Nerd's Eye View blog

How To Register And Remain Registered With The SEC As An Internet Investment Adviser

May 1, 2024 07:03 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Regulation & Compliance

A little over 20 years ago, when the Internet was still just a few years into gaining widespread use, the SEC understood its potential to transform how financial advisory firms conducted business with the ability to deliver advice digitally, lowering the barriers to serve clients across the country. However, the challenge for firms that wanted to use their websites to advise clients, but didn't otherwise qualify for SEC registration, was that they would ostensibly need to register in all 50 states… at least until they qualified as a "multi-state adviser".

Understanding that this would place an unnecessarily heavy burden on advisors, the SEC issued an exemption in 2002 allowing for certain "Internet advisers" to register with the SEC even though they wouldn't otherwise qualify to do so. The rule, colloquially referred to as the "Internet Adviser Exemption", applied to "entities that exclusively provide investment advice through an interactive website", save for a de minimis exemption of fewer than 15 clients served outside of the interactive website within the preceding 12 months.

A lot has changed over the ensuing 20+ years since the issuance of the Internet Adviser Exemption, and after observing numerous instances of non-compliance (and issuing a Risk Alert to that effect in 2021), the SEC issued an amendment to the Exemption on March 27, 2024. The amendment didn't make any sweeping changes to the requirements for firms to qualify for the exemption, but instead was intended to offer additional clarification around "what it means in 2024 truly to provide an exclusively internet-based service."

Specifically, the amendment clarifies that an interactive website (which now also includes mobile applications or similar digital platforms) must be "operational" at "all times", save for temporary outages due to periodic maintenance or factors outside the adviser's control. Moreover, the advisory services must actually be delivered through the website using "software-based models, algorithms, or applications" only, thus barring investment adviser personnel from generating, modifying, or providing "client-specific investment advice through the operational interactive website or otherwise." The amendment also eliminates the previous de minimis threshold, now requiring Internet investment advisers to provide advice to all of their clients exclusively through an operational interactive website without exception, and requires that advice be provided on an "ongoing basis" to at least 2 clients at all times.

Ultimately, the key point is that while the original intent of the Internet Adviser Exemption created in 2002 was to reduce the regulatory burden of SEC registration for advisers who provide advisory services through a website using software-based models, algorithms, or applications, the recent 2024 amendment offers several clarifications and updates to the rules for qualifying for the exemption. And while the updates may have constricted the already narrow path to SEC registration even further, the good news is that the amendment remains agnostic in regard to technology, which means that the Internet Adviser Exemption should remain evergreen for years to come.

#FA Success Ep 383: Leveraging YouTube Videos To Organically Grow 9X To $750M In Just 5 Years, With Troy Sharpe

April 30, 2024 07:03 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Financial Advisor Success Podcast

Welcome everyone! Welcome to the 383rd episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast!

My guest on today's podcast is Troy Sharpe. Troy is the Founder and CEO of Oak Harvest Financial Group, an RIA based in Houston, Texas, that oversees approximately $750 million in assets under management for about 1,000 client households.

What's unique about Troy, though, is how his firm's emphasis on driving organic growth through a multi-pronged marketing strategy, including a radio show, in-person seminars, and most substantively and scalably, a YouTube channel, that has allowed the firm to grow its AUM from $85 million to $750 million during just the past 5 years.

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 during these videos to get prospects, instead preferring to build trust with viewers over time and providing them a trail of breadcrumbs to find their way back to the advisory firm when they're ready, and how Troy structures his marketing efforts into what he characterizes as short, medium, and long-term marketing initiatives, for which he targets an overall ROI of generating 3 times the dollars in new revenue for every marketing dollar spent.

