The most successful businesses outsource or automate everything possible so they can spend time where it creates the most value for them. As wealth managers, we all know this intuitively yet we still do things by hand that could be automated. Often it’s because we just don’t know how to automate the task. We’re here [...]

“My clients aren’t tech savvy.” Many advisors throw around the claim “My clients aren’t tech savvy” as if they know what they’re talking about. If you find yourself saying this, know that you’re making an assumption. It’s not based on facts. Regardless of how confident you feel or how much you think you know your [...]

Is this viewpoint nuts? Some time ago, I wrote about the Silent Advisor Killer – Cost of Acquiring Clients (CAC). In the discussion that followed, there were a number of advisors that disagreed with worrying about the relationship between CAC and the first year margin (FYM) earned from a client. An argument against the importance [...]

Introducing new technology to clients is a challenge. Let’s face it, whether you are a technophile with all the latest gadgets or someone who has just started to hear about a new company called Instagram, most of us are not experts at consumer behavior with technology. So rolling out new systems for your clients may [...]

This interview was originally published on WealthTech Club An Interview with John Prendergast, Blueleaf CEO The wealth management world has changed, and it makes us queasy. According to the KPMG report “Forging the Future,” the top source of disruption in the financial industry is emerging financial technology (FinTech). Historically, there has been a human layer [...]

In our previous post on the upcoming DOL rule we presented massive new threats for RIAs. You will have thousands of new competitors and your best sales pitch – unbiased advice – will no longer be differentiated. We suggested you start communicating with existing clients to get ahead of these competitive threats. We’re begging you [...]

After years of debate and public comment the DOL issued its final rule earlier this year. In fact, the discussion has dragged on so long that this article essentially started 5 years ago based on a 2011 post by Michael Kitces here. On April 10, 2017 all financial professionals will be obligated to provide advice [...]

Marketing. It’s a term that gets thrown around a lot. From the classroom to the boardroom, it is apt to say that marketing is crucial within any business community, much less the financial advisory market. The problem is that people think big adverts and expensive campaigns when it comes to marketing. But with the arrival [...]

You are probably very skeptical about that headline. What financial advisor marketing system could deliver this kind of growth? We have other posts with big claims. They include advisors who achieved a 94% close rate, received no calls during a major market downturn, and grew their AUM with no effort. Here’s some research to back the headline [...]