long-term health.

Emphasize Branding

Advisors currently attempting to make inroads with younger clients know that branding and imaging matter. That line of thinking has substantial carryover value when it comes to compelling young people to consider wealth management as a lifelong career.

“The wealth management industry is experiencing a significant generational shift in which the demographics, ways of working and priorities of both clients and advisors are changing rapidly,” said Mike Foy, managing director of the wealth management practice at J. D. Power. “How firms manage this transformation and the investments they make today in technology and branding will be critical to attracting, developing and retaining the next generation of advisors, and they will also set the stage for how their firms are perceived by the influx of new, younger clients now considering professional advice for the first time. ”

The importance of branding cannot be understated. Listen to the young people that are in the industry today. They don’t think their firms are doing an adequate job on creating brand awareness.

“When asked to describe their firm’s culture, just 20% of advisors under age 40 said their firm was conscious of its public brand image, substantially trailing perceptions among older advisors (age 40-64), 35% described their firm as brand conscious,” according to J. D. Power.

Another issue on which more seasoned wealth managers should heed the advice of their younger counterparts is social media. Take it from the people that know: you’ve got plenty of room for improvement.

“Social media stands out as the only area of marketing support that early career advisors rank among the most important, as 45% selected it as a priority for investment,” adds J. D Power. “However, these advisors rate current firm support as below average, with just 32% saying support is ‘very valuable. ’”

Assess AI, Too

Many advisors are hip to the facts that artificial intelligence (AI) is more than an investment theme and not a threat to displacing humans in the wealth management space. Now is the time to harness AI for practice-wide benefits, including brand-building, marketing and more. Plus, it could be an avenue for luring more tech-savvy younger people into the field.

“AI is the top technology in which advisors believe their firms should be investing, with 35% of advisors selecting it as the top priority for increased tech investment by the firm,” concludes J. D. Power. “As they are prioritizing AI use cases, firms should strongly consider areas such as lead generation and personalized client marketing and nurturing tools that early-career advisors highlight as areas of underinvestment. ”