Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs) and fee-based advisors can adopt 10 traits of highly successful advisors to help them earn more and manage more assets under management, according to the latest findings from the fourth annual Advisor Authority study commissioned by Nationwide Advisory Solutions, formerly known as Jefferson National.
The report, conducted online by The Harris Poll through an online survey of roughly 1,700 financial advisors and individual investors, highlights how top performers build and run their practices to create greater value for their clients and their firms. It concludes that the RIAs and fee-based advisors who recognize the trends driving industry change and proactively adapt can achieve greater growth and leave the competition behind.
“Serving RIAs and fee-based advisors for more than a decade, we understand the many challenges they face as change continues at an unprecedented rate, driven by the power of consumer demand, advances in technology, the expanding digital economy and regulatory reform. The race is on — and there is no turning back,” said Craig Hawley, head of Nationwide Advisory Solutions. “The most successful RIAs and fee-based advisors, who earn more and manage more AUM, are already a step ahead by putting clients first with a fiduciary standard and more holistic planning, and they further differentiate themselves by harnessing prevailing trends — from artificial intelligence to demographic shifts to industry consolidation — to create their own unique competitive advantage. To keep pace, all advisors must adapt, or be left behind.”
The new Advisor Authority special report, Path to Success: Adapt — or Be Left Behind, defines successful advisors as those who earn a personal annual income of $500,000 or more from their advisory business, or individually manage a total AUM of $250 million or more. By studying the way these top performers adapt to change and leverage their strengths, advisors can define and ruthlessly refine their own path to success in an increasingly competitive industry. From among the 10 traits of successful advisors that can be found in this new special report, RIAs and fee-based advisors can start to create their own competitive advantage by considering these five:
BE A TECH INNOVATOR: One factor that sets successful advisors apart from all other advisors is their focus on technology. Successful advisors rate adding new technology the second most important factor for driving profitability over the next 12 months, while all other advisors rate it fourth. They also rate integrating technology the second most important practice management priority over the next 12 months, while all other advisors rate it fifth.
HARNESS THE COMPETITIVE EDGE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI): Among advisors who are at least somewhat familiar with AI, successful advisors, as compared to all other advisors, are far more optimistic about AI’s impact on financial planning (68 percent vs. 54 percent), far more likely to use AI in their practice (49 percent vs. 30 percent), and far more likely to add AI or add more AI in the next 12 months (65 percent vs. 47 percent). They use AI to transform every aspect of the customer experience, from the front-end to the back office, opening the door to a new category of client, offering a new universe of products and solutions — and ultimately gaining an edge over the competition.
PUT CLIENTS FIRST: Successful advisors know that putting clients first is the foundation for a thriving practice. It all begins with a fiduciary standard. Successful advisors, as compared to all other advisors, are far more likely to strongly agree that there should be one federal fiduciary standard across the financial industry (53 percent vs. 35 percent). By aligning with their clients’ best interest, successful advisors earn their trust, deepen the advisor/investor relationship — and bring more assets under management.
TARGET AN EMERGING MARKET OF NEW CLIENTS: Year-over-year, the pursuit of profitability is a top priority — and the push for new clients remains a top driver of profits for successful advisors. Many experts say successful advisors take the extra measure to define their ideal client — identifying who they are, what they do and their top concerns — to customize their practice and specialize their services to meet clients’ most important needs.
BE A MARKETING INNOVATOR: The most successful advisors are far more likely than all other advisors to change their marketing strategies to attract the next generation of investors (69 percent vs. 60 percent). This year, successful advisors say increased use of mobile technology is their top solution to attract the next generation of investors (33 percent), followed by increased use of social media (30 percent) and working more with a client’s family and children (28 percent), to build a foundation for the future.
To learn more about all 10 traits of highly successful advisors, financial professionals can download the Advisor Authority 2018 special report, Path to Success: Adapt — or Be Left Behind, at https://know.nationwideadvisory.com/2018AdvisorAuthority/Ch2/Report
