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#FASuccess Ep 391: Improving Efficiency (In A Solo Practice) By Eliminating What Clients Don’t Really Care About Anyway, With Christopher Jones

June 25, 2024 07:03 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Financial Advisor Success Podcast

Christopher Jones Podcast Featured Image FAS

Welcome everyone! Welcome to the 391st episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast!

My guest on today's podcast is Christopher Jones. Chris is the founder of Sparrow Wealth Management, an RIA based in Orlando, Florida, that oversees approximately $110 million in assets under management for 68 client households.

What's unique about Chris, though, is how he has built a highly efficient solo practice that allows him to work fewer than 25 hours/ week to have more time for his family and managed to cut his hours down by relentlessly focusing on only the financial planning tasks that really truly matter most to his clients… and either outsourcing, or just eliminating, the rest.

In this episode, we talk in-depth about Chris's efficient planning process, including how he works through clients' financial plans collaboratively during their annual meetings and sends them a final copy afterward (instead of conducting a lot of time-intensive plan preparation in advance), how Chris used to do in-depth cash flow analyses with his clients but now saves time by simply focusing on his clients' stated goals instead, and how Chris cuts down on the time needed to manage cash requests from client accounts by not withdrawing his retired clients' spending needs on a monthly or ad hoc basis but instead simply doing a single sizable annual distribution from their portfolio all at once in January to cover them for the entire year.

We also talk about how Chris has improved the efficiency of his practice by building a carefully curated tech stack, deliberately using the specialized features of a range of best-in-class AdvisorTech products rather than pursuing an all-in-one solution, how Chris saves time by purposefully choosing not to automate certain tasks (and deliberately updates client balances for their annual reviews manually each year instead of using account aggregation tools), and how Chris's decision to transition away from using customized Excel spreadsheets he created himself and instead use a tech stack made up of third-party software tools helped him serve wealthier clients, driving his AUM from $43 million to $110 million in just 8 years.

And be certain to listen to the end, where Chris shares how he has grown his firm with a focus on generating referrals from clients who are well-connected in their professional fields, how Chris managed the transition from operating in an in-person office to running a remote practice (which allowed him to move across the country to be closer to family while still continuing to grow), and how Christopher compensates for his self-acknowledged perfectionist tendencies by outsourcing tasks for which he know he would want to find the 'perfect' solution, allowing someone else to just get it done (and saving him time and reducing his anxiety in the process).

So, whether you're interested in learning about building an efficient solo practice, how to create a tech stack based on 'best in class' tools, or how outsourcing can help save time and reduce anxiety, then we hope you enjoy this episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast, with Christopher Jones.

Promoting The Financial Advice Industry ‘Sport’ Positively To Build Trust In The Client ‘Fan Base’

June 24, 2024 07:03 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Practice Management

The requirements to run a successful, growing advisory firm are often less about doing the technical work with clients and more about marketing value to get prospects in the door in the first place. Yet, many firms' prospecting strategies have often relied on individual advisors being able to bring business to the firm instead of actively shaping and promoting the firm's own reputation. And as independent financial advisors have shifted away from transaction-based roles into more holistic, person-oriented, and advice-centric ones, many marketing campaigns have adopted a 'good guy' (e.g., comprehensive, planning-centric, fee-based advisors) versus 'bad guy' (e.g., ignorant, overcharging stockbrokers) storytelling approach to promoting the industry. More often than not, though, this type of storytelling only serves to reduce consumer trust in the industry more than building trust in a firm, making business development efforts harder for individual advisors and, ironically, driving more people away from engaging with an advisor at all.

When it comes to a firm's business development efforts, individual advisors benefit most from firms with a strong brand and reputation for offering stellar and relevant client service, otherwise, the advisors often become wholly responsible for marketing themselves to find clients for the firm. If our industry is likened to sports, we can consider firms like teams and advisors as players; in this way, it becomes clear that promoting the industry (sport) as a whole positively and in a constructive manner benefits not just the firm (team), but the individual advisors (players) as well!

