What kehrer group does

Kehrer Group is a privately-held research and consulting firm serving the U.S. bank and credit union investment services industry. The firm operates a proprietary benchmarking database, maintained since 1991, that tracks performance metrics across approximately 3,000 financial-institution-based firms and provides advisor-level granularity on roughly 3,000 advisors from 175 banks and credit unions. Its product portfolio includes annual benchmarking studies segmented by institution type (Banks with 25+ Advisors, Regional & Community Bank, Credit Union, Profitability), compensation studies, due diligence reports on third-party broker dealers (Ameriprise, Cetera, Infinex, LPL Financial, Raymond James), the Influencers Poll quarterly industry survey, and commissioned research on topics such as margin management and financial planning adoption. Distribution is increasingly anchored by the Kehrer Key platform, a secure profile-based gateway introduced in 2024 to modernize survey access and support forthcoming surveys on wealth management integration and licensed banker programs.

The firm monetizes primarily through annual study subscriptions priced at $250-$2,000 depending on study and institution size, compensation studies priced $500-$2,000, $500 due diligence reports, and sponsored events including the invitational Top Directors Awards ceremony and multiple Study Groups (Spring/Fall Leadership, Developing Holistic Advisors, Integrating Investment and Wealth Management). A growing share of revenue comes from commissioned research funded by broker dealer sponsors (Ameriprise, Cetera, Raymond James, LPL, CUSO Financial Services, CBSI) and direct consulting engagements covering due diligence, growth consulting, thought leadership, and strategic alliances. A separate ecosystem tier includes an Influencers network of about two dozen industry leaders and free content distribution via the Kehrer Group Highlighter blog, used to drive top-of-funnel engagement and survey participation. Pricing is tiered between Financial Institutions and Product & Service Providers, with the latter typically paying 2x for the same study.

Kehrer Group is led by founder Dr. Kenneth Kehrer (PhD, Yale) along with family members Tim Kehrer (Director of Research), Christine Kehrer (Strategic Direction & Technology), and Erika Kehrer (Operations), plus communications lead Lacey Taplin. The firm traces its origins to Kenneth Kehrer Associates (founded 1985), passed through a Kehrer-LIMRA period after the 2006 survey-business sale, and re-emerged under the Kehrer Bielan and Kehrer Group brands. The company is self-funded with no disclosed external capital, operates from Chapel Hill, NC, and maintains a 1-10 employee footprint serving a domestic-only market.

Name

kehrer group

Legal name

Kehrer Group

Website

https://kehrergroup.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Kehrer Group is a Chapel Hill-based research and consulting firm that operates a proprietary benchmarking database covering 3,000+ banks and credit unions offering investment services, selling annual studies, compensation surveys, consulting, and the Top Directors Awards program to financial institutions and broker dealer sponsors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Financial Services Research & Benchmarking

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Industry-Specialist / Sector-Focused M&A Advisory (FSAEAGAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Private Banking & UHNW Wealth Advisory (FSAEABAC), Corporate Finance & Capital Advisory (BPAHADAB)

Keywords

• Financial benchmarking research
• Investment services consulting
• Advisor compensation studies
• Industry award programs
• Bank performance analytics

Headquarters

HQ city

Chapel Hill

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Benchmarking Studies and Reports: Annual benchmarking studies sold at tiered pricing ($250-$2,000) based on institution type and size, including Bank Broker Dealer Studies, Regional & Community Bank Studies, and Credit Union Studies with accompanying dashboard reports.
2. Compensation Studies: Director Compensation Study and Advisor Force Compensation Study sold for $500-$2,000 depending on firm size, providing analysis of compensation patterns and drivers.
3. Consulting Services: Information-based consulting engagements covering Due Diligence, Growth Consulting, Leveraging Thought Leadership, and Strategic Alliances practice areas.
4. Influencers Poll Reports: Quarterly published reports on industry trends available for purchase ($0.00-$50 range indicated).
5. Due Diligence Reports: Due diligence reports on broker dealers (Ameriprise, Cetera, Infinex, LPL Financial, Raymond James) sold at $500 each.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Kehrer Group is a financial services research and consulting firm that conducts annual benchmarking surveys, compensation studies, and industry trend tracking for investment services businesses within banks, credit unions, and third-party broker dealers. It sells standardized annual studies (Bank Broker Dealer Study, Regional & Community Bank Study, Credit Union Study, Profitability Study), provides information-based consulting services, hosts peer Study Groups, and administers the Top Directors Awards program. The underlying asset is a proprietary benchmarking database covering 3,000+ firms and 3,000 advisors from 175 institutions, accessed through the Kehrer Key secure platform.

