Our research shows that 68% of Advisors engage fewer than 2 households a month in a holistic planning-based conversation.

 

 

Firms have allowed some advisers to opt-out of the holistic planning approach, remain transactional and hoard clients not to upset good producers. This approach costs the clients, advisors and firms and will continue to negatively disrupt those advisors that are too busy addressing investment performance issues to devote time to the holistic needs of their clients.  People need advice now more than ever, and they have more time on their hands.

 

Advisors that wait for the pandemic to be over, will not succeed. Advisors that evolve will. In fact, our research shows that, based on the advisor’s situation, advisors that have adopted to a planning approach over perform advisors that have not.

 

Value beyond investment selection is critical. We coach “do a plan for the clients you want to keep”. That could not be truer today. Clients need and want to hear from their advisor in a crisis. Advisors that start a plan with what they know and build a relationship with a holistic conversation will retain those clients. Clients that do not see the value in staying with their advisor are going to leave for another advisor or do it themselves.

 

We are hopeful that the new normal is going to force advisors to become more holistic. Our research shows that when an advisor creates a financial plan for their client, that financial institution becomes their primary financial institution, aggregating more of their assets, using more bank services, and become loyal to that firm.

 

Here at Kehrer Bielan, we are continuing to pursue initiatives that identify and shape best practices.  One such initiative, PlanningInsights™, is our new service benchmarking advisor financial planning activity that will provide insight into

  • The number of new households Advisors engaged in financial planning last year
  • The number of total households that were active planning clients during 2019
  • The quality of those plans

This information will help you pinpoint where you should concentrate your training and coaching resources. This is a good year to get a baseline measure for year over year progress in providing value beyond investing.  See the attachment for a PlanningInsightsProspectus.  For further information, please contact leigh.vanheule@kehrerbielan.com.

We have planning data on over 3,000 individual Advisors. How do your Advisors Stack up?