Which means that advisors should not be expected to champion the planning industry alone when prospecting for clients. This is especially true for advisors early in their careers; just like rookie athletes, they need the support and resources of their firms. So it behooves firms to prioritize their reputation and client experience to attract clients, who get channeled to the best advisors, who become well-known for their excellent work… which, in turn, builds up the firm's reputation even higher.

While focusing on promoting the industry more positively may be a helpful (and much-needed) shift, individual advisors and firms can also work collectively to sell financial planning by promoting the value of their firms as a whole and not just by showcasing the talent of individual advisors. Incidentally, this strategy can also improve the firm's client retention in the long term, since clients are sold on the firm experience rather than on any one individual advisor. Furthermore, advocates of the industry such as the CFP Board and other professional organizations can also support both the health and growth of the industry by taking the initiative to positively promote it, which can encourage more individuals to seek out financial planning services (and therefore more 'winners' for the firms and their advisors!).

Ultimately, the key point is that, much as how ticket sales to a basketball game are likely influenced by the reputation of the player, the team, and the sport, prospecting for financial planning clients is influenced by the reputation of the advisor, the firm, and the industry as a whole. Rather than marketing with heroes and villains, promoting the overall industry (while still emphasizing the value that makes a particular firm unique) can help firms build robust brands and offer marketing structures to their advisors, empowering them with the ability to provide great, holistic advice to their clients and build trust in the industry themselves – 1 client at a time!

Weekend Reading For Financial Planners (June 22-23)

June 21, 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 affluent Americans believe they need an average of $5.5 million in assets to both retire and pass on a legacy interest (though many have yet to establish an estate plan), according to a recent survey. At the same time, they also overwhelmingly recognize the value of financial advisors, not only for increasing their wealth beyond what they could have achieved on their own, but also for helping them feel more prepared and less stressed about their finances!

Also in industry news this week:

A recent survey indicates that financial advisors continue to move towards ETFs and away from mutual funds when it comes to client portfolio recommendations, though a majority of advisors continue to see a role for active management in the investment management process
A former employee has filed a lawsuit alleging Reg BI violations at Fidelity, including a push for advisors to push customers to use the company's own higher-fee managed accounts rather than lower-cost funds, which, if found to be true, could lead to a wider SEC investigation and sound a warning for other firms that might be engaging in similar practices

From there, we have several articles on tax planning:

Amidst a broader tax enforcement push, the Treasury Department this week announced that it plans to crack down on "basis shifting" transactions used by certain partnerships to reduce their tax bills
A recent Supreme Court ruling regarding buy-sell agreements indicates the value advisors can add by reviewing these arrangements to ensure they meet their clients' needs without creating an additional tax burden
How financial advisors can help clients avoid (increasingly punitive) estimated tax penalties, from determining the amount they owe to leveraging strategies to pay the taxes efficiently

We also have a number of articles on advisor marketing:

While an advisor might be tempted to spend most of a prospect meeting explaining their personal story and the value they can offer, active listening could be a more effective approach to build trust with the prospect and increase the chances they decide to become a client
How using a simple visual "road map" can help tie together for a prospect an advisor's verbal explanation of their services and the next steps if the prospect decides to become a client
How flipping pain points into positive, achievable goals to work towards can help prospects better understand the value an advisor offers

We wrap up with 3 final articles, all about the cost of car ownership:

How a combination of elevated sticker prices and interest rates are combining to dramatically increase the cost of purchasing a new (or used) car
How the math behind the decision of whether to drive a car 'into the ground' or buy a new one has changed in recent years
Why car insurance premiums have spiked well beyond the overall inflation rate during the past year

Enjoy the 'light' reading!

Creating Incentive Trusts To Foster Beneficiary Legacies Without Spoiling The Kids

June 19, 2024 07:01 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Estate Planning

The role of estate planning is most commonly considered to be about transferring assets from one generation to the next in the most efficient manner possible (e.g., how to minimize the burden of estate taxes and avoid the public spectacle of the probate process). And yet, looking at estate planning solely through the lens of assets on a balance sheet can make it easy to overlook the reality that people often have other, intangible assets that they wish to pass on to the next generation, such as values, lessons, and opportunities to pursue lifelong passions that can't be achieved – and in many cases may be contradicted – by a simple transfer of cash.

