Before:
- The firm has an experienced two-advisor team with one assistant.
- The firm engaged us to assist them with preparing for and managing a transition from a broker/dealer to becoming an independent RIA.
- The advisors provided service to over 200 clients. They wanted to pare that number down to somewhere between 100 and 150 clients and needed a plan for how to best accomplish that.
- They had not yet thought through in detail the specific services they would provide to clients. This prevented them from being able to design their Client Experience and the associated deliverables.
- They were seeking guidance on how to incorporate a holistic planning tier as a service model and how to charge fees for the service.
- They also wanted to assistance with creating the messaging for explaining the new level of service and fees they would offer their clients.
- They only had a few documented, standardized processes in place. They did not have workflow templates in their CRM. This prevented their team from working more efficiently, delivering consistent services, and taking advantage of growth opportunities presented to them.
- The advisors did not have a good balance between their work and home lives, which was important to them.
After:
- After completing personality, skills and value testing for each staff member, we were able to define each person’s roles and responsibilities.
- After working with the firm on messaging, they had a clear message to communicate to their clients as to why the firm decided to form an RIA and how it would be a benefit to both their clients and the firm.
- A new fee structure was designed along with the communication for effectively informing their clients.
- Created a comprehensive timeline with a list of tasks that needed to be completed for a successful transition over to their RIA.
- Implemented a fully designed Client and Staff Experience so there would be a high level of satisfaction on both sides.
- Finalized the combination of the technology solutions for their core tech stack, including making sure it complimented the outsourced investment management platform they had already chosen to utilize.
- The firm now uses our workflows templates and associated materials to document their processes and still customize advice for each client.
- The advisors pared down their client base which allowed them to offer more robust services to the remaining clients and increased their level of satisfaction.
- Once the roles, workflows, chosen technology and documented client service model were in place and being utilized, the advisors found they were able to have a much-improved balance between their work and home life.