Citi Private Bank and Hildebrandt consulting recently issued their 2017 Client Advisory.
It predicts another year that will look like the past 6 — low single digit growth in revenue and profitability, continued emphasis on holding down expenses, and relentless focus on improving efficiency, which would include reducing office space and shifting leverage models.
Behind the overall low growth numbers, we can expect to see the forces of dispersion and volatility assert themselves in the market. Some firms will do much better than others, but they may not be the same firms that outperformed the prior year or the year before that.
The anticipated growth is expected to come from more so in transactional practices (particularly M&A and Capital Markets). We are likely to see a decrease in US agency-driven regulatory related litigation work under the new administration.
You should read the Client Advisory in its entirety. The last section identifies some key characteristics of the firms that have been the most successful in this post-recessionary environment.