So it often makes sense to think of estate planning not only in terms of which assets go to which person, but also in terms of how best to use those assets to incentivize the types of behavior that the assets' owner wants to instill in their heirs. As while will-based transfers and cash gifts generally impose no restrictions on how they're used by their beneficiaries, certain types of trust-based estate plans can allow an individual to set very specific guidelines for how their assets are held and under which circumstances they can be distributed.

The most common example involves trust provisions that direct assets to be distributed to beneficiaries once they obtain a certain age (e.g., at age 21 or 30) or stagger distributions at multiple ages. However, it's possible to get much more specific and to allow distributions that are tied to specific conditions that incentivize the beneficiary, such as academic achievements (like maintaining a certain GPA or attaining advanced degrees), life events (like getting married or buying a first home), or even the level of the beneficiary's own earned income (like allowing for 'matching' distributions equal or in proportion to the amount of income that the beneficiary earns).

In addition to incentivizing behaviors, trust provisions can also include tools to disincentivize certain behaviors. For beneficiaries who have known behavioral issues such as gambling or substance abuse, the trustee may be able to delay distributions until there is evidence that the behaviors have been curtailed. Likewise, an individual wanting to avoid litigation or family conflict as the result of a contested estate (e.g., by a family member who feels they were treated unfairly) can include a "no contest" clause that effectively disinherits anyone who takes legal action against the estate.

The key point is that as with most financial planning topics, advisors can play a role in helping to guide clients to the most appropriate solutions for their goals, including how to carry on their legacy of personal values. By asking questions to clarify the client's aims in leaving money to their beneficiaries and then helping them find an estate administrator or trustee and an attorney who can draft a trust that reflects the client's goals, advisors can assist clients in making sure their legacy is preserved for generations to come!

#FASuccess Ep 390: Helping Prospects Find Their Way To You Online With (Local) SEO, With Brent Carnduff

June 18, 2024 07:02 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Financial Advisor Success Podcast

Brent Carnduff Podcast Featured Image FAS

Welcome back to the 390th episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast!

My guest on today's podcast is Brent Carnduff. Brent is the founder of Advisor Rankings, a marketing firm based in Boise, Idaho that specializes in search engine optimization for financial advisors.

What's unique about Brent, though, is how his firm helps advisors maximize both the advisor's organic SEO to attract prospects with specific planning needs through effective content creation, and their local SEO to rise to the top of the Google rankings when a consumer simply searches for a financial advisor located near them.

In this episode, we talk in-depth about how Brent helps advisors improve their local SEO, starting by claiming and then accurately and completely filling out their firm's Google Business Profile page, why Brent recommends that advisors ask their clients (consistently and systematically, to be compliant) to write a review on Google in order to boost both the firm's search ranking and the number of prospects who actually visit the firm's website, and why Brent views local SEO as an opportunity for advisors who already work with clients in their geographic area to turn their existing presence into a geographic niche that more effectively attracts new nearby prospects.

We also talk about Brent's advice for maximizing organic SEO to attract clients with planning needs that match the advisor's expertise, including the optimal cadence and length of content for SEO purposes, Brent's recommendations for selecting topics for website content, in particular writing lengthy hyper-specific posts on focused subjects that won't appear on more generalist websites but are relevant to the firm's ideal clientele, and Brent's tips for coming up with ideas for content, such as by simply writing articles to answer the questions that an advisor's clients are already asking.

And be certain to listen to the end, where Brent shares how serving a specific client niche can play a major role in helping an advisor really rise in Google search rankings, why Brent finds that local SEO can have a positive impact in 6 months but organic content-based SEO has to be a more long-term investment for a firm, and why Brent hired a coach to get his own business to the next level, especially by helping him to price his services at their real value, and helping him to get more comfortable in delegating tasks so he can focus his time on providing his SEO expertise to the advisors he serves.

So, whether you're interested in learning about how Brent assists advisors in improving their local SEO, content strategies that Brent recommends that advisors can leverage to resonate with their target clientele, or how Brent advises on maximizing organic SEO, then we hope you enjoy this episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast, with Brent Carnduff.

