FA Magazine June 2023 | Page 34

empathy needed to talk to a client about cognitive health . A planning pro , meanwhile , may not have the time to learn the fine points of protected income products . Such teams could also more easily recruit younger advisors into their existing , successful ensembles to improve the breadth of solutions .

Successful teams are also those that plan for succession . Advisors are aging right along with their clients , and the best way to ensure continuity for those clients and a graceful exit for themselves is to have a plan for when they leave work . The team approach is the very best way to do this for many top advisors committed to their clients and their colleagues .

Showing Your Worth

The best advisors also know they must get paid for what they do . Retirement planning is not something that should be considered a loss leader or an added-value service for what ’ s primarily an investment business . And that means top advisors don ’ t typically charge only for investments . Many charge for plans , for their time and for complex solutions . And for that , they expect to see all their clients ’ assets and retirement plans and other existing investments come under their purview .

When they build better scale , they have better success . There are millions of clients with trillions of dollars at full-service financial advisories , which are trying to keep track of an average of 150 clients . That math just doesn ’ t work if they are trying to deliver real retirement planning and solutions . Top advisors promote the value of their teams and frequently include different team members to assist a family .

And dealing with the entire family is important . There ’ s a virtuous loop you enter when you work with multiple generations in a client family . Boomer

clients might need assistance with aging parents today , and place it among their top priorities , and that gives the advisor an opportunity to show their value . Previously unengaged spouses and adult children , meanwhile , can participate in the process , creating a relationship with the advisory team that secures their assets for the future .

Planning , protection and solutions represent a cleaner value proposition of “ advice .” Too many clients have no idea what ’ s involved in retirement planning and even fewer seem to know what financial advisors really do . Top advisors don ’ t shy away from the complexity , and they make sure clients have a healthy appreciation for the work .

STEVE GRESHAM is the managing principal of Next Chapter , a leadership community dedicated to achieving better retirement outcomes for everyone . He also serves as senior education advisor to the Alliance for Lifetime Income . He was previously the head of Fidelity ’ s Private Client Group . Steve is the author of The New Advisor for Life ( Wiley ).

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32 | FINANCIAL ADVISOR MAGAZINE | JUNE 2023 WWW . FA-MAG . COM