The Pulse of North America
June 24, 2025
New Cerulli research produced in partnership with Edward Jones explores what’s in the hearts and on the minds of investors across North America as they strive to achieve a financially fulfilled life.
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Despite recent market volatility and economic uncertainty, 79% of U.S. investors, and 73% of Canadian investors believe that they are currently on track to achieve financial fulfillment. This white paper uncovers investors’ short- and long-term goals as they strive to live financially fulfilled lives, their greatest obstacles, and the evolving role financial advisors play in guiding their financial futures.
Key Findings
Despite Financial Anxiety, Optimism Persists
Concerns about inflation, taxes, housing, and healthcare are rising, yet most investors remain optimistic about achieving key financial goals, including retirement, leaving an estate, improving cash flow, and travel. Working with a financial advisor and having a financial plan significantly boosts this sense of optimism.
Financial Fulfillment Is Centered on Freedom and Security
For many individuals, financial fulfillment means living without money-related stress, having the freedom to pursue passions, and spending time with family. While financial goals and barriers differ by generation, many are willing to adjust spending habits, reduce debt, and improve financial literacy to feel more in control of their financial future.
Navigating the Great Wealth Transfer
As the pace of wealth transfer accelerates, financial advisors play a key role in guiding families through the transition by fostering open communications and engaging the next generation early.
Advisor Relationships Are Evolving
With the growing demand for comprehensive advice, financial advisors are expanding their roles beyond investment management and retirement planning to offer a more holistic approach, often serving as behavioral coaches to help clients manage uncertainty and stay focused on long-term goals.
Canada Edition:
Measure retail investor and financial advisor sentiment in the Canadian wealth management market.
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SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS
Meet Our Team
Asher Cheses
Director
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Asher Cheses
Director
Asher is a Director in the Wealth Management practice, specializing in research and consulting related to high-net-worth investors and advisory firms, including multi-family offices, RIAs, broker/dealers, private banks, and trust companies. As the co-head of Cerulli’s Wealth Management practice, Asher leads a team of analysts dedicated to developing data and insights to support Cerulli’s published research and consulting business. In his role, Asher is also responsible for leading various strategic consulting engagements, focusing on key areas including growth strategies, practice management, service expansion, M&A due diligence, product development, and distribution strategies.
Full biography here.
Stephen Caruso
Associate Director
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Stephen Caruso
Associate Director
Stephen is a Associate Director in the Wealth Management practice where he leads research into the registered investment advisor (RIA) channels. As part of his research, he is the author of Cerulli’s U.S. RIA Marketplace report and has written on topics including private equity investment in RIAs and the role staff play in RIAs’ pursuit of scale.
Full biography here.
Brendan Powers, CFA
Director
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Brendan Powers, CFA
Director
Brendan is a member of Cerulli’s Product Development practice, which focuses on trends related to asset managers’ product development and management functions. This broadly includes assessing the opportunity for product development, evaluating emerging product trends, and understanding distribution and product positioning for investment products across retail and institutional channels.
Prior to joining Cerulli, Brendan worked as a Senior Client Associate at Eaton Vance Management, focusing primarily on the firm’s exchange funds.
Full biography here.
James Tamposi, CFA
Associate Director
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James Tamposi, CFA
Associate Director
James (Jack) is the lead author of The Cerulli Report—North American Institutional Markets and sets the agenda for The Cerulli Edge—U.S. Institutional Edition. Jack has led U.S. market entry strategy and U.S. institutional pricing optimization projects, supporting both foreign and domestic asset managers. During his time at Cerulli, he has contributed to reports across Cerulli’s suite of institutional research, focusing on topics such as insurance general accounts, outsourced chief investment officers, alternative investments, and U.S. subadvisory.
Prior to joining Cerulli, Jack worked as a Research Associate for Chatham Partners.
Full biography here.
Bing Waldert
Managing Director, U.S. Research
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Bing Waldert
Managing Director, U.S. Research
Bing Waldert leads Cerulli’s U.S. Research team comprising seven research practices that cover all elements of the U.S. asset management, wealth management, and retirement markets. He has authored Cerulli reports on the wealth management industry, high-net-worth market, the annuity industry, and retirement markets. He is a frequent board-level and C-suite speaker and well-regarded industry thought leader. He has spoken in front of the Investment Company Institute (ICI), the Asset Management Association of China (AMAC), the Investments and Wealth Institute (IWI), and the Money Management Institute (MMI).
He has worked on client projects on emerging manager expansion strategies, independent registered investment advisors (RIAs), multi-family offices (MFOs), investment platforms, and the outsourced chief investment officer (OCIO) industry. In addition, he has advised multiple private equity firms on acquisitions in the wealth management space.
Full biography here.
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