July 15, 2025
Editor’s Note: Cogent Syndicated’s annual Advisor Brandscape® report has just published – read on for a sneak peek at the introduction to the report.
Advisor and investor sentiment continues to fluctuate with each news cycle, while broad concerns about stock market volatility, inflation and an economic slowdown persist. Despite continued uncertainty related to US economic conditions and global trade, as of May nearly half of advisors remain bullish with just one in five holding a bearish outlook. This enduring optimism creates an opportunity for asset managers as advisors seek growth through investments in actively managed US strategies and private markets in addition to tapping low-cost ETFs for core holdings.
Amid this period of unprecedented change and rapid innovation, offering continuous advisor support and guidance is more critical than ever. Firms have an opportunity to build trust with advisors by sharing their perspectives on current events and translating those perspectives into actionable guidance that advisors can use to inform client conversations. In addition to sharing thought leadership and market commentary via traditional modes such as websites and emails, webinars, social media and streaming play important roles in keeping advisors informed.
Advisors’ roles are evolving as they leverage new technologies for portfolio construction and spend more time on client acquisition and client management. Amid this shift, asset managers should strive to expand distribution for their model portfolios and portfolio construction services, while working to alleviate common concerns related to variety in investment options, fees and performance.
The largest asset managers continue to distinguish themselves at the top of the rankings. The market leaders offer strength and stability at the firm level and deliver on both partnership-related as well as product-related factors. At the same time, opportunities remain for others to provide differentiated products and services, particularly in the areas of alternative investments and active ETFs, as advisors seek superior returns and the ability to access a wider range of markets, sectors and strategies.
As always, Cogent is here to help firms understand their place in the market and identify optimal opportunities to grow. To learn more about the full Advisor Brandscape report, click below.
Meredith Lloyd Rice
Vice President, Cogent Syndicated
Meredith Lloyd Rice is a vice president in Escalent's Cogent Syndicated division. She manages the firm’s syndicated research products focused on the financial advisor market and is the lead author of the Advisor Brandscape® report. She has more than 15 years of experience managing research initiatives in the wealth management industry and has explored a wide range of business issues on the client and supplier side. Prior to joining Escalent, Meredith was an associate VP at Chatham Partners where she oversaw a team of researchers and managed the overall design, analysis and interpretation of large-scale studies for institutional financial services clients. Meredith earned an MBA from Thunderbird School of Global Management and a bachelor’s degree from Colgate University. She is a former collegiate rower who now gets her exercise chasing after her daughter and Clumber Spaniel.
