“We include all employees in our strategic planning process and specifically train next gen advisors in leading strategic planning so that they become practiced in this regard,” says Downing.
Bartlett is also attending to the internal succession of its advisors. Because it serves many multigenerational families who have kept their assets with the firm for decades, continuity in the advisory relationships is key to retaining these large legacy clients.
“Succession here is by no means flawless, but we make it work,” Hagerty says. “Generally speaking, every account has two professionals involved, and genuinely two professionals, not a lead and someone who has a handshake and then stays in the background for a decade or more. It’s genuinely a couple of people who attend the meetings.”
As they reach 55 years old, Bartlett’s advisors are required to take occasional sabbaticals. For a minimum of four weeks, a senior advisor will leave the office and retain no e-mail contact with clients. During this period, an “understudy” advisor will meet with all the senior advisors’ clients to help cement a relationship.
Maintaining multigenerational client relationships involves more than advisor continuity, Poole says. Bartlett’s planners are offering fee-only advice to younger clients with less wealth on a retainer basis.
“I work mostly with individual families,” Poole says. “We do also have a subset of institutional, nonprofit and endowment clients. I have been working a lot with clients who are at the beginning of their careers. They have debt, are coming out of school, and are prioritizing how to set themselves up for the future, buying a second or third house, taking care of their parents.”
Many of Poole’s clients do not have assets outside of workplace retirement plans. They receive assistance on issues like expense management, maximizing savings, debt management and insurance analysis.
Bartlett goes to some lengths to get clients’ children involved in the process. In the past, the firm has offered a “Kids’ Day” involving educational outreach to clients’ children to help teach them about finances and their families’ legacies.
“Over the years we have adapted to the needs, whether that is the type of advice, the technology or the investments that they are looking for,” says Poole. “Based on the goals and desires of our newest generation of clients, we are using more investments which are aligned with a client’s core values.”
Even as Bartlett has grown into a massive wealth advisor, its leadership has tried to retain the human feel of the firm, keeping client discussions live and in-person when possible.