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“Who Taught You That?” The Power of Training in High-Performing Firms
How did you become great at your job? Was it simply by doing, grinding, guessing and slowly figuring it out? Or was there someone around to help guide and teach you,...
Offboarding with Integrity: How High-Performing Teams Say Goodbye
For high-performing teams, the fit and alignment of each team member are just as important as their individual skill sets. Whether assessing a recent hire or evaluating...
That’s Not Growth—That’s Gravity: Why Confusing Market Returns with Real Business Growth Is Killing Your Firm’s Future
Let’s be blunt: too many advisory firms are fooling themselves. They point to a 12% increase in AUM and pat themselves on the back. They celebrate hitting “record highs”...
Ten Missteps That Keep Advisory Teams from Growing Intentionally
There’s a personal truth I hold that applies to individuals and teams alike: all behavior is truth. In other words, what you do—not what you say—is the most accurate...
The Six Ways to Fuel Organic Growth
Organic growth is a critical indicator of health for every successful advisory business—regardless of size, assets, revenue, or number of clients. It reflects your...
Gratitude in Action: Memorial Day and the Values We Uphold
With our nation mired in so much political conflict and dissent lately, Memorial Day offers a rare opportunity for all of us to come together in a shared national pride...
The Growth Trap
From the outside, your firm may appear to be thriving. Assets have increased, referrals remain steady, and your calendar is full. But here’s the question that matters:...
Performative Opportunities: The Key to Unlocking Leadership Readiness
Too often, firms wait until just before the moment of succession to ask: “Are they ready?” The worst time to evaluate leadership is when you need it most. Leadership...
The Accidental Owner’s Roadmap to Building a Lasting Firm: Why letting go to grow is the leadership strategy your firm's future depends on
Every founder begins as a builder — fueled by grit, vision, and relentless drive. The unintentional consequence of excelling at attracting clients and offering...
The Valuation Trap: Why Market-Based Multiples Alone Miss the Mark
So I’m checking into a conference recently, and as I’m wrapping up at the hotel front desk, an advisor recognizes me and asks if he can have a word—confidentially. Of...
Bridging the Valuation Gap: How Deal Structure Can Salvage an M&A Impasse
Mergers and acquisitions are heating up across the wealth management landscape. Some firms are building pipelines as serial acquirers. Others are testing the...
The Best Defense Is A Good Offense: How volatile times can help propel your business
Imagine this: your client opens their quarterly statement, and it’s all green arrows. Their 401(k) is humming. Their investment accounts look like they’ve been on a...
“What’s Your Stock Worth?” Why Billion-Dollar RIAs Should Track Their Share Price Like a Public Company
By all traditional measures, you are already winning. Year-over-year revenues and profitability continue to grow steadily. AUM and AUA are both on an upward trajectory....
Retaining Top-Tier Advisors: Career pathing and compensation are key
As we have noted in the past, a rapidly aging advisor population means that competition for top-tier advisor talent will continue to intensify. As a result, we expect...
Winning the Advisor Talent War: How to Overcome the Great Talent Squeeze
The financial advisory industry is on the brink of a perfect storm. Within the next decade, we will face a projected shortfall of 100,000 advisors due to retirements,...
Facilitating the Future of Wealth Management: How Top Firms Win with Tech, Talent & Integration
What if I told you that your firm's biggest competitive edge isn't just your expertise—but your ability to make wealth management easier for clients? Today, clients...
The Forbidden Word: A Fiduciary Perspective on Organic Growth in a Legacy-Driven Firm
A few years ago, I received a call out of the blue from the CEO of a $5 billion RIA. He needed help facilitating his firm’s strategic planning offsite and wanted to...
Setting the Right Growth Pace: Balancing Ambition and Stability for Financial Advisory Firms
Growth is the lifeblood of any thriving organization, especially in the competitive world of financial advisory firms. Yet, unchecked or poorly managed growth can derail...
Confronting the Advisor Shortage: Scaling Your Practice for Sustainable Growth
Imagine this: You’re sitting across from one of your most valued clients—the type of relationship you’ve cultivated over the years. They’re looking for clarity on their...
More Than a Transaction: The Human, Cultural, and Operational Realities of Merger Integration
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are a strategic move that can help drive growth, increase market share, and enhance your profitability. M&A also represents an opportunity...
The Proven Blueprint for Building Advisory Career Paths
Creating structured career paths for your team members. It's one of the most crucial (yet all too often overlooked) aspects of running a successful advisory business....
Tackling Partner Challenges: A COO's 5-Step Playbook for Success
One of the most complex and sensitive issues a financial advisory firm, particularly its Chief Operating Officer, can face is when a partner's actions, decisions, or...
4 Team Communication Steps to Build Trust and a Collaborative Culture
Effective communication is the cornerstone of every high-performing team. Research shows that companies with effective communication practices are 4.5x more likely to...
Before Taking Any M&A Action, Make Sure To Know Your ‘Why’
85% of RIA growth is currently being driven by senior advisors. How do you plan to sustain momentum and continuity as your founders start retiring? Succession planning...
