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We also talk about how Anjali grew her revenue primarily by not increasing her client headcount (which only rose from 35 to 45 clients over the past 6 years) and instead focused on raising her minimum annual retainer fee from $10,000 to $18,000 per client, why Anjali's current clients and prospects are largely willing to pay this fee given the tailored (..)
Over the past decade, a growing number of advisors have expanded into offering comprehensive financial planning services, reflecting a shift that not only helps them stand out from (increasingly commoditized) portfolio management offerings but also supports clients' broader financial goals.
And be certain to listen to the end, where Travis reflects on how a high quantity of clients and his own personal journey through FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) both give him the leverage to only work with people he truly enjoys, how Travis' journey into niching, even into a fairly broad subject, amplified the number of people who showed (..)
This month's edition kicks off with the news that Holistiplan has announced the rollout of a new estate plan document extraction tool to stand alongside its highly popular tax return scanning tool – which highlights how advances in AI technology have allowed tools like Holistiplan to go beyond tax returns and scan nearly any kind of document (..)
And be certain to listen to the end, where Cristina shares how she uses 20-minute "fit" meetings to determine whether prospective clients will be a good match for her firm's service offering and fee model (thereby minimizing the number of bad-fit clients her firm takes on), the key lessons Cristina learned from earlier hiring mistakes (particularly (..)
While many firms may continue serving a certain number of unprofitable clients (such as friends or family members of the advisory team), too many can strain firm resources. These expenses were then divided across each segment, providing a clear view of which clients were paying below the true cost of service.
This month's edition kicks off with the news that Orion, the "all-in-one" advisor technology platform, has acquired Summit Wealth Systems (and its founder Reed Colley, who previously built performance reporting platform Black Diamond), a client portal and data hub for unifying key client information from multiple sources into a single client-friendly (..)
And while Black Diamond has cut a deal with Morningstar to be the 'default' option for Office advisors to move to, a host of other portfolio management platforms are offering their own incentives as well, leaving Morningstar Office advisors with an opportunity to evaluate a large and crowded landscape of options to find the platform that will work (..)
For financial advisors, the promise of technology has always been to help advisors better leverage their time to grow their business. One possible way to do this is to use the time savings of technology to serve a higher number of clients.
Over time, advisors shifted toward more analytical approaches, such as investment management and retirement planning. Today, the industry has evolved further, with a growing emphasis on aligning financial decisions with clients' personal priorities and life goals.
On the other hand, some prospects might prefer to engage with an advisor who works a limited number of hours to serve as a mentor, if that is their own goal for their business or career as well (in which case the advisor’s flexible schedule could actually attract more clients!).
Also in industry news this week: How enforcement of FINRA Rule 4111 could further the decline in the number of broker-dealers and registered representatives. A study suggests that some fund companies are misleading investors by changing their benchmark indices to make their performance look better.
How firms can best leverage their internal data to improve the number of client referrals they receive. How advisors can benefit from reviewing their list of clients and letting go those who are no longer good fits for the firm.
This month's edition kicks off with the news that FP Alpha has released its tax return extraction and analysis module as a standalone product, while RightCapital has separately launched its own tax return extraction tool bundled within its platform – with both announcements coming on the heels of Holistiplan implementing a significant price increase, (..)
because the most enthusiastic testimonials related to clients feeling like their adviser was delivering a personalized plan, advisers who address client concerns directly and make them feel a part of the process could generate more positive reviews). Next , by taking a proactive approach to reinforcing where they add value (e.g.,
This month's edition kicks off with the news that 'startup' custodian Altruist has completed a $169 million fundraising round as it continues to rebuild the RIA custodial tech stack layer-by-layer while positioning itself as the biggest RIA custodian built from scratch and solely for advisors – which, while making it the clear #3 custodian behind (..)
those that offer both digital robo-advice and human touch) are growing faster than almost everyone else, with 24% of net new cashflows despite the low aggregate number of firms with this business model. Likewise, while CRM usage has slipped by about 5%, the overall number of advisors who use a CRM still remains at a dominant 92%.
Which may raise questions for other RIAs (including smaller firms) who promote their tax-loss harvesting practices as part of a 'tax-efficient' investing strategy about whether their own practices (and the technology they use to implement it) really align with what they claim to provide.
This month's edition kicks off with the news that Black Diamond has announced the launch of its own CRM system, targeting advisors at mid-size firms who have data complexity and workflow needs greater than what more basic CRM options can accommodate, but who don't yet need (and don't want to pay for) the Salesforce-based options – like Black (..)
As a first step, the most important is to gather data around whatever activity it is that the advicer is doing to attract new prospects (such as the number of podcasts produced, webinars hosted, blog posts published, networking meetings attended, or cold calls made).
From there, the latest highlights also feature a number of other interesting advisor technology announcements, including: Orion’s Redtail launches “Redtail Campaigns” in partnership with Snappy Kraken to facilitate CRM-based drip marketing emails.
Advyzon and Panoramix competing against Orion)… with the question of whether they, too, will someday raise their prices as they gain traction as well? Advyzon and Panoramix competing against Orion)… with the question of whether they, too, will someday raise their prices as they gain traction as well?
This month's edition kicks off with the news that Riskalyze has completed its previously-announced rebranding, and will now be known as “Nitrogen”, a ”growth platform” for advisory firms – which represents less of a shift in the platform’s core function (given that Riskalyze’s risk tolerance tool was always (..)
From there, the latest highlights also feature a number of other interesting advisor technology announcements, including: DPL Partners launches a new advisor-matching solution to solve for the inbound demand of consumers increasingly seeking out a new crop of no-commission annuity products.
Though, at some point, covering a large number of financial planning topics can eat into an advisor's time, which is problematic if clients won't pay substantially more to receive that more comprehensive advice. In addition, advisors could reduce the amount of time they spend on plan development by bringing on staff assistance (e.g.,
This month's edition kicks off with the news that WiserAdvisor, one of the longest-running lead generation services in the industry, has acquired IndyFin, a startup advisor rating platform that had aspired to be the 'Yelp for Advisors' – which on the one hand provides WiserAdvisor with an opportunity to jump into the business of client reviews (..)
Adding this number to the cost of compensating the new employee (including salary plus payroll tax and benefits), plus the firm's other overhead expenses, gives the firm's profitability wall and an estimate of the point in the firm's growth where it can make an initial hire.
In this episode, we talk in-depth about how Jessica leveraged her investment banking experience in wealth management mergers and acquisitions to build her own business where she could provide more independent M&A advice, why and how Jessica developed her flat-fee advice model for mergers and acquisitions to, similar to the evolution of fee-only (..)
We also have a number of articles on retirement planning: How the recent increase in interest rates has made TIPS a more viable option to increase a retired client’s safe withdrawal rate. How a regular firm newsletter can keep clients engaged and improve retention.
But the impending merger of Schwab Advisor Services and TD Ameritrade Institutional will reduce the number of options available for RIAs and force firms currently on TD’s platform either to be subsumed into Schwab’s platform or to switch to an alternative custodian.
Why advisors crafting their marketing message might first want to consider whether their target client needs a ‘life raft’ or a ‘sailboat’ We also have a number of articles on spending and budgeting: Why advisors might want to consider using a client service calendar to organize the wide range of services they provide for clients (..)
We also have a number of articles on practice management: Why the most successful firms in the coming years might be those who dominate individual market segments rather than those that are ‘overdiversified’ Four ways firms can attract next-generation advisor talent.
We also have a number of articles on investments: Fixed-income ETFs saw inflows this year, while their mutual fund counterparts experienced significant outflows, suggesting that the dominance of bond mutual funds could be eroding.
We also have a number of articles on practice management: Why looking inward at their leadership style can be one of the best ways for firm leaders to prevent employee turnover. How advisors can help their clients turn their HSAs into wealth-building machines.
We also have a number of articles on cashflow management: How advisors can help couples navigate the decision of whether to combine their finances or keep them separate. The key questions aspiring partners can ask themselves to determine whether becoming a partner in their firm is the right course for them.
Like any other data point that an advicer may collect, there are stories behind the numbers, and the true power of a risk assessment is in its ability to help an advicer begin a conversation that encourages clients to share their stories.
In the independent model, owners/advisors are generally paid directly by the clients they serve, and they select and pay for the vendors, services, and employees that support them, whereas in the affiliated model, a number of the advisory firm functions are covered by the affiliate platform, with the cost of those services being bundled into the affiliate (..)
First, the SEC will request information on the firm itself, including organizational charts, employee roles and responsibilities, financial statements, and/or any legal action against the firm that is pending or settled.
In this episode, we talk in-depth about Troy's approach to marketing, from how his firm has built a strong prospect pipeline in part by taking educational topics he covered in his seminars and turning them into YouTube videos aimed at his firm's target client of pre-retirees and retirees, why Troy typically does not issue immediate calls to action (..)
Which could make it more advantageous for firms and advisors alike to consider a more equitable, cooperative approach than strict on-competes or non-solicits to deciding which clients an advisor can solicit if they do eventually leave the firm.
Growing an advisory firm is no easy task – and advisors who start firms often have few resources to spare (beyond their own knowledge and time), face huge to-do lists, and are required to wear a number of hats.
Yet despite this – and perhaps even because of it – advisory firms are putting an ever-greater focus on financial planning in 2022, as a way to both show value to clients in the midst of difficult market returns, and, more broadly, to help clients navigate the current environment.
Which at best will still be a substantial uphill battle, given the hassle of switching from one financial planning platform to another (and the fact that most advisors are generally satisfied with their current financial planning software in the first place!).
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