Just like an average person who ages, an older financial adviser is more likely to show signs of aging. Red flags that a financial adviser might be suffering from senior moments: forgetfulness, a tendency to repeat things, a disregard for following instructions. If you are concerned, bring attention to the branch manager or to compliance, or, if they don’t do anything, to the authority. An increasing problem that seems to go unreported most of the time, but in the next few decades be prepared to see these declining mental skills claims increase.
51 is the average age of financial advisers and 43 percent are older than 55, according to Cerulli Associates. Many are planning to retire in the next decade and it is a struggle to recruit young advisers to offset those retiring from the industry. The North American Securities Administrators Association are aware of the financial services industry’s continuing concerns regarding the aging of advisers and have begun addressing the issue with proposing a rule requiring state-registered investment advisers to have succession and business continuity plans in place.