In 2020, these top-performing firms earned revenue of $6,695,904, compared to average revenue of $5,657,525 at all other firms. This new “Top-Performing Firms” data cut reveals important clues about their management approaches and business strategies. This year, for the first time, the study presents a close-up of the 25% of surveyed firms that delivered the highest composite score of profitability and growth in 2020. Silver linings and an opportunity to learn from the best – top-performing firms have blazed a path to help inspire other advisory firms.

Productivity, as measured by revenue per staff member, reached $284,250 in 2020, the highest level ever recorded in this study. This was up from 7% in 2019, and may possibly signal a return to the double-digit revenue growth rates the study reported for 20.Īdditionally, gross and operating profit margins were 65.7% and 23.6%, respectively, maintaining a five- year trend. The median revenue growth rate for all firms was 8.4% in 2020. one in particular was both surprising and reassuring: advisory firms, on average, were able to drive growth in a range of areas despite the historic headwinds. The “perfect storm” of milestones ( the 30 th anniversary of the study, the start of a new decade, and a pandemic year) made for an interesting set of key findings. As the year ended, the question on everyone’s mind was: Have advisory firms thrived or merely survived?Īlthough there’s no definitive answer to this question, the newly released 2021 update to the InvestmentNews Pricing and Profitability Study may offer the clearest view of how advisory firms performed in 2020 across a number of critical metrics. Across the advisory industry, business processes have been reshaped radically, talent strategies have been revamped and technologies have been pushed to their limits and beyond.

For many of us, collaborating with team members and serving clients via electronic means have become routine.

When we think back to spring 2020, when our lives and business practices were jolted by a slew of new challenges, it’s truly remarkable just how far we’ve all come.

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