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Patrimonia 2024: what does this French trade fair tell us about the health of financial advice in Europe?
As rain poured outside, we held the Board Meeting of FECIF at the end of an exhibition hall in Lyon, France. In the hall behind us, some 8,000 participants (financial advisors, brokers and others) had gathered for two days in the annual Patrimonia trade fair – was this crowded hall a good sign for financial advice in Europe, or was it completely disconnected?
Strong display of French financial advice industry
Patrimonia is a vibrant beehive of a place, with thousands of financial advisors gathered for two days in Lyon. Part trade fair, part congress, it is the largest such professional gathering in France. It is the place where everybody meets everybody, and a good place to gauge the heath of the market.
Financial advice is apparently booming in France (as elsewhere on the Continent), which is not surprising: European households are saving more and more, as they worry about the impact of an ageing population on their financial security; and they are not getting the advice they need on such complex matters from high street banks – and not ready to take advice from the Internet either.
The French financial advice landscape has been consolidating rapidly in the past five or six years, as Private Equity firms have financed a wave of mergers, building a dozen or so consolidation platforms, firms with up to €20bn in assets under management. With over 6,000 firms registered...
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