The results of Ensemble’s Pulse of the Industry 2023: Mid-Year Survey are in and the message from participating firms is it’s time to focus on fundamentals. When asked to rank priorities, the top three areas that rose to the top were: growing the business, investing in people and improving client service.
Following are additional key takeaways:
- Growth Is Our Biggest Weakness: Firms targeted 10.0% growth in 2023, but at least in terms of new client relationships, the actual results are trending toward a disappointing increase of only 6.6%.
- The Organic Growth Challenge Applies to All Sizes: Firms of all sizes are missing their organic growth targets, but small firms, perhaps taking advantage of their smaller denominator (beginning assets under management [AUM]), are growing faster, at an annualized rate of 13.4%. The largest firms are moving much slower, at an annualized rate of 4.2%.
- Hiring Continues…Cautiously: Forty percent of advisory firms have increased headcount, and 50% have opened new positions in their firm. While resignations continue, they seem to be at normal levels.
Interested in learning more? You can register to receive the full survey report here: