It’s no secret that we are living in uncertain and unpredictable times, and financial advisors are no exception. Markets remain difficult to navigate, investments are more volatile, and advisors face stiff competition from online tools and financial firms of all sizes.
However, the current market, for all its challenges, also presents a number of unique opportunities for ambitious and savvy advisors looking to propel their practice forward. An unpredictable market means that high-quality advice can make the difference between a client’s success and failure — and that means that the work of financial advisors has never been more critical. Check out our top 5 ways advisors can move their financial advisory practice forward in 2023.
1. Focus on the Personal Touch
In a world filled with options, a high-quality financial advisor is much more than a mere analyst or functionary — the best advisors make themselves indispensable to their clients. Advisors who create personalized investment plans that take their clients interests, risk tolerance, and goals into account have the opportunity to create personal relationships with clients that extend well beyond the bounds of an investment or wealth management strategy.
Regularly reviewing and updating client investment strategies is a great way to stay ahead of ever-changing market conditions, and it can serve as an important signal of an advisor’s commitment to client success. Creating workflows that incorporate regular reviews of client portfolios and frequent communication with clients can ensure that clients see their advisors as trusted counselors and confidants, increasing client loyalty and leading to better outcomes.
2. Embrace the Future — to a Point
For some advisors, financial planning tools like robo-advisors and advanced planning software can seem like a threat to a traditional advisory practice. However, smart advisors can leverage these tools to improve client results, streamline client workflows, and improve client engagement. Properly used, technological tools can allow advisors to serve more clients without needing to increase staffing and overhead commitments, and can free up precious time for advisors to focus on the parts of their practice that can’t be automated – including spending more time interacting with clients face-to-face.
3. Diversify the Practice
Most advisors leaving a wirehouse practice have a strong baseline skill set in advice and wealth management. However, for advisors striking out on a more independent path, the skills honed at the wirehouse should be a starting point, not an end goal. Advisors who can offer a broader suite of services, including retirement planning, estate planning, insurance services, or risk management can leverage those offerings to attract new interest and expand their ability to serve existing client needs. This can include seeking out new licenses and certifications,
As advisors consider which new services to offer, it’s important to think both about the needs of current clients and the advisor’s goals for the future of their own practice. An advisor hoping to work with retirees, for example, might consider expanding into estate planning, while one creating a practice focused on younger investors might focus on retirement planning and insurance offerings. Creating offerings that serve the ancillary needs of current and prospective clients can ensure client retention — after all, who doesn’t like one-stop shopping? — and ensure broader marketing reach.
4. Take Time to Set and Review Goals — and Progress Toward Them
Most independent advisors take the time to do goal setting and create business plans that contain both short- and long-term goals, strategies, and priorities. However, in a busy practice, most of those carefully crafted business plans wind up stuffed in a drawer or gathering dust on a shelf. Just as successful investors undertake regular reviews of their investment strategies, successful advisors take the time to periodically review, adjust, and track progress toward their goals. A business plan is meant to be a living document — setting aside a regular “appointment” to review progress and analyze what’s working and what isn’t is an essential part of building any successful advisory practice.
As a part of that review, advisors should consider both professional and personal goals, and evaluate how changing circumstances, both personal and external, have affected their options and opportunities. Checking in on a regular basis can help to refine an advisor’s goals and clarify the tools and strategies that might enhance their ability to meet those goals.
5. Build Robust Networks
Marketing is an essential part of building any business, and a financial advisory practice is no exception. Independent advisors ought to leverage a number of different types of tools to reach potential new clients, none more important than the advisor’s own professional networks.
Cultivating relationships with professionals in related fields, including attorneys, insurance agents, and accountants can help advisors to expand their reach and provide important cooperative relationships that advisors can leverage to enhance their own ability to provide superior client service. Joining professional networks, leveraging personal connections, and seeking out other professionals for advice and consultation are all great ways to build the kind of networks that can help to lead to increased referrals and help to expand an advisor’s practice.
Want to Keep the Conversation Going?
Thinking about making the leap to independence, but not sure if it’s right for you? All of us at Terrana Group welcome the opportunity to consult with you to determine the right platform for you going forward — one that satisfies your long term objectives and is also best for your clients!
For more than 30 years, we have consulted on and closed thousands of professional placements for Advisors, nationwide, in most every major city throughout the United States, with client assets transferring exceeding $67 billion dollars. We have built deep relationships with the advisory world’s most sophisticated and notable firms — including Wall Street Brokerages, most Regionals, Boutiques, Banks, Independent Broker Dealers, RIAs and Custodians. Our broad knowledge of those firms and the deals that are currently being offered will ensure that you are being presented with the right firm choice, platform, and the offer which is best for you.
Confidentiality, professionalism, and respect are protocol to our practices and beliefs; we handle each and every step of the placement process with complete communication, keeping you informed while making the process smoother from beginning to end.
We are proud to always be considered as a great asset by our clients because of our proven expertise, many years of knowledge, and acute attention to detail. Financial Advisor Recruiting Services are not all created equal; we guarantee that the TG experience for clients and candidates is always world class.
We are based in Chicago, with a nationwide reach. Let us know you are interested by contacting us today. To get the conversation started, email info@terranagroup.com or give us a call at 312.655.8380 today.
