The current chaotic economic environment has high-net-worth individuals looking for new ways to invest and often new advisors, as only 11% consider themselves loyal to their current advisors, says a "Survey of the Affluent" compiled by Janus Labs.

Advisors should look at that as an opportunity to cultivate new clients and cement the relationship with existing ones, says the Janus' practice management study, and looking at the attributes of top advisors can reveal clues on how to do that.

Top advisors take a personal interest in their clients to the extent that they may even want to find out what the client is reading. Preferences in books can reveal a person's character and his view of the market and such things as risk tolerance.

Successful advisors who have a personal relationship with clients anticipate their unstated needs. One successful advisor interviewed for the survey sent a client a guide on what to see and do when he was planning a European vacation.
Good advisors know their own strengths, Janus says. For instance, an advisor who is analytical may want to work with clients who are CPA's and engineers. One such advisor in the survey provided his CPA clients with direct access to their tax reports in February, anticipating they would be anxious for the information as quickly as possible.

Advisors realize personal attention to clients is important, so successful advisors establish a reward system for team members who increase their one-on-one contact with clients.

Chaos in the market demands continual reassessment of risks for each client. This is not a time to 'set it and forget it," Janus says.