We also talk about how Troy's firm has hired a number of marketing professionals to improve the performance of its marketing campaigns, how Troy has also grown his advisor staff to meet the needs of the rapidly expanding client base, and adopted a 3-advisor pods approach to ensure clients have touchpoints with multiple advisors (and that advisors can focus their work on what they do best), and how Troy created a system for his firm called the "Retirement Success Plan" that encompasses their approach to dynamic retirement income planning, incorporating both a client's willingness and capacity to take risk, and then generating a spending plan that adapts (and that the firm monitors) over time.

And be certain to listen to the end, where Troy explains why he believes that his firm's ability to communicate in a jargon-free way that prospects can relate to is what's really driving his firm's growth (across all the in-person, radio, and video channels it markets towards), how Troy learned patience and the need to be more measured when committing to a new marketing strategy that sometimes takes 6-12 months to really start to pan out, and how Troy's constant growth focus has often led to a lot of self-doubt over whether he was over-investing and still not getting to where he wanted to be, and how the book "The Gap and the Gain" helped to build more appreciation for how far the firm has already come.

So, whether you're interested in learning about leveraging YouTube videos to drive client growth, how to measure marketing efficiency and set goals for the output of marketing spend or how to manage a rapidly growing firm, then we hope you enjoy this episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast, with Troy Sharpe.

How Advisors Can Work With Attorneys To Drive Better Estate Planning Outcomes For Clients

April 29, 2024 07:02 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Estate Planning

Financial advisors add value for their clients not only by helping them grow their wealth, but also by working with them to create a plan for how to use it. While much of this process may focus on the client's own lifetime planning needs (e.g., helping them develop a retirement income plan), it often also addresses the client's goals for their wealth after their death. With this in mind, many financial advisors offer estate planning guidance to clients. However, because few advisors are also legal professionals (who can offer more detailed guidance and draft legal documents), many often collaborate with estate planning attorneys to ensure their clients' estate planning needs are met.

In this guest post, David Haughton, Team Lead for Advanced Planning at Commonwealth Financial Network, explores the relationship between financial advisors and estate planning attorneys, how advisors can add value for clients during the estate planning process, and how advisors and attorneys can create mutually beneficial arrangements.

Financial advisors can play a valuable role in the strategy, implementation, and funding stages of the estate planning process. For example, advisors can start by identifying whether a client even has an estate plan in the first place and, if so, what the current plan entails. The advisor can then consider whether the current plan (if it exists) meets the client's estate planning goals and, if needed, encourage the client to engage with an estate planning attorney who can recommend potential solutions (ideally in consultation with the advisor, who will be intimately familiar with the client's financial situation and goals) and draft the legal documents necessary to execute them. In the implementation phase, financial advisors can review the estate planning documents to ensure they are appropriate to meet their client's needs and confirm that the client actually executes the documents. Finally, in the funding phase, advisors can provide value by ensuring that accounts are retitled as necessary so that the client's assets are appropriately positioned to meet the goals of their newly crafted estate plan.

Sometimes, estate planning attorneys might be reluctant to work closely with a client's financial advisor. For instance, an attorney might balk at the estate planning suggestions offered by a client's financial advisor (who does not work on estate planning issues full time), while an advisor might question an attorney's proposed strategy (e.g., the attorney might not be aware of a client's ability to actually execute the proposed plan). Nevertheless, the reality is that both the financial advisor and estate planning attorney have much to gain by cooperating with each other, not just to ensure that their mutual client receives a properly prepared estate plan that meets their goals, but also because building a trusting relationship could lead to mutual client referrals down the line (as many estate planning clients could benefit from financial planning services, and vice versa)!

Ultimately, the key point is that financial advisors can add significant value for their clients throughout the estate planning process, from evaluating their current plan to helping them find a qualified estate planning attorney, to working with the attorney to ensure the new or updated plan meets their client's goals and is executed and funded appropriately. And while the advisor's engagement in the estate planning process can increase the level of trust and loyalty between the advisor and their client, it also sets the table for a strong relationship with their client's heirs when the client's assets are distributed at their death, continuing the legacy of providing valuable financial planning to family members when they may need it most!

