The Bank of New York Mellon's Pershing Advisor Solutions Unit Releases Benchmarking Study Outlining Trends in Managing Human Cap
December 08 2008 - 8:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
JERSEY CITY, N.J., Dec. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Pershing
Advisor Solutions LLC, a subsidiary of The Bank of New York Mellon
Corporation, released an independent study today with
InvestmentNews and HNW, Inc., entitled A View From the Top 2008:
Trends in Managing Human Capital. The study identifies trends in
human capital management and offers critical insights into how
registered investment advisory (RIA) firms can better attract,
retain and develop talented professionals. The report also provides
RIAs with benchmarks against Pershing Advisor Solutions' previous
human capital study with HNW, Inc., published in 2006. Key findings
from the study include: -- Recruiting Talent has Become as
Challenging as Finding New Clients - Attracting, retaining and
developing talent should be high priorities for any advisory firm
that wishes to enhance its long-term value. Most respondents (60%)
of this year's study said that finding qualified professionals was
just as challenging as finding new clients. This is a marked
difference from 2006 when finding new clients was considered far
more difficult than recruiting talented advisors or managing
employees. Many firms also report that retaining employees has
grown as a key challenge (33% in 2008 versus 25% in 2006). The
majority (63%) of firms reported they see a shortage of talent
within the industry and 69% percent consider relationship managers
the hardest job to fill this year, followed by operations managers
(61%.) The toughest job to fill in 2006, portfolio managers, is
considered one of the easiest in 2008; -- Best Practices for
Recruiting Talent Continue to Evolve - The study shows a firm's
compensation package is increasingly less effective at recruiting
talent than are intangible lifestyle factors like corporate
culture, work/life balances and public reputation. The study found
that only 45% of firms consider base salary an effective recruiting
tool in 2008, compared with 60% in 2006. In contrast, 77% consider
a firm's reputation the top recruiting tool, versus 69% who
previously held that view; -- Firms are Increasingly Focusing on
Employee Career Development - All RIA firms need to effectively
nurture the ongoing career development of their key employees with
a formalized reporting structure and guidance from a more
experienced employee. The study found 80% of firms are now giving
employees periodic performance reviews, compared with 72% of firms
in 2006. 64% say they place as high an emphasis on employee
satisfaction as they do on client satisfaction. Only 40% held that
view in 2006; and -- Client Segmentation Is Critical to Effective
Time Management - Time management topped the list of challenges
reported by RIA firms, replacing recruiting. The time crunch for
all firms is clearly growing. 86% cite it as a top challenge this
year, compared with 68% in 2006. A majority of firms (57%) are
addressing this challenge by segmenting their clients so that they
can target discrete groups with appropriate services, staff and
differentiated pricing levels. Client segmentation has increased
since the 2006 study, when only about half of all firms segmented
their clients. Focusing firm resources on particular client niches,
as opposed to a one-size-fits-all strategy, is clearly a response
to time constraints and the growing pressures on firm
profitability. Firms are also increasingly outsourcing
labor-intensive tasks such as estate management and tax
preparation. Mark Tibergien, chief executive officer of Pershing
Advisor Solutions, said, "Human capital management is the most
critical issue facing advisory firms. RIA firms need talented,
knowledgeable and energetic professionals in business development,
marketing, portfolio management, client relationship management,
service and operations to grow their practices into larger
businesses. Nurturing the talent that already exists within a firm
is crucial for maintaining success and for achieving even greater
success in the future." Stacey Haefele, president of HNW, Inc.,
added, "Profitability concerns among advisory firms have
skyrocketed since 2006. Since this study was conducted prior to
some of the steepest declines and volatility in the markets, we can
safely surmise that client portfolio losses will only serve to
heighten profitability concerns. Firms need to place a higher
premium on maximizing human capital and work at peak efficiency in
order to succeed in the current market environment." A View From
the Top 2008: Trends in Managing Human Capital is a component of
Pershing's Ideas Without LimitsTM thought-leadership program. The
study was commissioned by Pershing Advisor Solutions LLC and
independently executed by HNW, Inc., and InvestmentNews. The data
gathered represent responses from 308 participants who submitted
answers to a 72-question online survey fielded May 21 to June 20,
2008. The research uses quantitative data to determine the
correlation between certain practices related primarily to the
hiring and retention of employees and various success criteria.
Respondents were principals of fee-based or dually registered
practices with a minimum of $50 million in assets under management.
Pershing Advisor Solutions LLC (member FINRA/SIPC) is an affiliate
of Pershing LLC and a leading provider of financial business
solutions to independent, fee-based registered investment advisors
and dually registered advisors working in conjunction with many of
Pershing LLC's introducing broker-dealer customers. Pershing LLC
(member FINRA/NYSE/SIPC), a subsidiary of The Bank of New York
Mellon Corporation, is committed to delivering dependable
operational support, robust trading services, flexible technology,
an expansive array of investment solutions, practice management
support and service excellence. Through an innovative custody
platform, Pershing Advisor Solutions delivers superior expertise
and scalable and customizable solutions to help its customers
manage and grow their fee-based businesses. Additional information
is available at http://www.pershingadvisorsolutions.com/. The Bank
of New York Mellon Corporation is a global financial services
company focused on helping clients manage and service their
financial assets, operating in 34 countries and serving more than
100 markets. The company is a leading provider of financial
services for institutions, corporations and high-net-worth
individuals, providing superior asset management and wealth
management, asset servicing, issuer services, clearing services,
and treasury services through a worldwide client-focused team. It
has $22.4 trillion in assets under custody and administration,
approximately $1.1 trillion in assets under management and services
approximately $12 trillion in outstanding debt. Additional
information is available at http://www.bnymellon.com/. DATASOURCE:
The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation CONTACT: Barbara Gallo of
Pershing Advisor Solutions LLC, +1-201-413-2930, Web Site:
http://www.bnymellon.com/ http://www.pershingadvisorsolutions.com/
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