Forty-three percent of financial advisers are either at or are approaching retirement, according to new research from global analytics firm Cerulli Associates.

The danger is as the adviser population ages, broker/dealers and custodians are at risk of losing assets under management as advisers exit the industry, said Kenton Shirk, associate director at Cerulli. The independent channels are most at risk because they have the oldest advisers on average, he added.

The average age of financial advisers is 50.9 and 43% are over the age of 55 and nearly one-third of advisers fall into the 55 to 64 age range, Shirk said.

In Cerulli's latest report, Advisor Metrics 2013: Understanding and Addressing a More Sophisticated Population, the Boston-based firm focused on adviser trends and consumer information, including market sizing, adviser product use and preferences, and advice delivery. Data in the report is compiled from proprietary surveys from more than 8,000 financial advisers, registered investment advisers, asset managers and mutual fund and variable annuity wholesalers, the firm said.

“Broker/dealers continue to struggle to recruit new young advisers into the industry to offset those advisers who are nearing retirement,” Shirk continues. 

Cerulli suggested firms encourage adviser teams to bring in junior advisers and train them in a specific area of expertise in order to increase the success rate of these new recruits.

To guard against asset attrition, broker/dealers and custodians need to provide support and resources to help advisers tackle succession planning, and development of internal succession candidates, according to Cerulli.