Weekend Reading For Financial Planners (April 27-28)

April 26, 2024 02:00 pm 0 Comments CATEGORY: Weekend Reading

Enjoy the current installment of "Weekend Reading For Financial Planners" - this week's edition kicks off with the news that the Department of Labor released the final version of its Retirement Security Rule (a.k.a. the Fiduciary Rule 2.0), which is set to go into effect in September and (if it survives anticipated legal challenges) would represent a significant shift toward greater fiduciary standards in the financial services industry, including by defining as a fiduciary act a one-time recommendation to roll funds from a company retirement plan to an Individual Retirement Account (closing what historically was a loophole that the fiduciary obligation only applied to "ongoing" advice, such that one-time sales transactions avoided its scope).

Also in industry news this week:

The Federal Trade Commission released a final rule that would ban most non-compete agreements, which could lead to an increasing number of non-solicit agreements (and, potentially, lawsuits regarding their enforcement) between financial planning firms and their advisors
The Securities and Exchange Commission issued a risk alert outlining how some investment advisers are failing to comply with its marketing rule, from making misleading statements about adviser awards to claiming that a firm operates free of conflicts of interest

From there, we have several articles on client communication:

How jargon checks, standardized communication frameworks, and post-meeting surveys can help advisors overcome the "curse of knowledge" when communicating with clients
5 mistakes that can undermine client meetings, from asking too many closed-ended questions to engaging in conversations on political topics
How paying attention to the phrases and idioms clients use frequently can help advisors build trust and rapport

We also have a number of articles on cash flow planning:

How the explosive growth in many of the 'hidden' costs of homeownership could impact clients' budgets
How financial advisors can help clients analyze the choice of whether to rent or buy a home, from modeling unknowable financial variables to helping them explore the non-financial considerations of the decision
How advisors can add value for clients navigating a continued elevated mortgage rate environment

We wrap up with 3 final articles, all about effective networking:

How financial advisors can network more effectively, from tactics that can make conversations more memorable to choosing when to enter an existing conversation
How advisors can evaluate financial advisor conferences and other networking opportunities to make the most worthwhile investments of their time and money
Tips to master the art of small talk, from seeking out common interests to managing the inevitable end of the conversation with minimal awkwardness

Enjoy the 'light' reading!

Reframing Risk In Retirement As “Over- And Under-Spending” To Better Communicate Decisions To Clients, And Finding “Best Guess” Spending Level

April 24, 2024 07:02 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Retirement Planning

Over the past few decades, advicers have used Monte Carlo analysis tools to communicate to clients if their assets and planned level of spending were sufficient for them to realize their goals while (critically) not running out of money in retirement. More recently, however, the Monte Carlo "probability of success/failure" framing has attracted some criticism, as it can potentially alter the way that a client perceives risk, leading them to make less-than-ideal decisions. In reality, retirees rarely experience true failure, and instead find that they may need to adjust their spending (in both directions!) in order to meet all of their goals. And while some have suggested pivoting to a more accurate "probability of adjustment" framing, there is a simpler way to talk about "retirement income risk" that relies on the concepts of overspending and underspending, which can help both advicer and client better understand the trade-offs inherent in the ongoing decisions around spending in retirement.

Determining whether clients are overspending or underspending during their working years is relatively straightforward and is simply a matter of observing if they are spending more or spending less than they make. However, once the client retires, the "how much they make" part of the equation becomes much less clear. But by accounting for all of a client's income sources and balancing them against their various spending goals with a set of future assumptions around such factors as life expectancy and market performance, the advicer can arrive at a "best guess" answer to the question of how much the client should be spending. From a mathematical standpoint, that best guess is the level at which a client is equally likely to overspend as they are to underspend. Yet, in the Monte Carlo success/failure framework, that balance point exactly represents a 50% probability of success, which seems intuitively 'wrong' given that the analysis targeted the precise spending level that would preclude both overspending and underspending!

