Dan Arnold finally plays LPL's RIA custody card hiring five senior RIA recruiters caught in Schwab-TD Ameritrade post-merger 'churn,' signaling possible direct challenge to the industry leader

Another article (excellent nonetheless) showcasing that the investment advisory industry is in a desperate state of stagnation. Nothing new - it's all about swapping assets, either by poaching accounts directly from other industry participants directly or via acquiring "producers" through "liftouts", or RIA & custodial acquisitions. Fees need to stay high (one way or another) to justify the staggering amount of marketing that goes into swapping these assets back and forth between firms year after year. Yet, the numbers show that only about 20-25% of U.S. households have $200k or more of investment assets - meaning that virtually all the industry's marketing dollars go into serving this minority subset of the population. Those are funds that aren't used to make the client experience any better. Doesn't it occur to anyone in the space that there's a real business to be had in serving the 60% of the population that are almost completely neglected. Yeah, we've gotta rethink the offering to incorporate the debt management, financial planning, and multiple custodial relationships these prospects have (owing to held-away 401(k)s, annuities, IRAs, etc.). We've also gotta figure out how to incentivize wealth formation for these aspiring affluent. But the opportunity is still just sitting there a decade after Wealthfront and Betterment "democratized" the industry. Oh, and btw, the technology is available to completely change the game with new subscription-based business models. Gamestop should be a warning shot to the industry - the status quo is living on borrowed time. Things are going to change whether we like it or not and it's time to start rethinking what the next generation of investors really want - and how to get it to them. Yet, as an industry, our most respected players focus on swapping assets back and forth like a professional league of "Go Fish" card players - year in, year out. Seems a bit out of kilter; no?