Insurer-Affiliated Broker-Dealers at a Crossroads
Report Summary
Insurer-Affiliated Broker-Dealers at a Crossroads
Can Insurer-Affiliated Broker-Dealers Remain Relevant In The Investments Business, Or Should They Reassess And Divest?
Boston, June 20, 2013 - The insurer-affiliated broker-dealer space has experienced considerable consolidation in recent years, largely driven by insurance companies' renewed focus on distributing insurance products. Other factors that have insurance companies reassessing their ownership of broker-dealer subsidiaries include the considerable expense of competing in the investment business, the need to support complex operations across a variety of business platforms, and modest client assets in a business ancillary to insurance-product distribution. In short, insurance companies find themselves at a crossroads: Should they ramp up their investments business, keep broker-dealer subsidiaries as a complementary sideline, or divest brokerage subsidiaries?
Written by Alois Pirker, Aite Group wealth management research director, and Bill Butterfield, analyst, this Impact Report is based on a Q1 2013 Aite Group survey of 176 financial advisors as well as 2009 and 2013 Aite Group interviews with executives at seven leading insurer-affiliated broker-dealers. This report focuses on the challenges insurer-affiliated broker-dealers face in remaining competitive in the investments business and identifies common areas of operations and technology applications slated for improvement.
This 39-page Impact Report contains 19 figures and three tables. Clients of Aite Group's Wealth Management service can download the report.