The Enduring Advisory Firm

The Enduring Advisory Firm is a book for the forward-thinking financial advisor. Financial advisement is traditionally a hands-on field, so few in the industry feel threatened by the shifting social and technological landscape. In this book, Mark Tibergien—routinely named one of the most influential people in the financial services world—and Kim Dellarocca make a compelling case for taking a closer look at technology and other big-deal industry trends in order to move the business of financial advice into the next stage of its evolution.

Combining a facts-based approach with case studies and examples from the field, The Enduring Advisory Firm will ignite your imagination by demonstrating practical strategies for attracting clients and streamlining operations. Today's smart practice managers are focusing on emerging topics like the needs and expectations of the Millennial generation, mobile and interactive technologies, and growth planning. Responding thoughtfully to these trends, with the help of this book, could propel your financial advising business toward a more successful future.

• In-depth discussion of trends and forces that you can harness to reshape your financial advisement business
• Case studies and examples showing how to navigate the most difficult business decisions
• Innovative ideas for process improvement, more fruitful client interactions, and sustainable growth
• Tips and insight for attracting Millennial clients and talent by leveraging new technologies

The Enduring Advisory Firm will inspire financial advisors, managers, and executives to branch out in ways that will lead to measurable growth. With a newfound focus on the evolution of your business, you might be surprised at where change takes you. In addition to providing RIAs with guidelines to help them succeed, all of the proceeds from this book will support the CFP Board Center for Financial Planning, a national initiative to create a more diverse and financial planning profession so that every American has access to competent and ethical financial planning advice. The Center brings together CFP® professionals, firms, educators, researchers and experts to address profession-wide challenges in the areas of diversity and workforce development, and to build an academic home that offers opportunities for conducting and publishing new research that adds to the financial planning body of knowledge. Learn more at www.CenterforFinancialPlanning.org.

Preface xi

PART I: THE STATE OF THE ADVISORY BUSINESS

CHAPTER 1 Key Business Trends 3

CHAPTER 2 What Business Are You In? 15

PART II: THE ROLE OF DEMOGRAPHICS AND THE ABILITY TO GROW

CHAPTER 3 A New Paradigm for Relating and Growing Relationships 31

CHAPTER 4 The Mature Client 41

CHAPTER 5 The Baby Boomers 55

CHAPTER 6 The Generation X Client 69

CHAPTER 7 Millennials 83

CHAPTER 8 Generation Z and Beyond 93

CHAPTER 9 Investing Women 99

PART III: BRINGING CHANGE TO YOUR PRACTICE

CHAPTER 10 Transforming from Practice to Business 119

CHAPTER 11 Culture Wars 135

CHAPTER 12 A Vision and Leader for the Future 153

Index 173

MARK C. TIBERGIEN is CEO of Pershing Advisor Solutions, a BNY Mellon company. A regular columnist for Investment Advisor magazine, he is the author of Practice Made Perfect, How to Value, Buy, or Sell a Financial Advisory Practice, and Practice Made (More) Perfect.

KIM G. DELLAROCCA is managing director, BNY Mellon. In addition to her global marketing leadership role, Kim directs one of the industry’s most expansive thought leadership programs and has overseen the publishing of more than 125 studies and papers on the critical topics facing financial services firms today. Kim is invited to speak internationally and her views have been quoted more than 100 times in industry and mainstream publications, including The New York Times, Bloomberg, The Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today.

The largest risk to the financial advisory industry isn’t percolating in Silicon Valley—it’s the false confidence financial advisors, managers, and executives have in the sustainable success of their current business models. Today’s world looks a lot different than it did when many firms formed, and failure to retool your advisory services to the new generations of clients and the technologies they use could mean the end of your business. The Enduring Advisory Firm provides detailed guidance for making the strategic adjustments to attract more clients, produce organic growth, and operate with state-of-the-art efficiency.

The combined expertise of this book’s remarkable authorial team shines through on every page as they lay out a road map of tangible actions to take in order to ensure your financial advisory firm stands out from the competition and achieves its unique goals for success. First, it demystifies the most common assumptions about the business of financial advice and why they won’t continue to hold true in the future. Then, it enables you to develop a strategic plan for growth by defining your ideal client and organizing your firm to provide an optimal experience. The authors share their firsthand insights and extensive research to create in-depth profiles on the major types of clients seeking financial advice so you can better customize your approach to reach them in meaningful ways, anticipate their habits and preferences, and exceed their expectations. This practical tool enables you to:

• Gain research-based perspective on mature clients, Baby Boomers, Generations X and Z, and Millennials, as well as the more active and independent female investor
• Get close to the best practices top advisory firms use to distinguish themselves, establish a positive, mission-driven culture, and create leadership vision and guiding principles
• Use proven tactics to attract and retain the most promising new talent

Don’t let your business stall—evolve it with The Enduring Advisory Firm.