Creating community

Advisers are missing many opportunities to expand their practices and serve their clients, but they could capture these by creating deeper relationships with their clients, according to Anthony DiLeonardi, managing partner, Third Quarter Advisers.

In a session called “Face to Face: Building Lifelong and Multigenerational Clients,” Mr. DiLeonardi noted that, in general, new relationships tend to generate a lot of excitement in the people involved, and usually those relationships are very productive. However, over time, relationships can become less exciting and less productive.

He encouraged advisers to examine their client list to determine what relationships need to be renewed, and then to begin the renewal process by reconnecting with clients and spending time to determine what is really important to them. This helps advisers build a community with their clients.

“Community is important to all of us,” Mr. DiLeonardi said. “It supports and protects us.”

By connecting on a deeper level, advisers move from simply selling their services to clients, to actually caring about clients and helping them meet their life goals as well as their financial goals. And that in turn can help them to create a practice that includes several important groups, including:

The aging population. Mr. DiLeonardi noted that the average American who retires at 65 will live 18 or more years after retirement. Yet many are not financially prepared: They have not saved enough, their pension might be reduced, and Social Security could be in trouble. Advisers can help them prepare financially before they retire and manage their money once they have quit working.

But advisers also can strengthen their relationship with these clients by providing other kinds of service. For example, advisers should be sensitive to the health problems that can come with aging. They should ask clients about their health or the health of their parents. If there is a concern, advisers should be proactive about helping find solutions. If a client thinks a parent might need a new living situation but is not sure what to do, the adviser can provide information about assisted living choices in the area or put the client in touch with an expert who can help determine what care is needed.

In addition, advisers should talk to their aging clients about legacy – but not only their financial legacy. They should talk about how the client sees legacy. Then they can help by providing relevant information or introductions to people who could help.

The next generations. That deeper approach not only helps clients, but it also can help advisers to build a multigenerational business. It can provide a way for advisers to meet the children and grandchildren of their older clients and to begin to build relationships with the next generation.

The benefit is obvious: The wealth transfer over the next 40 years will be the biggest in history, and most of it will go to the next generations. Yet the overwhelming number of those people will fire their parents’ financial adviser when they get their inheritance.

Mr. DiLeonardi said that by engaging and working with clients across generations, advisers can increase their chances of keeping that business – and those assets.

Affluent women. Women will inherit 70% of the coming wealth transfer, and 80-90% of women will be solely responsible for their own finances at some point in their life. Yet advisers overall do a very poor job of connecting with women.

Advisers need to understand that wealth often means different things to women than to men. Women see wealth primarily as a means to security, freedom and peace of mind. They want their adviser to help them create a holistic plan, including a legacy plan.

Mr. DiLeonardi advisers can strengthen their firms by expanding what they can offer clients. They should be able to recommend a CPA or an estate attorney, but they should think beyond that and tap their network for other experts their clients might need, such as an IT expert, a social media expert, life coaches, therapists, healthcare professionals.

By being able to help clients with whatever they need, advisers strengthen their relationship with clients and build a stronger community. And that, Mr. DiLeonardi said, serves everyone.

This article is part of a special advertising section that appeared in the December 15, 2014 issue of InvestmentNews. It was written by the InvestmentNews Content Strategy Studio and does not reflect the views of the InvestmentNews editorial staff. To download the full supplement, please click here.