Expert: Vincent Tiseo, Head of Business Strategy, GSAM Strategic Advisory Solutions Facilitator: Paul Miles, Silverback Consulting
Headlines:
- The growing segment of affluent to high-net-worth clients ($2 million to $20 million) and their willingness to pay for advice, but also their demand for value and personalised service
- The importance of understanding what clients truly value, which often goes beyond just investment management and financial planning. Clients seek guidance on legacy planning, family dynamics, business succession, and overall wealth management
- The need for advisers to spend more time with clients, as clients are willing to pay for face-to-face interactions and personalized advice.
Discussion points:
Understanding the High-Net-Worth client segment
The growing segment of affluent to high-net-worth clients, defined as those with $2 million to $20 million in investable assets. This segment is identified as the fastest-growing and most promising for financial advisers.
These clients are generally satisfied with their advisers, willing to pay for advice, and value personalized service across generations, including millennials and Gen Z. However, they often work with multiple advisers (2 to 4) as they feel no single firm can deliver on all their needs.
The adviser landscape: opportunities and challenges
The opportunities and challenges faced by financial advisers in the UK and US markets. In the UK, there is a shortage of advisers relative to the growing wealth, presenting opportunities for advisers to serve this market. However, there is also an aging adviser base and a need for succession planning and attracting younger talent.
In the US, there is a larger pool of advisers, but the wealth is also significant, leading to competition and potential price compression for ultra-high net worth clients.
Delivering value and client expectations
A key theme of the discussion was around understanding what clients truly value and meeting their expectations. Clients are willing to pay for advice, but they want to see the value delivered. This often goes beyond just investment management and financial planning, encompassing areas such as legacy planning, family dynamics, business succession, and overall wealth management. Advisers need to articulate their value proposition clearly and consistently, focusing on the benefits they provide rather than just listing features or credentials.
Client experience and engagement
The importance of client experience and engagement, particularly for high-net-worth clients. Clients want to spend more time with their advisers, and top advisers spend around 63% of their time in client-facing activities. Advisers need to find ways to improve processes, leverage technology, and automate administrative tasks to free up more time for client interactions. Additionally, creating a consistent and personalized client experience, through events, education, and tailored communication, can differentiate advisers and reinforce their value proposition.
Branding, messaging, and online presence
In today's digital age, branding, messaging, and online presence are crucial for attracting and retaining clients, especially for the next generation of clients and advisers. Clients often research advisers and firms online before engaging with them, and a strong online presence can reinforce the value proposition and differentiate advisers from competitors. Consistent messaging across all channels, including websites, social media, and client interactions, is essential for building trust and credibility.
Adapting to change and industry challenges
The meeting highlights the need for advisers and firms to adapt to changing market dynamics, client expectations, and industry challenges. This includes leveraging technology and automation to improve efficiency, adapting business models and service offerings to meet evolving client needs, and addressing the advice gap and regulatory challenges, particularly for mass affluent clients who may not have access to comprehensive financial advice. Additionally, attracting and training younger talent is crucial for succession planning and addressing the aging advisor base.
Key takeaways:
- Conduct client surveys or focus groups to better understand what specific aspects of the service clients value most, and use this feedback to refine and communicate the value proposition
- Evaluate and optimize the firm's online presence, including advisor profiles, to ensure a consistent and compelling message that resonates with target clients, particularly high net worth and next-generation clients
- Explore ways to leverage technology and automation to streamline processes and free up advisor time for more client-facing activities
- Develop a comprehensive client experience strategy that incorporates educational events, family meetings, and personalized communication to reinforce the firm's value proposition
- Implement a segmentation strategy to align service offerings and pricing with different client needs and expectations, ensuring that high net worth clients receive a differentiated and tailored experience
- Invest in training and development programs to equip advisers with the soft skills and communication techniques needed to effectively articulate value and build strong client relationships
