Female advisers share secrets for outsourcing

For female financial advisers, it seems that one of the biggest hurdles to running a successful and fulfilling business is knowing when to offload some work to other parties. A panel of female financial advisers met at InvestmentNews' Women Adviser Summit in New York on Tuesday morning to discuss the business and emotional benefits of outsourcing organizational duties to a trusted third party. Panelist Rita Robbins, founder and president of Affiliated Advisors Inc., knew she had to outsource when she found herself not only swamped and exhausted, but also had days where she just wasn't excited to go to work. Ms. Robbins realized she needed someone to cover a variety of areas, including human resources “I felt like despite the fact that I'm working so hard, I have a badge on that says, 'Can I supersize that for you?'” Ms. Robbins recalled. It was after pairing up with Nicole Newlin, partner at Pathfinder Strategic Solutions, that Ms. Robbins was able to get some perspective on how she handled her everyday business. Tightening the organizational structure of an advisory business goes beyond merely blocking off time to complete tasks, noted Ms. Newlin. “Everyone starts with the personal, 'I organize my day. Why isn't it working out?'” she said. Rather, the two components that are key to making major changes are structural — for instance, what's going on with the practice's tech infrastructure — and strategic — are all the team members on the same page and do they have the same goals in mind, Ms. Newlin said. “You can time-block until the cows come home,” she said. “But if half of your team is in left field and the phones are ringing off the hook, it doesn't matter. It's those two components [structure and strategy] that are key.” Duties that advisers can outsource to others include business planning, developing a client experience strategy, as well as marketing and communications. But sometimes those services can extend into other areas as well. Panelist Debra Morrison, a fee-only wealth manager at Empowered Retirement Inc., outsources a number of duties to Heather Hooper, vice president of retirement strategies at Loring Ward. Ms. Morrison doesn't specialize in retirement plans themselves, so wealth management clients who are also plan sponsors can be referred out to Loring Ward and Ms. Hooper — an expert on 401(k)s and defined benefits — for those needs. Loring Ward has also handled a great deal of marketing work for Ms. Morrison, a veteran of the life insurance industry. “When I left those big firms and went independent, I left behind all these glossies, this client material,” she said. “I didn't have much of a budget for this sexy educational material, and now it's part of the package. That's how Loring Ward partners with me.” Ms. Newlin noted that the job of the outsourcing party is to be the ultimate taskmaster. “I'm tactical and I get [things] done,” she said. “I'm not here to drive you to the finish line. I'm not your cheerleader. I'm here to coach you through things: get in and get out.”