Why now is a good time for advisors to pay extra attention to client retention

Inflation is up. Volatility is up. And investor apprehension is up.

That means advisors better have their antennas up.

And why is that? Because these are precisely the times and circumstances when clients are vulnerable to being picked off by competitors claiming they have superior financial plans. Once that will surely calm their anxiety in this time of high uncertainty.

Put simply, it’s getting heady out there and advisors need to not only protect their client investment portfolios from disappearing, but their clients as well. Furthermore, AI is only exacerbating the situation, making it far more difficult to retain clients, even long-term ones, than in eras past.

Liz Lenz, managing director of practice synergies & enterprise consulting at Concurrent Investment Advisors, notes that advisors retained clients largely through access to investments and personal relationships in the past. If an advisor delivered good performance and stayed in touch, clients tended to stay. In 2026, however, she says retention is driven by becoming indispensable to the client’s entire financial life.

“The most successful advisors today position themselves as the central spoke of the client’s financial ecosystem. While moving beyond investments alone to tax planning, estate strategy, business decisions, and major life transition planning isn’t new, the pressure for advisors to visually represent their financial journey, especially digitally, has changed,” Lenz said.

The advisors who retain relationships the longest tend to embed themselves in the client’s decision-making process, bring a team, and systematize the client experience so they are digitally connected to the experts and advice, according to Lenz.

“Retention today is less about being liked and more about being deeply integrated as an expert into the client’s financial life,” Lenz said.

Meanwhile, Spencer Page, vice president of advisory consulting at Axtella, points out that both younger and long-time clients are interested in tools, including AI, that cover their whole financial picture, not just how their retirement accounts are doing. As a result, advisors have to “shake things up,” according to Page.

“Instead of talking only about investments, it’s time to look at the bigger picture, everything that affects a client’s finances. The goal is to be more like their personal CFO, helping them handle all the moving parts of their financial life,” Page said.

Along similar lines, James Spinelli, CEO of Great Valley Advisor Group, feels advisors today retain clients by “delivering consistent, proactive guidance across all areas of a client’s financial life,” rather than relying solely on investment performance as they have in the past.

“At GVA, we built the infrastructure to support this model, so advisors can spend more time deepening relationships, communicating proactively, and helping clients navigate major life decisions with confidence,” Spinelli.

Equally important is having the right tools and technology in place, according to Spinelli.

“This signals to clients that their advisor is reinvesting in their business, creating a more modern and efficient client experience that reinforces long-term trust and loyalty for the current clients and future generations,” Spinelli said.

DON'T LOSE THE NEXT GENERATION

As to which skills will serve advisors best in the current environment - and not just due to the Iran war, but the Great Wealth Transfer as well - Axtella’s Page believes “flexibility and openness to learning new tools and business models” are essential in today’s rapidly evolving environment.

“With client needs shifting, advisors who do not adapt may find it challenging to connect with the next generation. The impending wealth transfer is more than just a buzzword, it is a significant reality. I still talk with advisors who do not want to implement ESignature in their practices due to some clients lacking email access. However, their heirs, accustomed to technology, will soon inherit these assets. The next generation expects convenient access to portfolios and financial plans via their mobile devices,” Page said.

In Spinelli’s view, the most successful advisors today combine behavioral coaching with strategic financial planning to guide clients through both market cycles and major life transitions. While market performance remains important, advisors cannot overlook the significance of client milestones and life updates, which often shape financial decisions just as much as investment returns.

“By combining thoughtful planning and a robust infrastructure we’ve built to support advisors, this approach strengthens client loyalty and helps advisors build multi-generational relationships that remain beyond the portfolio,” Spinelli said.

Finally, Concurrent’s Lenz believes proactive communication and a structured planning process will ensure an advisory team is perceived as experts who can handle any client’s financial complexities. 

“My advice to advisors? Embrace specialization, outsource or systematize the non-differentiating pieces of your business, and double down on the most meaningful client relationships you have,” Lenz said.