The workplace is changing, and forward thinking financial advisors are adapting to meet the needs of today’s employees. The traditional model for attracting and retaining clients is outdated and no longer as effective, especially with the younger generation.
Advisors need modern tools and modern ways to reach clientele.
What Employees Want
Younger employees are looking for more than just financial education. They want professionals to guide them through their unique personal circumstances, explain complex concepts in plain language, and create realistic and actionable goals.
Younger generations are more comfortable using technology to manage their finances, so they tend to look for an advisor who offers online tools. They expect all their banking, investment, retirement and insurance products to be easily manageable from a phone. They’ll tend to prefer an advisor who is accessible through digital means, such as email or video call.
One of the most valuable benefits you can offer these clients is full transparency. They are often skeptical of traditional financial institutions, so they’ll look for an advisor who is clear about their compensation structure. They may prefer fee-only advisors rather than those compensated with commissions or incentives.
Build a Relationship Early
When I was a younger professional, I was working in a position that allowed me to talk to physicians every day, particularly young doctors who were new in their medical careers and practices. I found that while many pharmaceutical companies offer similar competing products in terms of efficacy and performance, with all things being equal, physicians tended to be loyal to certain pharmaceutical brands.
What was the “tiebreaker” for these younger physicians? It was the relationship that was established with the pharmaceutical companies. These relationships were built in residency, when the pharma company would support them in the early stages of their careers. The brands built their following early, and the physicians tended to reward them with loyalty throughout their careers.
Financial advisors can use this strategy by shifting the focus from attracting clients with high AUM (assets under management) to gathering clients that might have high AUMs in the future. This means targeting younger people who are just starting their careers and building relationships with them early on. By doing this, financial advisors can help shape the financial habits of their clients from an early stage, setting them up for long-term success.
To attract younger clients, ditch the traditional marketing methods, such as cold calling and direct mail. Instead, focus on building a strong online presence and using social media to connect with potential clients. This means creating engaging content that speaks to your target audience and sharing it on platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
How to Deliver Change
Financial advisors can use technology to their advantage. With financial wellness tools and resources and digital financial planning software, advisors can provide more personalized advice and services to their clientele. This can help attract younger clients who are more comfortable with technology and prefer to do things digitally.
Be mindful of the changing regulatory environment. New regulations, such as the SEC’s Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI), require financial advisors to act in their clients’ best interests. This means providing more transparent and accurate information about fees, commissions, and potential conflicts of interest.
Offer more comprehensive financial planning services. Younger clients are looking for help with everything from budgeting and debt management to retirement planning and investment strategies. By offering a wide range of services, financial advisors can position themselves as the go-to resource for all of their clients’ financial needs.
One of Your Best Tools
One of the most valuable tools you can have is an active partnership with 401GO. We understand how valuable financial advisors can be and we created our platform to facilitate that relationship for a truly advisor-led experience.
Our competitors can’t even come close.
Find out more about how a partnership with 401GO can make you and your valuable service more scalable and impactful and help your book of business grow.
