Donnie Ethier
Senior Director, Wealth Management Research & Consulting

About Donnie
Donnie Ethier is the head of Cerulli Associates’ Wealth Management practice. The Wealth Management practice is dedicated to helping clients proactively adapt to retail financial advice and planning trends, including the high-net-worth markets. Donnie oversees the practice’s annual research agenda and is a core contributor to consulting engagements, syndicated research, and the The Cerulli Edge—U.S. Advisor Edition.
Since joining Cerulli in 2012, Donnie has led several practices and research initiatives including the Wealth Management, High-Net-Worth, and Annuity practices. Prior to joining Cerulli, Donnie held roles at Sun Life Financial and Sun Life Financial Distributors for eight years focusing on market and distribution strategy, product development, competitive intelligence, and professional development.
Education
- Framingham State University
Bachelor of Arts with a concentration in Economics and Finance
Honor and Awards
- Seven-year member of IRI’s Retirement Research Committee
Areas of Expertise
- Managing a highly productive team of analysts that produces seven annual reports
- Helping clients navigate and solve unique consulting needs
- Drivers of change across the wealth management industry, including marketshare, total addressable markets, advisor migration, and consolidation
- Analysis of services, fees, and investment processes needed to competitively advise families, including next-gen investors
- Trends in practice management, technology, and financial planning
- Helping asset managers structure modern, resource-effective teams, and entry strategies
Recent Project Work
- Due diligence and evaluation of acquisition opportunities for private equity and FinTech firms
- Custom segmentations to create market entry strategies for a targeted advisor population
- Evaluation in product solutions and messaging of thought leadership content for large U.S. insurance companies
- Commissioned for custom, co-branded white papers and thought leadership collateral
Learn More about the U.S. Wealth Management Practice
Our Wealth Management practice is split into four distinct areas of coverage—offering top-down and bottom-up insights into the multi-faceted corners of the industry.