The Monte Carlo success/failure framing, in essence, focuses only on minimizing the risk of overspending, hiding a bias towards underspending by calling it a "success". Or, put another way, a 100% probability of success is exactly a 100% probability of underspending. Which means that solving for higher probabilities of success generally necessitates underspending to the point where clients, while comfortable knowing that they almost certainly won't run out of money, may have to significantly revise their desired expectations for their standard of living. By contrast, the overspending/underspending framework allows advicers to mitigate the Monte Carlo bias toward underspending while using concepts that clients are already familiar with. For instance, an advicer might communicate that their job is to help the client find a spending level that balances their goals of living the life they want while not depleting their resources.

Helping a client determine a balanced spending level in retirement is only the beginning of the journey. As time goes on, odds are that various factors (including circumstances, expectations, market returns, and inflation, to name just a few) will require spending levels to be adjusted. And by relying on the overspending/underspending framework, advicers can communicate how clients will be able to make those adjustments over time and, in the process, minimize the biases that incentivize lower spending that ultimately prevent them from living their lives to the fullest!

#FA Success Ep 382: Helping Clients Stay The Course With A More Total Relationship Approach To Their Near-Term Cash Flow Needs, With Tyson Ray

April 23, 2024 07:02 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Financial Advisor Success Podcast

Welcome everyone! Welcome to the 382nd episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast!

My guest on today's podcast is Tyson Ray. Tyson is the CEO of FORM Wealth Advisors, a hybrid advisory firm based in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, that oversees approximately $900 million in assets under management for just over 800 client households.

What's unique about Tyson, though, is how he has developed a planning process he calls their "Total Relationship" approach, which puts an emphasis on determining a client's near-term lump sum spending needs like a new car purchase or a big vacation, and ensuring the portfolio is built around having sufficient cash available for those goals, which Tyson has found can reduce the number of panicked phone calls that come during a market downturn (when sometimes clients aren't really upset about their performance, per se, they're just stressing over a near-term cash flow need that they don't want to liquidate for when their portfolio is down).

In this episode, we talk in-depth about how Tyson's "Total Relationship" approach leads to particularly close relationships with their clients, including by developing a system to send what he calls "wow factor" gifts to mark key moments in the lives of the firm's clients, their families, and even their pets, why Tyson's firm breaks out its AUM fee between portfolio management and ongoing client service instead of presenting clients with a single unified fee, and how Tyson's firm has grown through acquisitions, including the hard lessons Tyson learned about conducting appropriate due diligence on potential acquisition targets.

We also talk about how Tyson discovered that by hiring additional junior advisors, he could reduce his stress levels by only stepping into client conversations when his more experienced level of expertise was really needed, why Tyson found the transition from 7 to 12 people on staff was particularly difficult and how growing beyond that point has made his life much easier, and why Tyson wished he had started earlier in hiring a Chief Operating Officer to help manage their growing staff team.

And be certain to listen to the end, where Tyson shares his experiences writing 2 books about the financial advice industry (including how Tyson once received hand-written feedback on a draft from industry guru Nick Murray), the benefits Tyson sees for newer advisors of 'apprenticing' under more senior advisors to learn industry best practices (and spot those that might be out of date), and how Tyson's experience when he was asked to be a pallbearer at a client's funeral cemented for himself the tremendous impact financial advisors can have towards the end of their clients' lives.

So, whether you're interested in learning about how to build "Total Relationships" with clients to ease their stress and strengthen their loyalty to the firm, how to navigate staffing issues as a growing firm, or about the opportunities and challenges of growing through acquisitions, then we hope you enjoy this episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast, with Tyson Ray.

