A new study indicates that advisors who offer the broadest range of service are most likely to retain clients.
Almost half of investors have fired an advisor. If you want to keep clients, you may want to consider broadening your service offerings, a new study indicates.
Clients cannot be taken for granted. Almost 45% of investors have fired an advisor in the past and 60% of them are considering doing so again in the next year, a financial-data aggregator byallaccounts found. One major key to ensuring client retention, it found, is offering holistic services.
The survey found that investors are interested in receiving a comprehensive set of services that extends beyond money management to include performance reporting, investment advice on retirement accounts and support for tax and legal issues.
“If you can meet these requirements, with your own firm’s resources or in partnership with other professionals, you have an opportunity to be your clients’ financial quarterback,” said report author James Carney.
Holistic advice is becoming an industry standard, with 60% of respondents saying their advisor was providing a comprehensive view of all of their assets, including retirement accounts, annuities, trusts and more. Investors who receive holistic advice reported a higher level of service than those that don’t.
“Almost every survey respondent (98.3%) who receives a holistic view said they feel their advisor understands their financial goals and concerns and are satisfied with the level of service they are currently receiving,” Carney reported.
“This holistic view also contributes to much higher levels of satisfaction and loyalty – 54.2% of the investors who received a holistic view said there was a 0% chance that they would fire their advisor in the next year.”
On the other hand, investors that don’t receive a holistic view showed significantly higher levels of dissatisfaction with their advisor. Only 15.4% said there was a 0% chance of firing their advisor in the next year.
The study also found that clients who received a holistic view were much more likely to give their advisor a referral.
