RIAs face critical need for the ‘right people’

Sharon Hayut of Magnus and Kate Kammes of JMG Financial Group

'Creating the right culture is critical, and making sure that we're not only attracting the right talent, but retaining that talent,' an advisor says.

It turns out there’s not just one thing that RIAs are missing when it comes to their revenue streams, but several.

Sharon Hayut, senior managing director at Magnus, said insurance, cash management and payment services like bill pay are at the top of the list.

“There’s so many,” Hayut said. “When you think about what we do, and the access we have to these clients and their financial pictures and how you can really help them, focusing on every area of a client and creating that client-centric experience allows you to do everything for them and create the different revenue streams.”

Hayut will be one of several panelists talking about trends and what RIAs should be doing to improve their practice at the upcoming RIA Activate New York event on April 16. Other panelists include Liz Miller, Blaine Aikin, Bryan Staff, Jason Miller and Andrew Altfest. Joe Duran, executive managing director at Rise Growth Partners, will be the keynote speaker at the event.

You can find more information on the RIA Activate event and register for the event by clicking here.

Kate Kammes, principal and chief talent officer at JMG Financial Group, will join Lauren Oschman and Ali Kriss-Kemp on a panel about attracting and retaining next-gen advisors. Kammes emphasizes it’s important for advisors to effectively manage, support, and develop their own team.

“Those that are in leadership or ownership positions, don’t feel like you have to carry that weight yourself, leverage your experienced people,” she says. “There are so many people here in my firm that love coaching, mentoring and developing all of the structure development opportunities that we have for our staff, and our people are led by more experienced advisors, or some cases, more experienced staff members.

“Leverage the people that that want to be able to help that next gen and don’t feel like you have to carry the load alone,” Kammes added.

One thing she hopes RIAs take away from attending the conference is if advisory firms don’t have the right people, clients are the ones who ultimately suffer. Advisors should be looking to their internal team as the best way to serve clients, and “we do that by investing in them, and investing in them in the right way,” says Kammes.

A tactical marketing strategy for an advisors’ “fee-based everything” model could help ensure long-term growth, Hayut said. “I think marketing should be the foundation of everyone’s practice, and it really depends on what your focus is and your demographic.”

Hayut has used strategies like seminars as a great way to meet new prospects or client appreciation events where clients bring a friend to a dinner, making it more intimate.

You can find more information on the RIA Activate event and register for the event by clicking here.

“Centers of influence are [also] a wonderful way to sort of create a pipeline that’s never ending, because one accountant can refer you hundreds of clients,” Hayut added. “Creating those strategic relationships are a great marketing tool, but they take longer to actually create.”

Indeed, that is the case, as she notes she has been working for at least 10 years on strategic relationships that have “finally sent a prospect.

“Once they get start getting going, then it’s sort of a funnel for you and your practice, and it helps sort of accelerate your growth in ways that you couldn’t do one-on-one,” Hayut said.

Career pathing and culture, and why advisors should be adding these two things to their arsenal, are going to be major topic for the panel on next-gen advisors, Kammes said.

“Creating the right culture is critical, and making sure that we’re not only attracting the right talent, but retaining that talent,” she said. “It’s important for firms to be very clear about what’s important to them, what makes up their culture, and what kind of people would thrive in their culture. [It’s] not trying to bring in people just to bring in people but making sure you’re bringing in the right people.”

Registration for InvestmentNews’ RIA Activate New York is ongoing. Advisors can register for as low as $99. For more information and to register, click here.