Why Grow Faster?

As a financial advisor or financial services firm leader, you have to answer for yourself and for you team, the question of "why should I/we grow faster?"

Here's my answer:

We're going through a market disruption right now that will reshuffle the winners of the wealth management space. Technology has made working with a financial advisor remotely much easier. Consumer behavior is following; Post-covid, the younger generations (starting from Gen X and going younger) are much more comfortable working with an advisor virtually, if he's truly better than their existing advisor or has a better value proposition, and of course if he reaches their radar at the right time.

What does this mean to you?

The days of spending 20-30 years networking to build a book of business to rely on it and then coast in your 40's and 50's then sell the book of business in your 60's to retire... may be gone. The senior advisors who sold you this dream are already retired or about to retire. They didn't live in the age of AI, social media, and Zoom. Their competitor was another advisor or two who were either schmoozing up to their clients at the country club or holding free educational workshops in the community.

Now, the community is no longer defined by your zip code or territory. The community is online. It's all of America. It's a winner takes all marketplace.

Client loyalty will decrease due to more competitiveness. The days of counting on clients saying for 20 years as an AUM client, may no longer be here. Because now you're not the only option in town. They have infinite options shown to them online every day, and it will only get more competitive. Right now, many of your clients, are seeing ads from other financial advisory firms, and they're clicking on them and going through their value proposition to determine if they would want to at least have a conversation with them or not. With enough attempts, they may find someone who's just a little bit of a better fit for them. Someone who seems to reply faster to their texts or calls. Someone who adds some guarantees to their offering. Someone who looks more like them. Someone who likes the things they like. Someone who seems more sophisticated, or more relatable... etc.

So, how do you win, in an ever-more-crowded marketplace?

You either become #1. Or you grow fast enough to get your business to be big enough to be sold to one of the large acquirers. If not, if you coast, you'll end up working for someone else again. We will have a wirehouse system all over again, just give it 10 years. The "going independent" trend is a temporary thing. So if you're gonna go independent, go big. If you're already independent or you're the leader of a financial services firm, I hope this gives you a reason to consider growing faster. But hey, I might be wrong. I can only operate from the limited information I have.

What do you think? Reply to this article and let me know your thoughts.

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