Assessing Payouts And Platform Fees For Profitability When Choosing An Independent Advisor Platform To Affiliate With

April 22, 2024 07:02 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Practice Management

Broadly speaking, there are 2 models of working as a financial advisor: operating independently as a firm owner or with a large affiliate platform such as a wirehouse broker-dealer, independent broker-dealer, or larger corporate RIA. Deciding which model to work under is a key moment in beginning or evolving a career as an advisor.

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 platform's fee. The key difference from a financial standpoint is that while clients of independent advisors usually pay the entire amount of their fees directly to the advisor, clients of affiliated advisors often pay their fees to the affiliate platform itself, with the platform passing on a percentage of the income to the advisor (and the amount that the platform keeps represents the platform's fee to the advisor for the services they provide).

As a result, many advisors using the affiliate model don't really 'see' the fees that they pay to their affiliate platform, since the only revenue they see is what's left over after the platform has taken their fee. Which in turn makes it more difficult to assess how much the advisor is really paying the affiliate platform, and what they're receiving in exchange for their fee – and ultimately, whether the amount that the advisor is paying the platform is worth what they're getting in return.

Notably, different affiliate platforms have different payout rates; those that pay out the most (and thus have the lowest fees) tend to cover relatively few functions such as compliance and technology, while those that pay out the least (and therefore have the highest fees) cover a significant amount of the advisor's overhead costs. Which means that using the platform with the highest payout rate won't necessarily result in the most take-home income for the advisor (since they're still responsible for paying all of the overhead costs that aren't covered by the platform); rather, it's more about whether and how the platform's services align with what the advisor needs to succeed in their role – for instance, if an advisor earning primarily fee-based advisory revenue affiliates with a platform that puts a lot of resources towards FINRA compliance for broker-dealer representatives, they'll end up paying significantly for a service that they rarely (if ever) use.

The key point is that regardless of whether advisors use the independent or affiliate model, achieving success as an advisor involves finding the best use of the advisor's resources to leverage support for the functions that they can't perform (or don't want to manage) on their own. Being clear on how an affiliate platform's services align with what the advisor truly needs to outsource can help save advisors from putting resources towards functions that they don't need or use. Ultimately, while some advisors might simply prefer the autonomy of the independent model, it's possible to be successful in whichever model provides the support that the advisor needs to make the best use of their time.

Weekend Reading For Financial Planners (April 20-21)

April 19, 2024 02:00 pm 0 Comments CATEGORY: Weekend Reading

Enjoy the current installment of "Weekend Reading For Financial Planners" - this week's edition kicks off with the news that CFP Board announced that it has crossed the milestone of 100,000 CFP professionals in the United States, and despite having just celebrated its 50th anniversary last year, just set a record high in the number of advisors sitting for the CFP exam this March, reflecting the value many financial advisors and consumers place on the brand, including the requirements to obtain it as well as the standards CFP professionals must follow (though, as CFP Board has recognized, there is potential room for it to improve in both of these areas!).

Also in industry news this week:

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has completed its review of the Department of Labor's new "fiduciary rule", indicating that it could be released in the coming days or weeks (though, like its predecessors, its ultimate disposition is likely to be determined in the courts)
The IRS announced this week that it is excusing Non-Eligible Designated Beneficiaries who inherited IRAs and are subject to the "10-year rule" to distribute these accounts from having to take RMDs again in 2024 (just as it did for 2021, 2022, and 2023) and indicated that Final Regulations regarding RMDs for those in this position could be coming this year

From there, we have several articles on retirement planning:

4 unique risks retirees face when drawing down their assets, from sequence of returns risk to tax risk, and how financial advisors can help clients mitigate them
How the differential effects of the "Great Recession" have led to younger Baby Boomers having fewer assets than their older Boomer counterparts
How financial advisors can help their clients identify and avoid a potential retirement income "death spiral", whereby a client's assets are depleted over the course of only a few years

We also have a number of articles on financial advisor marketing:

5 relatively low-cost marketing tactics for financial advisors, from expanding the types of Centers Of Influence they approach to leveraging "social proof" to attract clients
How advisors can boost the relevancy and effectiveness of the "Calls To Action" (CTAs) on their website
Strategies advisors can use to build urgency and help reluctant prospects overcome their hesitance to sign on to become clients

We wrap up with 3 final articles, all about online security:

A recently released feature can help protect iPhone owner's private data from thieves who are able to access their phone and passcode
How activating 2-factor authentication and other security measures can help protect users' social media accounts
Why the "private browsing" feature of internet browsers does not provide the level of anonymity users might assume

Enjoy the 'light' reading!