Product overview

Kehrer Group is a research and consulting firm that serves as the financial advice community's trusted partner for original thought leadership and data-driven strategies. The company operates a research-as-a-service model centered on its flagship Annual Benchmarking Surveys, which collect performance data from investment services businesses in banks and credit unions. The core offering includes multiple specialized benchmarking studies (Banks with 25+ Advisors, Regional & Community Bank Study, Credit Union Study, and Profitability Study), supplemented by the Annual Industry Checkup and Influencers Poll for industry trend monitoring. Beyond research, the company provides consulting services (due diligence, growth consulting, strategic alliances), hosts Study Groups for peer learning, and administers the Top Directors Awards program. The Kehrer Key platform serves as a secure gateway for accessing surveys. Notable content products include the Kehrer Group Highlighter (bite-size insights) and specialized reports such as the Due Diligence Reports on third-party broker dealers and the Director/Advisor Compensation Studies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Kehrer Key: A secure profile gateway for accessing Kehrer Group's annual benchmarking surveys, introduced in 2024.

Products and services

• Banks with 25+ Advisors Study Annual benchmarking study for large banks with more than 25 advisors, examining performance differences between firms with different management structures. Targets investment services directors at large banks.
• Regional & Community Bank Study Annual benchmarking study for regional and community banks with 25 or fewer advisors, highlighting differences between single-director firms and smaller practices. Targets investment services directors at smaller banks.
• Credit Union Investment Services Study Annual benchmarking study for credit union segment with emphasis on member service metrics alongside penetration, productivity, and profitability measures. Targeted at investment services directors at credit unions.
• Profitability Study Annual analysis of profit contribution and margin trends for financial institution-based investment services businesses. Targets banks, credit unions, and third-party broker dealers.
• Annual Industry Checkup Annual review examining the health of investment services in banks and credit unions, monitoring the number of institutions offering investment services, financial advisors serving customers, and revenue produced. Targeted at financial advice community leadership.
• Kehrer Group Influencers Poll Quarterly survey of industry influencers from banks, credit unions, broker dealers, and technology providers on pressing industry issues, with anonymized responses published publicly. Targeted at the broader financial advice community.
• Consulting Services Information-based consulting services covering due diligence, growth consulting, leveraging thought leadership, and strategic alliances practice areas. Targeted at banks, credit unions, and financial product/service providers.
• Study Groups By-invitation roundtable discussion groups bringing together professionals with similar responsibilities to share experiences and react to emerging research findings, including Spring Leadership, Fall Leadership, Developing Holistic Advisors, and Integrating Investment and Wealth Management Study Groups. Targeted at bank and credit union investment services executives.
• Top Directors Awards Annual data-driven recognition program for top investment services directors in financial institutions, assessed against performance metrics from Kehrer Group's benchmarking database. Targeted at investment services directors and their institutions.
• Kehrer Key Platform Secure profile-based gateway for accessing Kehrer Group's annual benchmarking surveys, wealth management integration surveys, licensed banker program surveys, and compensation surveys. Targeted at bank and credit union investment services executives.
• Benchmarking Personal Wealth Management in Financial Institutions Study commissioned by Cetera examining nine performance metrics for personal wealth management delivery and seven potential drivers of performance. Targeted at banks and credit unions operating personal wealth management programs.
• Due Diligence Reports Due diligence reports on third-party broker dealers including Ameriprise Financial, Cetera Investment Services, Infinex Financial Group, LPL Financial, and Raymond James. Targeted at banks and credit unions evaluating broker dealer partnerships.
• Who Should Manage Your Advisors? Report commissioned by CUNA Brokerage Services comparing full-service BD partnership with BD-supported partnership models. Targeted at credit unions selecting or evaluating broker dealer relationships.
• Investment Services Director Compensation Study Survey of compensation for executives managing investment services in financial institutions, analyzing 55 compensation plans and their relationship to business performance. Targeted at banks, credit unions, and human resources/total rewards leaders.
• Advisor Force Compensation Study Survey of advisor force compensation covering over 1,600 advisors in more than 300 banks and credit unions across all advisor roles. Targeted at bank and credit union leadership designing advisor compensation.

Quantifiable outcome

• 50% higher revenue per advisor for Top Directors Award finalists compared to typical credit union advisor
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers20 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor, flagship and major.

