In a matter of a few weeks this past spring, financial advisors were plunged into crisis mode seemingly overnight and out of nowhere.

Every crisis and recession is unique, but several trends are emerging from this crisis that could forever change the advisory business. These trends will bring changes that will be incredible opportunities for some advisors, but for those advisors who can’t or won’t adapt, they risk being left behind.

As a practitioner and an owner of an advisory firm, I see several important changes emerging from this crisis that advisors need to pay attention to in order to remain relevant and competitive as we emerge from this crisis.

Cybercrime will pose a massive threat. Cybercrime is a major threat for nearly all firms, many of whom had to cobble together a work-from-home cybersecurity policy in a matter of days, and are at higher than ever risk of attack with many employees working from unsecure workstations and unsecure internet networks.

Financial institutions are always among the most vulnerable to cybercrime, and in a recent article in ETF trends, Stephen McBride asserts: “The coronavirus is laying the groundwork for a massive cyberattack…and the largest cyberattack in HISTORY [will happen] within the next six months.”

Since remote working will likely continue for months, and cyber criminals are increasing their frequency of attacks during the pandemic, advisory firms will need to adapt quickly, train their staff and be vigilant in protecting client’s data.

Streamlined portfolio management will accelerate. Many advisors are still stuck in the old commission-based model and doing custom portfolios for every client with an inventory of thousands of positions.

When the stock market entered a bear market in a matter of a few weeks, and then quickly reversed course to rise 40% since the March lows, how can advisors who customize portfolios for every client possibly keep up in a rapidly moving market?

Advisors who have embraced a more limited “menu” of options for clients or who maintain portfolio models were able to take action and rebalance quickly.

Streamlined portfolio management allows advisors to focus on the higher-payoff activities of meeting with clients and making strategic portfolio and financial planning decisions, while better keeping up with markets that are becoming increasingly fast-moving and volatile.

Fiduciary status will increasingly become table stakes. Even though the original DOL Fiduciary died after Trump took office, and it remains to be seen what future fiduciary standards for advisors will look like, I’ve noticed an important trend over the last five years—more consumers are becoming aware of the importance of their advisor’s fiduciary status.

Prior to a few years ago, potential clients had no clue what the word fiduciary meant and why it was important. But that has changed. Increasingly, potential clients broach the issue and ask about fiduciary status and what it means for our relationship.

As a result of more consumer awareness, many non-fiduciary advisors will struggle to demonstrate to potential clients that they can be trusted to the same extent of their fiduciary counterparts to avoid conflicts of interest and always act in the client’s best interest.

Face-to-face becomes screen-to-screen. Clients of all ages are becoming comfortable with Zoom and will likely prefer to continue to meet virtually as it has many conveniences and advantages. As time passes, I believe a return to regular in-person meetings may end up being the exception rather than the rule. This trend has several implications for advisors.

First of all, the advisors who can present well to a camera, using technology proficiently to build rapport with clients and prospects through a screen will be able to capitalize on the move to virtual to win more business, and open up opportunities to expand geographically.

Secondly, advisors who relied on face-to-face prospecting will need to get creative about shifting their prospecting and business development efforts to digital. It’s a real challenge that advisors need to figure out quickly if they still want to grow their business over the next 12-18 months and beyond.

In addition, advisors who demonstrate leadership and steadiness through consistent virtual communication will deepen trust and their relationships with clients during this difficult time.

Accelerated retirements could disrupt the advisory business. A recent study by the National Center for the Middle Market found that Covid-19 will prove catastrophic for 25% of businesses in their survey. In my own conversations with business owner clients and other colleagues who work with many business owners, I’m finding that Covid may end up accelerating retirements and business exits for many owners who are close to retirement and don’t have the energy to rebuild after this crisis.

Accelerated retirements for business owners will be an incredible opportunity for the advisors who are serving business owners and who can help them navigate their retirement and the exit from their business.

Depending on how protracted this recession and market downturn is, it’s also quite possible that many baby boomer advisors approaching retirement may decide to accelerate their retirements as well, rather than trying to rebuild their business after Covid, presenting an opportunity for younger advisors buy firms at lower valuations and to serve clients with less competition.

Firm owners will look to right-size, not scale. Staffing costs are the largest expense for most advisory firms, so advisory firms who have been expanding and adding staff during the bull market of the last 10 years will begin to question their staffing decisions after a drop in revenue and continued uncertainty ahead. A continued move to paperless will also save time for client service staff, allowing time and resources to be used more efficiently.

Advisors who can adapt and better utilize the outsourcing of their non-core functions to tools like Calendly, virtual assistants and gig workers hired on platforms like Upwork and Fiverr will be able keep headcounts and costs lower.

A close second for an advisory firm’s expenses behind staff is office rent, and often in fancy and expensive downtown offices. With more clients adapting to and likely preferring virtual meetings, advisors will undoubtedly start to question why they are paying thousands of dollars on expensive office rent every month.

In addition, many firms who shifted to a virtual-based team found that their staff is still able to work efficiently from home, so they will likely begin to look seriously at downsizing or eliminating their expensive office space when it’s time to renew their lease.

Advisory firms who choose to right-size their firms will be able to take advantage of the significant cost savings to bring more to their bottom line and improve the value of their advisory firm.

Ashley Micciche is the chief executive officer of True North Retirement Advisors.