Scott Sommer

Community Leader

It's no longer boom times – it's time for serious Wealth Management

A "lost decade" from the years 2000 – 2009 in U.S. stock market investment returns has placed immense pressure on the wealth management businesses of mid-size banks. Revenue has been pinched by declining asset values, investment clients are angered and worried by recent investment performance, and the regulation and scrutiny in this business just keep piling up. At the same time, the discrediting of both Wall Street and self-directed investing during our economic crisis has created new opportunities for mid-size banks with a trusted brand in wealth services. Innovations in brokerage and asset-management platforms provide new product opportunities, and increasing usage of the Web to deliver wealth management information provides opportunities to enhance service and improve operating efficiencies. However, getting from today’s wealth management environment to a more innovative, proactive and efficient operation will take hard work. Strategic partnerships, technology initiatives, training, recruitment and incentive plan alignment for both sales and cross-sale referrals will also need serious attention. Gaining the credibility as a sophisticated investment manager and trusted advisor will take a lot more than simply updating the brochures. Is your bank ready to accelerate the development of this business?

Participants in The Cornerstone Report's Wealth Management Community will receive important benchmarks around the productivity of their trust, investment management, brokerage and insurance operations. We will help you compare business mix and spreads with peers and understand whether you are staying up with the pack in the deployment of technology. We will also provide best practice tips for growing the wealth management business and better integrating sales and service efforts into the core bank.

We hope you join us in participating in this industry-leading resource for achieving high performance in your wealth management operations.

Trust will determine who wins and loses in the wealth management business going forward. Mid-size banks have the opportunity to carve out a valuable niche now before unexpected innovators emerge. We hope you will join with us in the creation of this industry-leading resource for achieving a new, high performance Wealth Management business at your bank.

Below are select metrics that will be collected for the survey and used, upon completion of the study, to benchmark your institution against median, 25th percentile and 75th percentile study findings.