How Financial Advisers Can Boost Online Reputation Through Google Reviews (While Complying With SEC Marketing Rule Requirements)

June 17, 2024 07:01 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Marketing

Online reviews are commonly given and used by consumers across many industries, from finding a good restaurant in a new town to reviewing a lawn care service provider. Nonetheless, fewer than 10% of SEC-registered investment advisers report using them, even though the SEC’s updated investment adviser marketing rule allows financial advisors to proactively encourage testimonials (from clients), use endorsements (from non-clients), and highlight their own ratings on various third-party review sites. Which suggests that advisers have an opportunity to leverage the power of online reviews, which can act as "evergreen referrals" and drive more prospects to seek out the firm’s services, all while adhering to their firm’s compliance requirements.

While some advisors might be concerned that reviews they encourage clients to make on the firm’s Google Business Profile could be seen as advertisements (creating additional compliance requirements), the language of the rule (and the SEC’s stated intent behind it) suggests that by providing all clients an equal opportunity to leave candid feedback on a Google Business Profile would not in and of itself turn that content into an advertisement (unless the content was later endorsed or approved by the adviser). However, selectively asking a subset of clients for testimonials, or guiding their responses to encourage more positive content (involving themselves in the preparation of the content), would likely result in the content being considered a communication of the adviser, potentially rendering it an advertisement subject to the disclosure and compliance requirements of the marketing rule.

Even though the updated marketing rule has enhanced advisers’ ability to leverage online reviews, some advisers might wonder whether clients will actually leave reviews (and, if, so, whether they will be positive). However, an analysis of thousands of Google reviews from financial advisory firms around the country shows not only that clients are willing to leave reviews (particularly if the firm has a proactive strategy for review generation), but also that firms with the most reviews tended to have higher than average ratings for advisory firms overall. Further, advisers tend to have higher ratings than businesses in other industries (perhaps reflecting the financial planning industry’s high retention rates and ability to make a difference in clients’ lives!).

To create an effective (and compliant) Google review strategy, a starting point for advisers is to update their Form ADV to reflect the use of testimonials and their Policies & Procedures to govern their approach to collecting, approving, and sharing testimonials. Next, by taking a proactive approach to reinforcing where they add value (e.g., 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). Further, advisers can potentially reduce the number of negative reviews received by ensuring that prospect and client relationships that do not work out (e.g., when a prospect does not meet the firm’s asset minimum) are handled respectfully (e.g., by referring the prospect to another advisor who might be able to better meet their needs) so that the individual does not feel compelled to leave a negative review.

Ultimately, the key point is that the SEC’s updated marketing rule provides advisers with the opportunity to boost their online reputation through the use of online reviews. And by taking a proactive approach (both to encouraging reviews and to meeting the rule’s requirements), advisers can potentially increase the number of inbound prospects they attract while remaining in compliance with the marketing rule’s requirements!

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Kitces Financial Planning Value Summit 2024

Live Virtual Event: See How Successful Advisors Are Demonstrating Their Value To Clients and Prospects

#FASuccess Ep 391: Improving Efficiency (In A Solo Practice) By Eliminating What Clients Don’t Really Care About Anyway, With Christopher Jones

Promoting The Financial Advice Industry ‘Sport’ Positively To Build Trust In The Client ‘Fan Base’

Weekend Reading For Financial Planners (June 22-23)

Want CE Credit for reading articles like this?

Creating Incentive Trusts To Foster Beneficiary Legacies Without Spoiling The Kids

#FASuccess Ep 390: Helping Prospects Find Their Way To You Online With (Local) SEO, With Brent Carnduff

How Financial Advisers Can Boost Online Reputation Through Google Reviews (While Complying With SEC Marketing Rule Requirements)

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Kitces Financial Planning Value Summit 2024

Live Virtual Event: See How Successful Advisors Are Demonstrating Their Value To Clients and Prospects

Want CE Credit for reading articles like this?

Nerd’s Eye View Praise

Showcase YOUR Expertise

Stay In Touch

Questions?