Young advisers can teach a thing or two

Youth may be wasted on the young, but as Trevor Hunnicutt's cover story aptly points out, the talents of youth are often wasted — period. At many employers, including those in the financial advice business, young college graduates are often turned into nothing more than glorified administrative assistants. So it is encouraging to learn that some financial advisory firms are finally recognizing the power and promise of younger financial advisers. By turning to 20- and 30-something advisers for help with everything from developing social-media strategies to figuring out a way to develop relationships with clients' children and grandchildren, these firms may be ensuring their longevity. To be sure, newly minted advisers have much to learn from those who have been in the business 15, 20 or 30 years. But the traditional model of expecting new advisers to learn by shadowing more-experienced advisers for several years is starting to seem outdated. Although instructive, it can't be very gratifying for young advisers and may explain why so many newbies drop out of the business. In addition, it leaves untapped the unique skills that many of those coming into the workforce possess. After all, that 20-something junior adviser you have taking notes during client meetings has probably been working with Excel spreadsheets since she was 12. And she has been using PowerPoint to crank out killer book reports since third grade. What I am suggesting is that young advisers bring far more to the table than is commonly recognized. In addition to their gee-whiz technology skills, they bring valuable insight into corporate strategy and ways that established advisory firms can relate to a new generation of clients.