What is the report about?
We wrote this report to provide an insight into the firm of the future by re-examining four dimensions of practice management.
View a short video summary here.
Section 1: Management
For a practice to become a business, it needs a manager. The founder – who is typically an advisor first and foremost – may well not be right for this role.
While many founders recognize the need to hire professional managers to address aspects of the firms (CTO, CMO, COO etc.), the firm of the future will have a co-CEO who manages the entire business as a product.
The founder who wishes to remain as an advisor retains the role of ‘Visionary CEO’ as a counterpart to the ‘Managing CEO’ who manages the firm full-time.
View a short video summary here.
Section 2: Offering
The tried and tested ‘comprehensive financial planning’ offering for ‘individuals, families and business owners’ has served early-adopters well. So well, in fact, that everyone else is adopting it.
In an increasingly crowded and online marketplace, where ‘being local’ is no longer a differentiator, advisors who pick an exclusive target clientele and build the offering around needs, rather than asset level, have a distinct advantage.
By focussing in this way, they can offer service that truly sets them apart from the client perspective, adds deep yet scalable value, and enables them to defend and increase fees.
View a short video summary here.
Section 3: Marketing
Having an online presence is necessary in a pandemic age, but makes it much harder to maintain an inauthentic image.
Rather than attempt to project a desired image (=credibility), the wave of the future is to adopt a ‘propersonal’ approach (=authenticity). If combined with a targeted offering (see above), this will help in appealing to the specific client base you aim to serve.
The propersonal approach extends to other members of the firm. Rather than marketing remaining a centralized activity, each staff member will contribute to marketing and recruiting efforts via their online presence.
View a short video summary here.
Section 4: Technology
The tech stack of today is fragmented, and integration issues are a constant drag on productivity. In attempting to make data flow between applications, much time is wasted that could be spent serving clients.
‘Low code / no code’ solutions from outside wealth management such as Zapier mean that integration issues can be circumvented by building one’s own software from scratch.
This not only saves time fighting fires, but also unlocks sophisticated functionalities such as advanced automation and nudging, enabling advisors to serve more clients and maximize profitability.
View a short video summary here.
All the changes described in this report are major ones, and require the firm and its founder to enter an ‘adaptive valley’ in order to reach the higher peak. If the pioneering ‘Peak 2’ firms are any indication, the journey is well worth the risk.
We’ll be posting more in the coming weeks with additional material. Get in touch with us if you want to discuss in more detail!