Financial firms often are able to recruit young advisors, but more is needed to keep them and develop their talent, says a new study by Fidelity Clearing & Custody Solutions released Wednesday.

The Future Leaders Study shows there are some basic actions firms can undertake to encourage young advisors to become successful and to stay at the firm that trains them.

Although more than one in three RIA firm owners plan to leave the business within the next 10 years, three out of four do not have the next generation of owners in place to take over, says Fidelity.

“You hear a lot about the war for talent, but I don’t think firm leaders take the second and third rounds of battle as seriously as the first,” says Jylanne Dunne, senior vice president, practice management and consulting, Fidelity Clearing & Custody Solutions. “Recruiting smart, motivated individuals is important, but can you keep them and can you groom them into future leaders?”

“Individual motivations may differ, but there are some underlying basic needs and aspirations of next generation advisors that firms are, in many ways, already capable of supporting. The real opportunity exists in formalizing this support to develop and retain top talent,” Dunne adds.

Fidelity advises firms to embed new advisors in teams, establish formal mentoring programs, consistently provide one-on-one coaching after client interactions, and provide training on important matters such as Social Security, health care and pensions to help build credibility with older clientele.

The initial burden of establishing a book of business can mean several years of unpredictable income for new advisors, creating a distraction that may impact performance. Consider offering a safety net through salaried positions and helping them establish fruitful prospecting channels by introducing young advisors to one or two strong centers of influence, says the report.

Fidelity also advises firms to “take the mystery out of how advisors get compensated by providing training and communication on how compensation works at the firm [and] create a clear career path with transparent guidelines on the results needed to transition from one role to another.”

Younger advisors want to serve young clients, the study says. Firms need to provide flexibility in their books to allow them to serve these clients. Young advisors also can be used in transfer of wealth situations by assigning them to help the children and heirs of your current clients.

Young advisors also will need to know the future of the financial industry. Therefore, firms need to build awareness about issues such as the proposed DOL fiduciary rule, the shift to passive investments and the rise of robo-advice.

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