Statements by the CEO of the Excellence Group Maurizio Primanni on ‘Affari & Finanza’ – the insert of La Repubblica
Financial consultancy: the focus is on young people
Between 2019 and 2024 there was a 27.5% increase in professionals under 30
by Adriano Bonafede
Time to rejuvenate the pool of financial advisors. The new watchword of advisory networks and banks is to hire more young people, train them and above all help them grow alongside older ones, especially those close to retirement and more available to a “transmission of knowledge”. Because one thing is certain: many advisors are now in the third phase of life, even if they remain highly sought after by the market. Every time a banking consolidation looms, many of them move, along with their portfolios, to other shores. One of the networks that have benefited most from these transfers in recent months has been Mediobanca Premier (born from an internal restructuring), whose advisors have risen from 429 to 1,152 in the period from 2020 to 2024. An upward movement that has brought the group to seventh place among the networks with a percentage growth of 168.5 percent. But in the period 2020-2024 practically all networks have grown in number, supporting a capital that reached 909 billion at the end of last year (data relating only to Assoreti members).
Among the big five, the percentage increase of Finecobank was notable, with a 15.2% increase that made it exceed 3,000 consultants; but also that of Banca Generali (+12.7 percent). The increase in the workforce of Banca Mediolanum was more modest (+7.9%) but it must be considered that it started from 4,089 consultants and that at the end of 2024 it reached 4,410 subjects, second only to the Intesa Group. The latter has an army of consultants of 6,747 units, increased by 5.7% from 2020. The growth was above all the Intesa Sp Private Banking component (up 20.5%), reaching 1,115 units, and Fideuram (up 7.4% to 5,110 people). Zurich Italy Bank is the only one that, after the acquisition of the Deutsche Bank network in 2022, has seen a slight decline in numbers: minus 2.7% to 1,060 units, after an initial loss of consultants with good portfolios (as always happens with every change of ownership) and a subsequent “hunt” for the best subjects on the market.
Today, however, the banking scenario is affected by such great movements that the effect is, from the point of view of the networks, a slowdown in the changes of allegiance. Also for this reason (in addition to the rejuvenation) greater attention is paid to young people and how to attract them. The data processed by the Ocf, the Supervisory Body and maintenance of the register of consultants, already photograph a significant increase in young people. In the age group of those under 30, between 2019 and 2024 there was an increase of 27.5 percent. They were 933 and now they are 2,714. There has also been an increase between 30 and 39 years of age: consultants of this age have gone from 5,086 to 5,447. Increases also for independent consultants, not connected to any network or bank: under 30 years old they rose by 13.4%, while between 30 and 39 years old by 24.8 percent.
There is also another novelty in financial consulting, the return of banks. “According to our analyses – says Maurizio Primanni, CEO of Excellence Consulting – from 2019 to 2023 the new consultants registered in the register are more closely linked to banks and not to networks”. This is a change of scenery. Until now, banks had operated mainly with their own bankers that customers met in branches, leaving the off-site activity to the networks, almost all of which are banking or insurance-related. “Now – adds Primanni – banks see a benefit in off-site consulting activity, more appreciated by private customers, and not only linked to the presence of branches in the area. There are also risks: sending employees to the area increases the probability that they come into contact with other networks, often better equipped for off-site consulting”.
