Whether a wealth management practice is growing organically or through acquisition, the need for more “non- business development” advisors is increasing.
We have seen the main responsibilities of these types of roles can vary greatly depending on the size of the book of business, size of team, variance in service offerings and of course, the employee’s skill level. Although there are many variations, here are two types of roles we are seeing an increase in need for with clients.
Eddy Ricci, Jr., CFP ®, CEPA ®:
“The observer and internal quarterback”: The practitioner/senior advisor is looking for someone with planning acumen who can sit in every client meeting as an additional set of ears and to be another familiar face in the practice. When the meeting is done, this associate would be responsible to make sure all the work gets done either themselves or by collaborating with other support team members. We are seeing in many cases that the practitioner wishes for this person to be a CFP® or substantial planning experience to help pick up on any items from the client that they may have overlooked AND to have more time leverage in not needing to spell out the next steps, research and recommendations that may be necessary to serve that client.
Michael P. Connaughton, CFP®, CLU®, ChFC®:
“Strictly service with room to grow/ more junior”: In this case the senior advisor/practice owner is seeking someone who can handle proactive and incoming client service items. Often the “service advisor” acts as a liaison between the operations team and the client, assisting with client information gathering, money movement and rollovers, client onboarding, financial plan updates, account updates, account opening, and portfolio loan servicing. When identifying a service advisor, practitioners often require at least a few years of experience in a client facing capacity with a strong financial planning foundation, so they feel confident their clients’ service-related items can be attended to thoroughly and questions can be