Time-Starved U.S. Financial Advisors Considering Alternative Options, J.D. Power Finds
Stifel, Commonwealth Rank Highest in Satisfaction in Respective Segments
TROY, Mich.: 5 July 2023 — U.S. wealth management firms have an advisor engagement problem. Withmarkets struggling, compliance and administrative responsibilities growing and the advisor population
aging, many advisors are planning their own exit strategies. According to the J.D. Power 2023 U.S.
Financial Advisor Satisfaction Study,SM released today, nearly one-third (28%) of financial advisors say they
do not have enough time to spend with clients and 20% say they are five years or less away fromretirement.
“In difficult market conditions like the ones we’ve been experiencing for the past several years, great
investment advisors set themselves apart by proactively addressing their clients’ needs, delivering
comprehensive guidance and communicating clearly and frequently about the issues that matter most to
their clients,” said Craig Martin, executive managing director and head of wealth and lending intelligenceat J.D. Power. “Right now, many advisors are struggling to find the time to deliver the level of hands-on
service they know is critical to growing their business. They’re spending more time on administrative andcompliance-oriented tasks and, in many cases, they are starting to question whether their firm iscommitted to providing them with the support and resources they need to succeed.”
Following are some key findings of the 2023 study:•Not enough time to spend with clients: Nearly one-third (28%) of advisors say they do not haveenough time to spend with clients. Advisors falling into this category spend an average of 41%
more time each month than their peers on non-value-added tasks, such as compliance andadministrative duties. Net Promoter Scores® (NPS)1, a measure of advisor advocacy, among those
who say they do not have enough time to spend with clients are 27 points lower (on a -100 to 100scale) among employee advisors and 30 points lower among independent advisors when comparedwith advisors who say they do have enough time to spend with clients.

•One eye on the exit: With the average age of U.S. financial advisors being 56 years old, 20% ofadvisors indicate that they are five years or less away from retirement. In addition, 30% of employee
advisors and 28% of independent advisors say they “probably will” be working for their current firmin the next one to two years as opposed to saying they “definitely will.” This suggests that even if
advisors are not contemplating leaving the industry or their firm, many may become apathetic about
their situation. Among these two groups, overall satisfaction and NPS scores are significantly lower
than among advisors who say they are strongly committed to their firms, meaning they could beperceived as hampering efforts to attract and retain talent.

•Female advisors lean in: Among employee advisors, overall satisfaction and NPS scores are
significantly higher among female advisors than among their male counterparts. The overallsatisfaction score among female employee advisors is 637 (on a 1,000-point scale) and the average
NPS is 59. These compare with an average overall satisfaction score of 578 and an average NPS of
36 for male employee advisors. Among independent advisors there is not a material difference inoverall satisfaction and NPS scores between genders.

1Net Promoter System®, Net Promoter Score®, NPS®, and the NPS-related emoticons are registered trademarks of Bain & Company, Inc., Fred
Reichheld and Satmetrix Systems, Inc.

jdpower.com/business•Strong leadership, support and professional development matter: Among employee advisors who
are most likely to stay with their firm for the long term, the top reasons given for staying are astrong culture and company leadership. Other key factors influencing advisor retention andadvocacy include professional development support and training and technology.

Study Rankings
Among employee advisors, Stifel ranks highest in overall satisfaction with a score of 777. Raymond James& Associates (711) ranks second and Edward Jones (672) ranks third.
Among independent advisors, Commonwealth ranks highest in overall satisfaction with a score of798. Raymond James Financial Services (697) ranks second, while Ameriprise (664) and Cambridge (664)rank third in a tie.
The U.S. Financial Advisor Satisfaction Study was redesigned for 2023. It measures satisfaction among
both employee advisors (those who are employed by an investment services firm) and independentadvisors (those who are affiliated with a broker-dealer but operate independently) based on six key factors(in alphabetical order): compensation; firm leadership and culture; operational support; products andmarketing; professional development; and technology.
The study is based on responses from 4,183 employee and independent financial advisors and was fieldedfrom December 2022 through April 2023.
For more information about the U.S. Financial Advisor Satisfaction Study, visit
https://www.jdpower.com/business/resource/us-financial-advisor-satisfaction-study.
See the online press release at http://www.jdpower.com/pr-id/2023067.
About J.D. Power
J.D. Power is a global leader in consumer insights, advisory services and data and analytics. A pioneer inthe use of big data, artificial intelligence (AI) and algorithmic modeling capabilities to understandconsumer behavior, J.D. Power has been delivering incisive industry intelligence on customer interactions
with brands and products for more than 50 years. The world's leading businesses across major industries
rely on J.D. Power to guide their customer-facing strategies.
J.D. Power has offices in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. To learn more about the company’sbusiness offerings, visit JDPower.com/business. The J.D. Power auto shopping tool can be found atJDPower.com.
Media Relations Contacts
Geno Effler, J.D. Power; West Coast; 714-621-6224; media.relations@jdpa.com
John Roderick; East Coast; 631-584-2200; john@jroderick.com
About J.D. Power and Advertising/Promotional Rules: www.jdpower.com/business/about-us/pressrelease-info###NOTE: Two charts follow.

Year / Project / Study Name

J.D. Power
2023 U.S. Financial Advisor Satisfaction StudySM
Overall Advisor Satisfaction Index Ranking(Based on a 1,000-point scale)

Employee Advisors
Stifel777

Raymond James & Associates

711

Edward Jones

672

RBC Wealth Management

669

Ameriprise

660

Merrill

610

Segment Average

588

Morgan Stanley

580

Wells Fargo Advisors407

Source: J.D. Power 2023 U.S. Financial Advisor Satisfaction Study SM
Charts and graphs extracted from this press release for use by the media must be accompanied by a statement identifying
J.D. Power as the publisher and the study from which it originated as the source. Rankings are based on numerical scores,
and not necessarily on statistical significance. No advertising or other promotional use can be made of the information in th isrelease or J.D. Power survey results without the express prior written consent of J.D. Power.

Year / Project / Study Name

J.D. Power
2023 U.S. Financial Advisor Satisfaction StudySM
Overall Advisor Satisfaction Index Ranking(Based on a 1,000-point scale)

Independent Advisors
Commonwealth798

Raymond James Financial Services

697

Ameriprise

664

Cambridge

664

LPL Financial

629

Segment Average

626

Advisor GroupWells Fargo Advisors Financial Network593

446

Source: J.D. Power 2023 U.S. Financial Advisor Satisfaction Study SM
Charts and graphs extracted from this press release for use by the media must be accompanied by a statement identifying
J.D. Power as the publisher and the study from which it originated as the source. Rankings are based on numerical scores,
and not necessarily on statistical significance. No advertising or other promotional use can be made of the information in th isrelease or J.D. Power survey results without the express prior written consent of J.D. Power.