Want Younger Clients? Hire Younger Advisors.
By Katie Gilmore, Founder & CEO
How can your firm better reach adults under the age of 40, some of which are already high net worth individuals who need help with financial planning? Hire millennials as advisors.
Attract top advisors to your firm by showcasing your brand and the key characteristics millennials want in their employers across all marketing channels. The benefits of having young advisors extend beyond just expanding your clientele and growing your assets under management. You may have also found your firm’s successor.
The Rise of Millennials
By the end of 2020, millennials are slated to be the largest adult segment across the globe. This generation is key to growing your business – both as employees and clients.
A recent report from Spectrem Group found millennials make up the largest share of $25M+ investors, and their average net worth is $164M. Also, consider that people ages 38-23 will be the recipients of an inheritance from aging family members.
However, research has shown many millennials tend to lack the financial knowledge of previous generations. Also, millennials tend to want to handle wealth management on their own, meaning they are missing key strategies to maximize their wealth. This provides RIA firms an opportunity to educate this group, gain their trust, and capture new clients.
This is where having advisors of the same age as your target clients is helpful. Millennial advisors have experienced the same cultural milestones and life events as the clients. They are comfortable with technology and understand how to discuss wealth management and investing in relatable terms. After all, people tend to want to form relationships with similar people or people they perceive as having interests or traits in common.
So, how do you attract millennial advisors to work for you? It starts with your brand.
Brand as a Recruitment Tool
Your brand is a powerful recruitment tool. It gives prospective employees insight into the type of clients they will work with and your firm’s culture.
A young advisor could find out about a job opening at your firm through a paid ad, social media, your company’s website, or word of mouth. That’s why it’s essential that each of your marketing channels (website, social media, pitch deck, elevator pitch, leave behinds, job listing, etc.) showcases a consistent brand. This way, no matter how the advisor finds your company, he or she will have the same experience.
Young advisors want to work at a firm that supports them in building a book of business. Share on your website and recruitment materials the career growth of advisors at your firm or how you mentor advisors to advance within the firm. Showcase how technology and processes help advisors streamline administrative matters, freeing them up to spend more time developing relationships with clients and COIs.
It’s also important on collateral specifically geared toward recruitment of younger advisors that you highlight aspects of your company millennials value. Those include:
The Future of the Firm
Not only will younger advisors help attract new business to your firm, they may also one day run the firm. Forty-three percent of advisors are over the age of 55, with the average age of a financial advisor at around 50 years old. Advisors under the age of 35 make up only 11 percent of advisors today.
A recent survey found Unfortunately, not all RIA firms have a succession plan in place. RIA firms, especially those run by advisors considering retirement, need to have an exit plan, whether it’s merging with another firm, closing the firm completely, or finding a successor to take over. Bringing in talented young advisors gives you time to identify potential successors and develop one or more of them into leaders and eventual owners of the company.
A recent study found that RIA firms that have the next generation of advisors and firm capabilities in place are more attractive targets for acquisition.
A strong brand will help you attract top talent, who can shape and grow the firm for years to come.
We can help you create an RIA brand that stands out with clients and advisors. Contact us today for more information.