InDepth

What are the top strategies and priorities of the best of the best in the bank wealth management channel?

A well-rounded approach wins the day with the annual bank advisor ranking. No one-trick ponies allowed, as multiple metrics count toward advisors' scores, including AUM, production, growth and fee business.

Here is the second segment of the Top 100 Bank Advisors. The top 25, as well as those who ranked 51-100, are included in the corresponding slideshows.

Here we present the third segment of the Top 100 Bank Advisors. You can see the top 50, as well as those who ranked 76-100, in our corresponding slideshows.

Here we conclude the fourth and final segment of the Top 100 Bank Advisors. You can see all the other rankings (1-75) in our corresponding slideshows.

The top advisor this year, James Hare from Pinnacle Bank and Raymond James, views himself as the Warren Buffett of Nashville.

It's been a tough year for bank wealth management, but these bosses kept their advisors on track and boosted business along the way.

Straight from the horses' mouths: the biggest management challenges and business objectives from the Top 25 Program Managers.

Here we present the program managers who topped the list in each metric used to determine the main Top 25 ranking.

"Being a program manager allows me the opportunity to be the player/coach and the time to help others get better at what they do,” says Pinnacle Bank's Gary Collier.

Given current market forces — the commoditization of advice being just one — you may be facing elimination if you continue business as usual. Here's a guide to getting on the right track.

Meet the best of the best in the bank channel. Read about how they approach their jobs, how they serve clients and how they made the list.

A well-rounded approach wins the day with the annual advisor ranking. No one-trick ponies allowed, as multiple metrics count toward advisors' scores, including AUM, production, growth and fee business.

Here is the second segment of the Top 100 Bank Advisors. Check out the top 25, as well as those who ranked 51-100, in separate slideshows.

Here we present the third segment of the Top 100 Bank Advisors. You can see the top 50, as well as those who ranked 76-100, in our corresponding slideshows.

Here we conclude with the fourth and final segment of the Top 100 Bank Advisors. You can see all the other rankings (1-75) in our corresponding slideshows.

The top advisor this year, Brock Kidd from Pinnacle Bank, focuses on well-heeled clients and many of Nashville’s high-profile musicians.

Once advisors have this conversation with clients, it can turn into a powerful referral source, says Rob Kron, head of investment and retirement education at BlackRock.

If retirement is abstract to clients, ask specific questions to make it more real to them, such as: “Where will you be living? What does your house look like? What are you doing?"

More than half of retirees said they were not at all interested in longevity insurance, according to a recent survey. Surprised? Take a look at some of the other results.

Advisors must contend not only with the emotional and psychological issues facing their clients. They must also navigate complex family relationships, while juggling a slew of financial challenges that don't always have easy fixes.

With fewer associate training programs, young bank advisers need to take the initiative to find a mentor and cultivate referrals.

There aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done, and it’s easy to get distracted by all the things that come up unexpectedly during the day. But successful FAs are able to minimize distractions and focus on critical tasks.

Becoming a top producer and a respected professional isn’t an endpoint, it's a process. And successful advisors, who are always thinking five years ahead, have a definite plan to get there.

Never sell your clients on your institution. You should be the face of the organization to them, says career consultant Rick Rummage. He talks to Editor Lee Conrad about that and other tips on how advisers should resign.

The most important consideration when changing firms is not to tell anyone, other than your spouse, business coach or consultant. An advisor should never mention a move being contemplated.

Behavioral economics, essentially a combination of economics and psychology, is tailor-made to help straighten irrational decisions when it comes to portfolio construction.

A majority of advisers (60%) want to diversify using the same investment vehicles regardless of market conditions, yet 27% say today's market makes diversification harder with current asset allocation.

Taking a 20-year outlook is the best way to make gains, says Lipper number cruncher Tom Roseen.

There are ways to prompt a more accurate “risk answer.” Instead of framing losses as a percent, use dollar terms to drive the point home.

Bankers and analysts are saying the fiduciary rule may weed out all but the top-tier advisers. Should you be worried?

While most of the wealth management industry migrates to the higher net worth clients, CUNA sticks with its credit union base. In fact, it’s looking to expand its footprint.

The long merger trend among the broker-dealers behind the bank channel is likely over, and new banks are not joining the channel in a major way. Where will TPMs find growth?

More advisers usually means more overall revenue, but not always. See how the TPMs compare on both metrics.

Spoiler alert: LPL has the highest AUM. That's no surprise, but where do the others rank? Scroll through to find out.

Read it straight from the horses' mouths: the biggest management challenges and business objectives from the Top 25 Program Managers.

Advisers will be challenged to evolve to remain successful in the new age of cheaper investing, shifting demographics and (at some point) a fiduciary standard, says Tim Coleman of Centier Bank.

Commission, salary or bonus: Who gets what, how and where? We've got it all here.

A breakdown of adviser comp by bank asset size. See how you compare.

Using only monetary rewards as the sole means of motivation is a missed opportunity to spur advisers to greater levels of production and productivity.

Compensation is just part of the consideration for an adviser to go independent.

If rule isn’t scaled back, the lower tier of advisers has a rough road ahead. Their “future isn’t what it was in the past.”