• Raymond James Financial Institutions DivisioncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2026Sponsored financial planning research study 'Win the Financial Planning Race: Best Practices in Driving Planning Engagement in Financial Institutions.' Raymond James Financial Institutions Division advisors generate approximately $890,000 in revenue on average, and the firm provides integrated capabilities including investment banking, wealth planning, and technology tools.
• Raymond James Financial Institutions DivisioncoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 March 2026Ceremony sponsor for Top Directors Awards, providing presentation support at BISA conference sessions, and contributing thought leadership content.
• CUNA Brokerage Services, Inc. (CBSI)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2026Commissioned 'Who Should Manage Your Advisors?' study comparing performance of full-service BD partnership vs. BD-supported partnership models for credit unions.
• Terrapin TechnologiescoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 February 2026Co-sponsor of Annual Industry Checkup (2025-2026) providing data automation technology perspective. Kristefor Lysne, President, contributed commentary on data's strategic value in wealth management. Sponsor of Top Directors Awards ceremony.
• Ameriprise Financial Institutions GroupflagshipGTM or Marketing Partner · 6 November 2025Presenting sponsor of the Top Directors Awards, the company's flagship recognition program for investment services directors in financial institutions. Ameriprise works with banks and credit unions to help build and transform their wealth management programs.
• Midwood Investment ManagementmajorGTM or Marketing Partner · 6 November 2025Mega Firms category sponsor for Top Directors Awards, supporting recognition of top-performing large bank investment services programs.
• Cetera Financial InstitutionscoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 6 November 2025Mid-Size Firms category sponsor for Top Directors Awards and sponsor of benchmarking studies including 'Benchmarking Personal Wealth Management in Financial Institutions' and 'Margin Mismatch' research. Cetera serves over 8,000 financial professionals with approximately $341 billion in assets under administration.
• The StandardmajorGTM or Marketing Partner · 6 November 2025Large Firms category sponsor for Top Directors Awards.
• Raymond James Financial DivisionmajorGTM or Marketing Partner · 6 November 2025Ceremony sponsor for Top Directors Awards.
• AssetMapminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 6 November 2025Ceremony sponsor for Top Directors Awards.
• Midwestern SecuritiesminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 6 November 2025Ceremony sponsor for Top Directors Awards.
• Financial Resources Group (FRG)coreGTM or Marketing Partner · 23 April 2025Co-sponsor of 2024-2025 Annual Industry Checkup and ceremony sponsor for Top Directors Awards. FRG supports banks and credit unions with onboarding, marketing, compliance, technology, accounting, business development/recruiting, and advisor services.
• AMS (Asset Management Services)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 21 October 2024Sponsor of Developing Holistic Advisors Study Group held at UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School.
• LPL FinancialminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 21 October 2024Sponsor of Developing Holistic Advisors Study Group.
• RFI Global (MacroMonitor)coreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2024Data partnership providing consumer research data including MacroMonitor database for analyzing consumer financial behavior, financial planning adoption, and wealth transfer trends. Kehrer Group co-authored research with RFI Global analysts (e.g., Luke Allchin on widow advisor retention statistics).
• CUSO Financial Services (Atria Wealth Company)majorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 November 2023Credit Union category sponsor for Top Directors Awards, celebrating top directors in credit unions for outstanding contributions to the credit union community.
• Cetera Financial InstitutionscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2023Commissioned 'Margin Mismatch' study on profit margin management in investment services businesses, analyzing 196 banks and credit unions from 2019-2022. Sponsored 'Benchmarking Personal Wealth Management in Financial Institutions' examining nine performance metrics and seven drivers.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Celent (Oliver Wyman): Celent is a financial services technology and business strategy research firm, now part of Oliver Wyman, providing benchmarking and advisory across banking, wealth, and asset management — comparable in research-driven B2B advisory to financial institutions but with a much broader technology and operations focus.
• Greenwich Associates (CRISIL): Greenwich Associates (now part of CRISIL) is a long-established benchmarking and research firm for financial services, with deep data on institutional and retail brokerage, investment management, and corporate banking — historically the most direct competitor to Kehrer Group's bank-brokerage benchmarking franchise, now operating at larger scale under CRISIL.
• Aite-Novarica Group: Aite-Novarica is a research and advisory firm covering banking, insurance, payments, and wealth management — a broader, larger incumbent comparable to Kehrer Group in research-and-advisory business model and FI/wealth management customer overlap, though at materially larger scale.
• LIMRA: LIMRA is a major financial services research and trade association that actually absorbed Kehrer Group's original survey business in 2006 (forming Kehrer-LIMRA), creating deep overlap in bank/credit union research and ongoing familiarity with the FI investment services customer base.

Emerging players

• Cornerstone Advisors: Cornerstone Advisors provides research, consulting, and benchmarking for banks and credit unions on technology, channels, and performance — overlapping with Kehrer Group's institutional customer base and benchmarking methodology, though with a broader operational and tech focus rather than investment services specialization.
• The Spectrem Group: Spectrem Group is a research and consulting firm focused on wealth management, HNW/UHNW investors, and the advisors serving them — comparable to Kehrer Group's wealth management research orientation but with an investor-side rather than institutional-side primary lens.
• Heartland Financial Strategies: Heartland Financial Strategies provides consulting and research for community banks and credit unions on investment services, insurance, and wealth programs — a smaller, similarly niche peer with overlapping customer base to Kehrer Group's regional and community bank study.

Direct peers

• Capital Performance Group: Capital Performance Group is a consulting firm specializing in bank and credit union investment services, wealth management, and retail brokerage strategy — the closest direct comparable to Kehrer Group in both target customer (FI investment services executives) and consulting/research offering.
• Cerulli Associates: Cerulli Associates is a research and consulting firm focused on asset management, wealth management, and retail distribution — closely comparable to Kehrer Group in being a specialist, data-driven research boutique serving financial institutions and intermediaries with benchmarking, advisory, and thought leadership products.

Others

• Bank Insurance and Securities Association (BISA): BISA is the primary industry trade association for bank and credit union insurance and investment services, which granted Dr. Kehrer its Lifetime Achievement Award and publishes industry research — a community/advisory peer that interacts closely with Kehrer Group's customer base and content distribution channels.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses1 record

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@KehrerGroup
• Facebookfacebook.com/KehrerGroup
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kehrer-group

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about kehrer group