Kitces & Carl Ep 136: Should Internal Succession Plans Provide A G2 Discount For Lack Of Affordability?

April 18, 2024 07:02 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Kitces & Carl Podcast

For over a decade, the financial advice industry has been bracing for an "any-minute-now" tsunami of advisor retirements and concomitant sales of financial planning practices. Although that wave has yet to materialize (as many advisors may find that they'd prefer to stay engaged and earn well past the 'traditional' retirement age), the fact remains that, at some point, many aging advisors will have the opportunity to capture the enterprise value that they've spent their careers building. For many firm owners, an internal succession plan can be an attractive strategy to sell their practice, as it provides both continuity of service for clients and opportunities for the next generation of advisors to become firm owners themselves. However, younger advisors don't typically have the same deep pockets as large 'serial acquirer' firms, making affordability a hurdle that both buyer and seller must navigate. Which begs the question, to what extent should an advisory firm owner discount the sale price of their firm for a next-gen successor?

In our 136th episode of Kitces & Carl, Michael Kitces and client communication expert Carl Richards explore the extent to which a firm owner might consider selling their practice at below-market value to an internal successor, why both buyer and seller might reconsider the valuation metrics that have been common in the industry, and ways to structure an internal succession deal that can make sense for both parties.

The primary risks when selling an advisory firm are that the deal may fall through, and existing clients may choose to leave the firm. Firm owners can maximize the value from a sale by ensuring that the buyer is a "good fit", which, if they aren't, can have real financial consequences. In the case of an internal successor, some risk is mitigated as the next-gen advisor has likely developed a relationship with clients already and is doing a good job servicing them. And maintaining pre-existing client relationships not only lowers the overall risk of the deal, it also makes the transaction a whole lot smoother. However, while that may be worth a modest discount (say, 5% or so), offering 20%–30% below fair-market value may be unrealistic. In other words, while an owner might have preferences beyond 'just' getting the highest dollar amount possible, there shouldn't be an expectation (or obligation) for the owner to offer a steep discount because the next-gen advisor can't afford it.

On the other hand, there are times when the seller's or buyer's price expectations don't align with the reality of how the firm operates. Traditionally, a standard benchmark for advisory-firm sales has been 2X annual revenue; with many firms running at an average 25%–30% profit margin, this results in 7X–8X earnings valuations. However, firms with margins outside a traditional range might result in unrealistically high earnings multiples for the buyer.

Ultimately, the key point is that advisory firm owners interested in selling their firms to next-gen advisors within their practice don't always have to structure a deal as a high-stakes, all-or-nothing transaction. Instead, the owner can facilitate a gradual sale over multiple years, allowing the buyer to adjust to the logistics of note payments and the firm's cash flows on a much more manageable scale, while the seller can continue to benefit from the ongoing growth in their firm's enterprise value. And while shifting ownership in tranches over time might not feel like the optimal deal for either seller or buyer, the end result is a deal that's fair and beneficial for both sides!

3 Question Types To Go From (Just) Retained To Highly Engaged And Happier Clients

April 17, 2024 07:02 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Client Trust & Communication

After advisors do all of the work of bringing on a new client (Marketing! Prospecting! Onboarding! Compliance!), it can sometimes feel natural to let the relationship go into "maintenance mode". And while all may appear well on the surface – the client rarely contacts the advisor with problems but they show up for every annual meeting – they may actually be feeling quite disengaged with the financial planning services being provided. This can result in fewer referrals and even the loss of the client, who might eventually opt to move their accounts to another (more appealing) advisory firm.

