The News: A recent Cogent survey finds that 51% of affluent Gen X investors are “on the fence” or “likely” to switch primary financial advisors in the next 12 months, a figure significantly higher than that of any other generation. Read More »

The News: A recent survey of individuals with more than $3 million in investable assets finds that only 34% “strongly agree” that their children will be able to handle their inheritance.

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In recent conversations with VIP Forum members about the client experience, we have spent a lot of time reviewing the components of the relationship life cycle. Typically members refer to three major stages: the sales cycle, new client onboarding, and relationship expansion. And while this is the ideal view of a client relationship, it ignores the inevitable fact that some clients will leave the firm.

One firm, Simcoe Bank (pseudonym), redefines its view of the relationship life cycle to include two new stages: client departure and relationship win-back. Simcoe maps out each phase of the client departure process to guide and improve frontline management of client relationship terminations.  Preliminary steps focus on convincing clients to continue doing business with the firm. If clients still decide to leave the firm, Simcoe also has steps in place to ensure a smooth departure and a positive exit experience. Read More »

The News: A recent Dow Jones survey shows that affluent investors often turn to professionals other than their primary advisor for advice on broader financial needs, as they report their primary advisor does not provide enough information or counseling on key issues such as tax strategies and estate planning. Read More »

An SEI quick poll shows that 70% of individuals with greater than $5 million in investable assets “friend,” “tweet,” “like,” “blog,” and otherwise use social media. Social media has the potential to become a powerful new communication channel for wealth managers, yet only 40% of the world’s 30 largest wealth management firms have an active social media presence.

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The News: A recent survey reveals a communication gap between advisors and clients, with 43% of investors reporting that understanding why their advisor recommends certain investments as the most challenging factor in working together.  Read More »

In recent conversations with members, nearly all firms have emphasized the need to know their clients better. Though many have instituted discovery processes and increased client contact standards, most admit they are far from reaching their goal of holistic advisory relationships with each client.

Spencer Bank, a pseudonym for a large diversified financial institution in North America, found that a limiting factor to developing holistic relationships with its clients was an inconsistent discovery process across the wealth management business lines. Even more concerning than the inconsistent discovery process, Spencer realized there was no accountability for team formation, resulting in unmet client needs and wasted opportunities to build deeper relationships. Read More »

The News: A recent study by MFS Investment Management finds that 75% of advisors think that clients have become more tolerant of risk over the past year, while only 15% of investors report their risk tolerance has actually increased. Read More »

The News: Seventy percent of high-net-worth clients found their advisor through a referral from a friend or family member, according to a recent Spectrem Group survey.

Our View: Double down on client contact and advice to build advocacy. Clients who are contacted every couple of months are nearly twice as likely to act as advocates compared to clients who are only contacted twice a year. Similarly, clients who receive advice on five to six personal financial issues are more than twice as likely to refer their advisor, compared to those clients who receive advice on only one issue.

How We Can Help: Learn how advisors can build client advocacy in The VIP Forum’s Understanding the Client Advocate.

Click here to read the full article from Millionaire’s Corner.

With everything going on in the world, it’s not surprising that consumer trust and confidence are in short supply. Our recent survey found that customer confidence in our industry is alarmingly low. Only 14% of consumers have complete confidence in the capabilities of financial providers–while 46% have almost none at all.

This is frightening because the purchase of financial products is driven in large part by the consumer’s confidence in providers.

Join our webinar on 7-8 April to learn more about consumer confidence, other drivers of engagement and their implications on your business.

If  you’re thinking, “Well, not in my country,” or, “Not with my customers,” think again.  We surveyed over 18,000 consumers representing 24 countries and found that the data barely changed regardless of geography, wealth tier or age.

This lack of confidence is just one of several startling findings we’ll cover in our upcoming webinar. Join us to hear our full analysis of global findings.

Not a member? We invite you to join us for this kick-off webinar by visiting the public registration page.