While they're concerned about regulatory changes and new forms of competition, many independent registered advisors believe they'll see assets under management grow at an ever faster pace in the months ahead than in 2014.
That's according to the latest TD Ameritrade Institutional RIA Sentiment Survey, which noted that 63 percent of RIAs added clients over the previous six months, at an average growth rate of 14 percent.
About two-thirds of RIAs saw an increase in revenue, while assets under management increased by 17 percent on average, the survey said.
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"The steady movement of assets into the independent wealth management channel shows no signs of slowing," said Tom Nally, president, TD Ameritrade Institutional.
That helps to explain why 32 percent of RIAs believe that their firms will grow assets even faster than they did in the past six months.
That said, 17 percent are pessimistic about 2015, a number that's three times as high as last year.
Worrying RIAs most: regulatory changes and emerging tech-based alternatives to traditional fee-based services — including robo advisors.
On the other hand, advisors arewinning new clients from banks and other RIAs at least twice the rate they did in 2012, TD Ameritrade said.
Also read: RIAs projected to soon control 28% of assets
Heightened competition from other sources also has the potential to stifle RIA growth. Broker-dealers promoting fee-based services are seen as a top threat, as are emerging national branded RIA companies, and, of course, those do-it-yourself online investing offerings.
Yet while they're closely watching those robo-advisors, 38 percent said robos are a threat to the RIA industry, compared to just 18 percent who said they're a threat to their own firms.
The survey also found that RIAs are filling client portfolios mostly with U.S. equities (which make up 53 percent of client assets; that's 23 percent more than they used in 2010). While fixed-income makes up another 25 percent of client holdings and cash 9 percent, just 9 percent is held in international holdings; that's a decrease of two-thirds. The remaining balance is in alternatives.
Just over 300 independent registered investment advisors with firm assets under management averaging $232 million participated in the survey.
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