It’s not just about consumer advocates and advisers; there’s another side to the issue that’s not getting the attention it deserves.

After investing millions in new platforms and preparing thousands of advisers, executives say they've come too far to reverse course.

Take a look at some of the best comments from your industry peers on the fiduciary rule.

We've selected 8 up-and-comers who we feel are on track to become one of our Top 100 bank advisers down the road.

Information overload is a major problem, say young bank advisers. See how they help their clients make sense of it all.

Most banks still have a very low percentage of their customers who are also brokerage clients. This presents the biggest opportunity for advisers.

Today’s young winners are concerned about the fiduciary rule, and rightly so since it could potentially land them in court.

When advisers quit, banks lose revenue even when they hire replacements. The present value of that lost revenue averaged $2 million, according to a study by Kehrer Bielan.

Advisers at a bank may have to shift to another channel for a few years before retirement, says contributor Rick Rummage.

The bank implemented the program to compensate advisers as they transition their books to other advisers, while ensuring that their clients are left in good hands.

Succession planning is thwarted by most bankers' high-handed attitude that they own the client relationship. Realities on the ground are more nuanced.

A well-rounded approach wins the day with the annual advisor ranking. No one-trick ponies allowed, as multiple metrics count toward advisors' scores, including AUM, production, growth and fee business.

See the most popular ways for Americans to reduce their tax bills.

A combination of slightly higher FICA taxes, plus further increases in the earnings cap, could fix the program for the next 75 years.

An expert discusses last-minute strategies, as well as evergreen tips, to reduce the tax bill your clients are facing.

The new rules impose tax liability on the partnership rather than the partners, which is a major departure from treating a firm as a pass-through entity.

Previous life stages all have compelling examples and clear stories that guide and engage us through the decades. Retirement, not so much.

Some bright spots for advisers: A surprising number of boomers have not begun saving yet for retirement; and millennials will need decades of advice.

Clients may not even know the right questions. You need to tell them, and provide the answers.

Recent research shows how advisers work and how they like to communicate.

Diversification is a key word in the financial lexicon. But it is neither well-defined nor desirable in and of itself. What investors really need is efficiency.

Next generation retirement planning combines Social Security and portfolio withdrawal strategies.

The fiduciary rule, combined with technological advances, will create pressure to compress fees to a degree that could threaten advisers’ lifestyles.

Tax issues and controlling cash flow are just 2 qualities of these investments, says LPL's Thomas Zgliniec in this Q&A.

It’s about more than just location. Expenses, for instance, vary widely; hotels require ongoing maintenance, cell towers not so much, says contributor Peter Greenberger

Advisers and portfolio managers will soon need to pay more attention to real estate investing as it enters the mainstream.

Specialty REITs, which can include a wide range of investments such as cell towers and college dorms, are on a tear this year. Check out the performance of other major categories.

The industrywide gain in fee income is a welcome development given the new fiduciary rule--see how firms are preparing for new regulations as well as new competition.

The adviser's job is about to get harder, and some old dogs are going to have to learn new tricks in order to survive.

A longstanding obstacle is getting banks to recognize the opportunities in the wealth business, says Arthur Osman, executive vice president and institution service business consultant at LPL.

The fiduciary rule flips wealth management on its head, especially in the bank channel. Smaller books will be just one response at Cetera.

See which TPM tops the list for both highest production-per-adviser and highest fee income.

The firm's relatively modest-sized army of advisers is more productive than any of its competitors. In 2015, the average Raymond James adviser produced $387,733, beating Cetera, its closest rival, by more than $56,000.

These top bosses have kept their advisers focused during a difficult year for the bank channel and increased business to boot. Read about their strategies and insights

Program managers bridge the gap between banks and their advisers and today they're facing more challenges than ever. The best look for champions, call meetings and talk a lot.

Honest communication can make a big difference in preventing people from quitting during management upheavals.

Hiring advisers with a variety of backgrounds can result in a well-rounded team. Everyone is unique, but nobody can do what a group can accomplish together, says one program manager.

The robo "threat" may work itself out, says one expert, but that could take a long time. Plus, it's not the only pressure bank advisors are facing. We'll offer more details on these demands in the days to come.

Here are eight bank advisors that we've identified as having the right characteristics for ongoing success in the industry.

While most of the channel has not begun to grapple with succession planning, the biggest banks have begun to chalk up successes in certain areas, and even a handful of small banks are seeing some progress.

Change happens when it has to. For bank advisors, this means they'll get succession plans--eventually.

The program allows retiring advisors and their junior brokers to work out their own financial arrangements during the first two years of the five-year program.

The advisor often feels as if the bank's viewpoint is this: “Thanks for bringing us a revenue stream, now leave and be thankful we even gave you a job.”

Bankers managing advisors is akin to compliance officers managing salespeople. One is constantly wanting to say “No,” the other “Yes.”

Commissions, motivating factors, retention rates and top level payouts; it’s all here.

We sifted through a stack of nominations and selected these eight bank advisors as up-and-comers in the industry.

A few banks started paying their advisors by salary years ago--now others are considering the same.

Veteran bank advisors are being lured away by big brokerages and finding new talent to take their place is challenging.