Advisor satisfaction with firms hinges on time spent with clients: J.D. Power

Annual survey reveals highest and lowest scoring firms, while one advisor questions work ethic of some peers.

Despite a decade of firms investing in technology to automate back-office busy work, many financial advisors feel as if they still don’t have enough time to spend with clients.

In a survey of 4,183 employee and independent financial advisors by J.D. Power, 38% said they don’t have enough time to spend with clients. Of that group, 41% said they spend more time each month on “non-value-added” chores like compliance and administrative tasks.

Advisors are questioning how committed their firm is to providing the resources they need to succeed, said Craig Martin, executive managing director and head of wealth and lending intelligence at J.D. Power. Employee advisors who feel as if they don’t have enough time for clients rank 27 points lower on J.D. Power’s Net Promoter Score, which measures advisor satisfaction on a scale of -100 to 100. Independent advisors who feel this way scored 30 points lower.

“In difficult market conditions like the ones we’ve been experiencing for the past several years, great investment advisors set themselves apart by proactively addressing their clients’ needs, delivering comprehensive guidance and communicating clearly and frequently about the issues that matter most to their clients,” Martin said in a statement. “Right now, many advisors are struggling to find the time to deliver the level of hands-on service they know is critical to growing their business.”

When it comes to overall satisfaction among employee advisors, Wells Fargo Advisors ranked the lowest. Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network was scored the lowest among independent advisors.

James Craven, head of advisor experience at Wells Fargo Advisors, said the firm is working to exceed advisors’ expectations of the firm.

“Our transformation has been focused on making it easier for advisors to do business with us, which ultimately provides for a great client experience,” Craven said in a statement. The company didn’t respond additional questions about how the firm is helping advisors spend more time with clients.

Commonwealth received the highest satisfaction scores from independent financial advisors, which CEO Wayne Bloom attributed to collaboration between the firm and its advisors, and a focus on providing technology that gives advisors more time to do what they want.

“We’ve often considered ourselves time merchants,” Bloom said. “Time is our advisors’ most valuable commodity.”

Little things like technology integration that only requires advisors to enter client data once, or integrating reporting technology with calendar and CRM software to automate reports, help advisors accomplish their required tasks better and faster, he added.

“Whether you want to grow by bringing in new clients, improve service among existing clients, or go play golf — whatever you want to do, we want to give you that time,” Bloom said.

Stifel scored the highest among employee financial advisors. CEO Ron Kruszewski said that the company service model for advisors helps them avoid the “bureaucratic morass” that J.D. Power revealed in its study.

“Today, service models have become very offshore, digital-type things that are very frustrating both to advisors and clients,” Kruszewski said. “Our model is … answer the phone, fix problems and have a culture where people are empowered to fix problems, not go to some bureaucracy, and I think that’s what this survey is telling us.”

However, some advisors think the issue with time is less the fault of their firm and more about advisors simply not taking advantage of the abundant time management, coaching and practice management resources available to them.

“It’s a matter of priority. Some advisors want to live the life of luxury but not put in the appropriate work in advance,” said Wes Battle, a senior financial advisor with Serving Those Who Serve, an independent firm affiliated with Raymond James Financial Services. “The hard truth is if they truly don’t have time for clients, then they either need to hire or invest in their practice and stop doing a disservice to their clients.”

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