A growing number of advisors are getting frustrated with the lack of time they can spend with their clients to the point where many are considering retirement, according to research conducted by J.D. Power.
As part of the J.D. Power 2023 U.S. Financial Advisor Satisfaction Study, the firm surveyed more than 4,000 employee and independent financial advisors and found 28% of them said they do not have enough time to spend with their clients.
Of those who reported that, 41% said they are spending more time per month than their peers on other activities they define as non-value added work. Those included compliance and administrative tasks.
“Right now, many advisors are struggling to find the time to deliver the level of hands-on service they know is critical to growing their business,” said Craig Martin, executive managing director and head of wealth and lending intelligence at J.D. Power. “They’re spending more time on administrative and compliance-oriented tasks, and, in many cases, they are starting to question whether their firm is committed to providing them with the support and resources they need to succeed.”
Addressing compliance requirements is becoming a larger aspect of an advisor’s routine. As more regulations are imposed, it means advisors must dedicate more of their time to complying with them.
“You probably aren’t going to find any advisor out there who wouldn’t say there’s too many regulations [or] too many requirements out there,” Martin said. “Everyone feels like there may be too heavy of a hand, but that’s the reality everyone is facing.”
Firms themselves also impose requirements that draw their advisors away from clients. Most have to do with programs a firm is implementing such as diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, where firms impose required training sessions on their advisors. The advisors might question how those sessions are relevant to the work they do with their clients and others may disagree with the message entirely, according to Martin.
With advisors growing frustrated about having to take time doing things they might not necessarily agree with or understand, it has many of them thinking about the door. The study found that 20% of those surveyed said they are less than five years away from retirement.
For those firms looking to retain their advisory staff there are two major qualities that advisors are looking for in a firm, according to the study. Those two qualities are strong leadership and strong culture.
Advisors want to feel supported by their firm, so they do not have to necessarily miss time with a client. If they have to contend with a technology problem or a compliance issue, they want the firm to help them so they can minimize the time away from clients, Martin explained.
There is no correct culture. An advisor has to find one they fit in. That could include a focus on a particular issue or more support, or whatever they believe to be important, Martin added.
“Culture in particular is always about alignment so certain people are going to fit and certain people are not going to fit,” he said. “If the advisor doesn't feel that and believe what the leadership is telling them or the direction and action that are being taken, there's going to be a negative response to that and it may not be really great for one advisor.”
It is not an easy task for firms, Martin explained. They need to develop the culture they are comfortable being known for while also making sure that culture is open and inviting to the advisors they want to attract.
“You’ve got to thread the needle in finding the right way to talk about culture and inclusion but also recognize that at some point, certain advisors will not fit and that’s ok,” he said.
One group of advisors who are not looking to retire soon and have said they are quite satisfied with their job as advisors are women. The overall satisfaction survey among women is 637 based on a 1,000-point scale, compared to 578 for male employee advisors, the report found.
A major reason for that has been the efforts firms have made incorporating more women into their firm and the presence of more women in leadership positions, according to Martin.
"I think you're starting to see ... more of an emphasis to bring them into the industry,” he said. “We see things like mentorships, program participation and I think that's helping get them more engaged and more satisfied [and] I think there is a concerted effort to support them and make them feel comfortable in that environment.”