We would love to hear from you. Click on the ‘Contact Us’ link to the right and choose your favorite way to reach-out!

wscdsdc

media/speaking contact

Jamie Johnson

business contact

Victoria Peterson

Contact Us

855.ask.wink

Close [x]
pattern

Industry News

Categories

  • Industry Articles (21,155)
  • Industry Conferences (2)
  • Industry Job Openings (35)
  • Moore on the Market (414)
  • Negative Media (144)
  • Positive Media (73)
  • Sheryl's Articles (800)
  • Wink's Articles (353)
  • Wink's Inside Story (274)
  • Wink's Press Releases (123)
  • Blog Archives

  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • August 2009
  • June 2009
  • May 2009
  • April 2009
  • March 2009
  • November 2008
  • September 2008
  • May 2008
  • February 2008
  • August 2006
  • Young Advisors Are Stepping Up

    January 31, 2016 by John J. Bowen Jr

    We all know it takes many years and plenty of gray hairs to build a great financial advisory practice, right?
    Maybe not. If you do it correctly, you can build a successful business much faster than you may have ever thought possible.

    Research by my firm, CEG Worldwide, has found a select group of advisors who are green in terms of experience, but are generating great success in their businesses.

    These up-and-comers aren’t simply stumbling into success. They are taking steps that allow them to leapfrog their competitors and stay on track for even greater results in the future. Whether you’re new to the business or a veteran, these successful newcomers have plenty to teach you about how to make this your best year ever.

    FOUR CATEGORIES

    We surveyed more than 2,100 advisors and found they fell into four categories:
    Newbies: These advisors have practiced for fewer than five years and manage less than $50 million in assets. They represented 23.2% of the group.

    Rank and File: These industry veterans (31.9% of the group) have practiced for at least five years but have not reached the $50 million mark in AUM.

    Elite: These advisors (39.9% of the group) are well-established in their practices, with at least five years under their belts, and are managing a minimum of $50 million in assets.

    Rising Stars: Like the Newbies, the Rising Stars have been practicing for less than five years, but are already experiencing substantial success; each manages at least $50 million in assets. They represented just 5.1% of the group.

    THE STARS’ SHINING RESULTS

    Obviously, the Rising Stars stood out. So we dug deeper and found these results:

    • Rising Stars work with lots of affluent clients. More than one-third (35.2%) of the Rising Stars serve 300 or more clients. While that’s similar to the 39.7% of Elite advisors, it’s very different from the other two groups. Only 21.7% of the Rank and File serve 300 or more clients, and only half that proportion of Newbies (10.8%) have so many clients.

    More important is the number of high-net-worth clients the Rising Stars serve. A significant percentage of both the Elite (39.4%) and the Rising Stars (36.1%) have at least 30 clients with $1 million or more in assets. Hardly any of the Rank and File (2.5%) and Newbies (1%) have that many highly affluent clients.
    Rising Stars even beat the Elites in the share of affluent clients on their books. As seen in the graph on page 20, 22.2% of Rising Stars have built practices that serve 75 or more clients with at least $1 million in assets, but just 15.8% of Elites have done so.

    • Rising Stars manage surprisingly sizable assets. Among the Rising Stars, 13.9% manage $500 million or more in assets. The proportion of Elites at that level is just 5.4%. Likewise, more than a quarter of Rising Stars (26.9%) have $200 million to $500 million in AUM, compared with only 17.2% of the Elites.

    It should be noted, however, that, even though they manage more assets than the Elite, Rising Stars earn far less net income.

    Many Rising Stars (65.4%) report annual net incomes of less than $100,000. The percentage of Elites in that net income category is just 13.1%. Additionally, just 7.7% of Rising Stars earn net incomes higher than $200,000, a level of success that half (49.6%) of Elites have reached.

    This makes sense when you consider that these two groups are in very different stages of their business life cycles. Many in the Elite group have already scaled up and become well-established, so they may not need to continue making major capital investments. The Rising Stars, on the other hand, need to invest heavily in their businesses, thus greatly reducing their net incomes at the present time.

    STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS

    Even with their relatively low incomes compared with top industry veterans, Rising Stars are experiencing success in many areas that is disproportionate to their experience. They clearly are taking steps to drive this success:

    • They focus on select clients. The best advisors understand that working only with clients to whom they can bring tremendous value is a must for serving them well.
    • Rising Stars get it. Nearly half of this group (48.2%) requires a minimum account size for new clients. Likewise, half of the Elite (50.9%) also have such thresholds. Among the other groups, the numbers are far lower: Just 25.6% of the Rank and File and only 18.5% of Newcomers specify a minimum asset size. 
    • They have formal processes for delivering exceptional client service. Affluent clients often face complex financial challenges that require significant expertise in areas well beyond investing, such as business planning and wealth transfer. A full 62% of Rising Stars say they rely on teams of experts to address their clients’ diverse financial needs — more than any of the other groups. 
    • They engage in focused planning. When it comes to having plans for moving their businesses forward, the Rising Stars are most likely to have business plans in place (73.2%). The Rank and File are the least likely, at 49.3%. The Rising Stars also win in the marketing race, with 61.1% having marketing plans in place, versus just 29.5% of the Rank and File.

    Perhaps not surprisingly given their inexperience, the Rising Stars fall short only in succession planning: Just 16.7% of them have succession plans. We also found that more than four out of 10 of the Rank and File (42.4%) don’t have any type of plan at all. The same can be said about approximately a quarter of both the Newcomers and the Elite, but only 13.9% of the Rising Stars.

    Clearly, this select group of young advisors is accomplishing big things in short order. Their approach to their businesses — which includes serving select clients, ensuring top-flight service and engaging in deliberate planning — can serve as a lesson to all advisors. FP

    John J. Bowen Jr., a Financial Planning columnist, is founder and CEO of CEG Worldwide, a global training, research and consulting firm for advisors in San Martin, Calif.

    Originally Posted at Financial Planning on January 29, 2016 by John J. Bowen Jr.

    Categories: Industry Articles
    currency