Plan to Practice: Rethinking the Bridge to Wealth

Nearly every wirehouse, aggregator, independent, and recordkeeper says it is building a "bridge to wealth," but how far along is the industry, really? With just under $14 trillion in DC plan assets and nearly $1 trillion expected to roll over in 2026, the opportunity is clear. The model for capturing it is not.

Join Morningstar Retirement for a look at new research conducted by Cerulli Associates, based on a survey of 338 financial advisors and 22 interviews with wealth manager home-office executives and advisors. The findings show a wide gap between strategy and execution: more than 90% of advisors place at least a moderate priority on growing their wealth practice, yet only 10.2% of their wealth clients come from DC plan relationships.

We'll walk through where DC specialists, wealth-retirement hybrids, and wealth advisors stand today, what is holding them back, and what an "ideal state" bridge requires. We'll also discuss why technology, participant data, and cross-industry partnership may be the most transformative pieces of the puzzle.