Bing Waldert, a director at Cerulli Associates, anticipates that the next wave of consolidation will likely happen at “a far more local level,” with large individual advisory practices becoming the beneficiaries of advisor retirements.

“Ground-level consolidation to mega teams is already beginning,” he said. “Other distribution channels are further along the path to localized consolidation and provide a model for how the industry could evolve.”

He added: “Within the third-party administrator and structured settlement industries, owner-operators are beginning to sell their businesses as part of a succession plan, creating locally, regionally, and even nationally dominant franchises. These firms' centralized, shared services model provides a framework for future financial advisor consolidation.”

Cerulli's insights echo findings from a report by KPMG in June, which said that newer entrants to the asset management space – free from the burden of legacy issues and outdated systems - will thrive as the industry “radically transforms” over the next 15 years.

The report – entitled Investing in the Future - predicts that by 2030 the client base of a typical asset manager will be “completely different” to what it looks like today as Generation X approaches retirement, Generation Y matures and middle classes in emerging countries - notably China, Mexico, India and Nigeria – grow. But KPMG warns that the majority of business models today “will not be fit for purpose.”