Some types of client disengagement can be difficult to detect until it's too late, as client disengagement manifests, by definition, as a lack of action, up until the client decides to leave the advisor altogether. Given how difficult it can be to detect forms of disengagement, it may be helpful to think of different levels of client engagement as part of a spectrum, where the most engaged client recognizes their advisor as a partner and guide; they are open to exploring new ideas proposed by their advisor, ask questions, and are willing to develop and maintain good habits. Clients on the lower levels of client engagement may tend to disregard their advisor's instructions or have a limited understanding of what their advisor can do, simply viewing them as problem-solvers for pain points and not as sources of guidance to plan for – and reach! – important goals.

One particular key attribute of many disengaged clients is that they tend not to reach out when issues arise, which can create a vicious cycle precluding an advisor from providing deeper value (because they didn't know there was an opportunity to do so in the first place) and resulting in the client's failure to recognize the advisor as someone who could have provided guidance and value, reinforcing their decision not to reach out for help… and so on.

However, advisors can address client disengagement by using questions that encourage client participation and invite them to engage more actively in the financial planning process. Questions such as "What is different from the last time we met?" and "What changes are coming up soon?" can help to reveal relevant talking points and planning opportunities at the beginning of the meeting that the disengaged client may not have thought about mentioning on their own. Additionally, checking in with clients deeper into the meeting to monitor any potential financial anxiety can facilitate a more open and honest discussion if there are issues that a client has, but have not yet surfaced. For example, advisors might ask how confident the client feels with their financial plan or what worries them most (or least) about their finances. Finally, asking for feedback at the end of the meeting can help the client recognize that the advisor values their engagement and input; it also helps them recognize the progress they've made and the advisor's role in achieving that progress. Facilitating another opportunity for honesty and discussion provides another way to build trust and encourage client engagement.

Ultimately, the key point is that highly engaged clients not only provide more referrals and recognize their advisors' value, but they also tend to be more enjoyable to work with. And by carefully choosing the right questions to ask, advisors can recognize their clients' engagement levels and ensure that more of them are (and stay!) fully engaged!

« Previous
1
…
11
12
13
14
15
…
311
Next »

Want CE Credit for reading articles like this?

How To Register And Remain Registered With The SEC As An Internet Investment Adviser

#FA Success Ep 383: Leveraging YouTube Videos To Organically Grow 9X To $750M In Just 5 Years, With Troy Sharpe

How Advisors Can Work With Attorneys To Drive Better Estate Planning Outcomes For Clients

Weekend Reading For Financial Planners (April 27-28)

Want CE Credit for reading articles like this?

Reframing Risk In Retirement As “Over- And Under-Spending” To Better Communicate Decisions To Clients, And Finding “Best Guess” Spending Level

#FA Success Ep 382: Helping Clients Stay The Course With A More Total Relationship Approach To Their Near-Term Cash Flow Needs, With Tyson Ray

Assessing Payouts And Platform Fees For Profitability When Choosing An Independent Advisor Platform To Affiliate With

Weekend Reading For Financial Planners (April 20-21)

Kitces & Carl Ep 136: Should Internal Succession Plans Provide A G2 Discount For Lack Of Affordability?

Want CE Credit for reading articles like this?

3 Question Types To Go From (Just) Retained To Highly Engaged And Happier Clients

Nerd’s Eye View Praise

Nerd’s Eye View Praise

Showcase YOUR Expertise

Stay In Touch

Questions?

Please contact your Firm's Group Admin

Want CE Credit for reading articles like this?

Want CE Credit for reading articles like this?

Want CE Credit for reading articles like this?

Nerd’s Eye View Praise

Showcase YOUR Expertise

Stay In Touch

Questions?