We knew we had to change how we operate if we wanted to address these issues. Here’s what we did:
-
We created a fee-based, advice-oriented culture with salaried advisors replacing the commission-driven, product-centric model, and concomitantly changed from the suitability standard to a fiduciary standard.
-
With our advisors no longer building independent practices and instead working together to deliver highly personalized service, we created client service teams composed of a lead advisor, a support advisor and a dedicated client service associate. Our firm’s financial planners and investment management committee work closely with these teams to devise appropriate investing and planning solutions; those decisions are no longer made by a single advisor.
-
We established defined career paths with clear opportunities for growth, both in responsibility and income potential. Advisor salaries currently range from $50,000 (for inexperienced people) to $165,000, with potential for bonuses based on career development, client satisfaction, and firm profitability. New advisors start as para-planners and then progress to associate advisor, lead advisor and ultimately, potentially to partner. They are also eligible for comprehensive employee benefits, including a 401(k) plan.
-
We now market as a firm, not as numerous independent practices. This allows us to control our brand messaging and implement highly effective social media, email and video marketing strategies, all aimed at providing our advisors a steady flow of new clients.
These changes to our business model have made us a far more client-focused organization, enabling us to deliver vastly improved and consistent levels of service. While it’s too soon to have meaningful comparative data, there are early, anecdotal indications that client retention and satisfaction is improving. Existing and prospective clients like the idea of working with salaried advisors.
Advisors now feel a stronger sense of purpose and commonality with their co-workers, and all strive to accomplish the same objectives. Not worrying about where their next sale or client is coming from empowers them to focus on why they chose this career in the first place: to help people make better financial and investing decisions.
Eric C. Jansen, ChFC, is the founder, president and chief investment officer of Westborough, Mass.-based AspenCross Wealth Management. Registered representative/securities and investment advisory services are offered through Signator Investors Inc., member FINRA, SIPC, a registered investment advisor. AspenCross is independent of Signator.