And “the advisors who truly grow are the ones who do so in challenging times,” Bowen added.
Another path to becoming the preeminent advisor in the community is to provide the different services that the affluent want, Walper said. “Clients really need your help right now. For instance, 90% of wealthy advisors feel estate planning should be a component of their plans and yet less than one quarter of them are actually receiving estate planning,” he said.
“The affluent want someone who is going to be an advocate for them,” Smith added. “They want leadership beyond just investment management.”
According to the CEG Worldwide and Spectrem Group research cited by the presenters, advisors who provide wealth management services are rewarded with clients moving more assets to the firm. “Only 55% of affluent investors are currently receiving wealth management services," researchers said. "This reveals an opportunity for advisors to grow revenue among the 45 percent of affluent investors who are not currently receiving wealth management services.”
With financial planning being something that should be offered to most investors, it is important for firms to regularly update these plans, or they run the risk of losing clients.
“This is the greatest time to be an advisor and financial advisors are needed more than ever right now,” Smith said. “But you have to transcend being just an advisor and be a leader, which means you are able to enroll people in a bigger vision than they even think is possible. As an advisor, you can make a real difference in the world and have success with significance.”