Become a Better Financial Advisor: Grow AUM with Current Clients

This blog is based on the second installment of our Help You Sell webinar series. Want to delve more deeply into the financial advisor prospecting process? Watch the full webinar here.

Prospecting is a crucial element fueling your firm’s growth, but another not-so-secret weapon already in your arsenal can be just as valuable in boosting your AUM: your existing clients.

When you retain clients, you do not have to find new prospects to replace them. Plus, your existing clients may be a source of additional revenue if they have assets under management elsewhere.

How many investors have a 401(k) from a former employer, a self-directed investment portfolio, or inherited accounts hanging around with a random custodian? If you can shift these funds under your management, you can grow your AUM without building a new client relationship from scratch.

So how do you broach the subject of consolidating assets under your management? And — more importantly — how do you convince your clients to agree to make the switch?

Start Building Trust with the Right Data

This is just one of many reasons that building trust early and often is crucial in client retention and upselling. The good news is most clients don’t need much from you to feel good about the quality of your relationship.

In fact, Brett van Bortel and his team at Invesco Global Consulting found that when advisors created one meaningful touchpoint per quarter with their high-net-worth clients, they saw no attrition among that population. (Listen to his episode of The Weighing Machine for more on this fascinating research!)

What is the difference between a mediocre touchpoint and a meaningful one? Clients want to know that you’re looking out for their best interests — not just when you speak to them, but always. Providing data to show that you’re doing the work behind the scenes makes for an impactful check-in.

Orion Risk Intelligence can help you enter the conversation with the needed data. Here are some steps you can take before the call to get prepared:

• Check their risk score. Risk Intelligence keeps a client’s risk score front and center on your dashboard. Remind yourself of your client’s score and the factors impacting it so you can go into the call informed.
• Proactively run stress testing. Chances are, your client is reading the headlines and will know about the latest market fluctuations. If a big macro event impacts markets, run stress testing on their portfolio with any of the 100+ scenarios in Risk Intelligence that best reflect the current moment. These tests will show if your client’s portfolio is structured adequately and give you time to consider possible adjustments.
• Lean on the model builder. If the stress testing unveils a potential weakness in the current strategy or misalignment with client risk tolerance, turn to the model builder to try out adjustments in allocation percentages or holdings. Test any strategies, and present the top options to your client when you speak.

Employ Emotional Intelligence on the Call

Start the call by asking your client how they are doing and if they have any concerns. Engage in active listening and directly address any questions they raise.

Then, move on to your prepared update. There may even be some overlap between your client’s questions and the work you’ve done ahead of time. If that’s the case, highlight that you anticipated their needs and have data and suggestions ready to address them.

If your client throws you a curveball — say, a significant shift in their financial goals that you didn’t see coming — Orion Risk Intelligence can help you adjust on the fly. You can walk through the model builder on the call with your client, testing changes to their portfolio in real time.

This dexterity can impress clients and is an opportunity to showcase your financial expertise and listening skills, plus your firm’s tech prowess.

Go In for the Upsell

The key to successfully broaching the subject is focusing on what’s in it for your client. How will they benefit from consolidating their holdings under your management?

You can lean on your tech to make the case. Show your client how unifying their holdings under the care of one astute advisor is more effective than having assets scattered.

Use Risk Intelligence to run a side-by-side comparison: How your client’s holdings may fare under this current, disjointed investment strategy contrasted with what things could look like with a cohesive approach.

Risk Intelligence provides hypothetical performance and clear graphs to help a client visualize the difference between the two alternatives. Presenting those charts together gives clients a deeper understanding of what they may stand to gain with a consolidated investment strategy.

Finally, ask for the business. Reiterate your commitment to helping your client succeed and the positive impact you feel you could make with a cohesive approach.

If you wish to drive growth at your firm, establishing new client relationships isn’t your only option. Your existing clients provide an exciting opportunity to bolster AUM. With the right approach to client relationship management and the right tech to support your process, you can expand your wallet share with current clients and make the most of your existing relationships.

This blog is based on the second installment of our Help You Sell webinar series. Want to delve more deeply into the prospecting process? You can watch the full webinar here.

Access to the services presented is provided solely as a service to financial advisors. Orion Risk Intelligence does not make recommendations or determine the suitability of any security or strategy. Past performance of a security or strategy does not guarantee future results. Orion Risk Intelligence research and tools are provided for informational purposes only. While the information is deemed reliable, Orion Risk Intelligence does not guarantee its accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose, and makes no warranties with respect to the results to be obtained from its use.

0668-OAT-3/7/2023