The Blueprint for High-Performing Teams: Six Components of Extraordinary Success in Financial Advisory Firms
In our ClientWise team coaching program for financial advisory firms, we define a true team as a group of people fully committed to the mutually defined and...
Message of Support
As fires rage across California, our hearts and prayers are with everyone affected. To our clients and the advisory community, we see the strength and resilience you...
Begin the Year with a 20-Year Perspective: The Power of Taking Action Today
As the new year begins, reflecting on the past and considering the future is natural. Mark Twain's timeless wisdom—"Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed...
3 More Creative Ways for Financial Advisors to Find New Clients
Developing deeper relationships with your clients and empowering them to share your value with their networks is a compelling way to expand your practice. Referrals are...
The Paradox of Choice: Why Too Much Opportunity Can Derail Your Year
As we approach the new year, let’s confront an uncomfortable truth: too much opportunity is sometimes more dangerous than too little. In his game-changing book The...
Making Your Mission Statement Mean Something Powerful
Most business leaders fall into one of two camps. They either have a long-winded, flowery-language, say-nothing Mission Statement, or they don’t have one at all. Some...
Ten Crucial Conversations for Year-End Client Reviews: Strengthen Client Relationships, Showcase Your Value, and Build Momentum for the Year Ahead
The clock is ticking, and the year's final chapter is here—a high-stakes season where you can turn a good year into an unforgettable one. It's not just about crunching...
Transfers of Trust: Passing the Torch to Tomorrow's Team- Lessons from a $10M advisory team
For this article, let’s call the firm we’re referencing WYSIWYG Wealth Management—a high-performing advisory team setting the standard for building a sustainable and...
Gobble Gobble! Gratitude! 🦃
As the leaves crunch underfoot and the Thanksgiving Holiday season is upon us, it’s time to hit the pause button on the chaos and soak in a little gratitude. Sure, the...
The Secret Sauce of Great Leaders: How PDPs Multiply Success- Build Stronger Teams, Free Your Time, and Drive Sustainable Growth
One of our clients, let’s call her Sarah, is the epitome of a high-performing professional. She leads a successful wealth management division. She consistently ranks top...
Hold On! Strategies to stem the outflow of assets as they transition to the next generation
Let's face it – most advisors lose out when wealth passes down to the next generation. In fact, less than 20% of those assets stay with the same advisor after the...
Turning Failures into Fuel for Future Planning
When you think of an American success story, it’s hard to imagine one more compelling than Abraham Lincoln’s journey from a humble log cabin to the White House. But did...
Get Out and Vote
You and your team hold a noble responsibility—guiding clients towards financial security and helping shape the current and future well-being of your community. This work...
When’s the Right Time to Hire a CEO?
“There’s no recipe for really complicated, dynamic situations.” – Ben Horowitz, The Hard Thing About Hard Things Not every owner sets out to be a CEO. Most wealth...
Unlocking Hidden Opportunities: Three Actionable Tactics to Tackle Before Year-End
The industry's top performers are focused on growth and preparing for the year ahead—are you confident your strategy is built on a solid foundation to navigate the...
The Talent Management Epidemic in Financial Services: A Blueprint for Developing Your Firm's Next-Generation Leaders
Many financial advisory firms have grown so fast that they've lost sight of building and nurturing their talent ecosystem, or they're simply clinging to outdated...
Should You Stay or Step Aside? When Founders Face the CEO Dilemma
Recently, I found myself coaching a group of firm founders and controlling owners – all of them grappling with one extremely critical question: Am I the right person to...
Schwab’s 2024 RIA Benchmarking Study: Top Highlights, Insights, and Opportunities
What separates ‘Top Performing’ advisory firms from everyone else? Is it their size and scale that affords them the ability to deliver more specialized services and...
Do You Know Your True Value? How advisory revenue models evolve to better capture the true value and impact firms deliver to clients
As Mark Tibergien points out, financial advisors operate in a unique industry where "advisors are often paid for the value the client brings to the relationship, rather...
How Mission, Vision, & Values Impact Your Bottom Line
For many advisors, concepts such as refining their mission, vision, and values (MVV) tend to be viewed as secondary concerns—things that are somewhat useful for the firm...
The Stockdale Paradox: What is it? And how can it strengthen your year-end planning?
As we turn onto the home stretch and drive towards the finish line of 2024, you may be faced with confronting some hard truths – needing to acknowledge both internal and...
6 Key Insights from Fidelity's 2024 RIA Benchmarking Study
I recently had a chance to sit down and digest the data presented in Fidelity’s latest RIA Benchmarking Study. It’s an invaluable report that helps shed light on several...
Ditch the Pitch: 8 Capability Deck Components and How to Bring Them Together
Today, with digital communication in full swing, nearly all prospective clients are a lot more ‘savvy’ than has always been the case. In fact, instead of a canned sales...
6 Critical M&A Insights from Billion-Dollar Wealth Managers
For a long time, steady growth has been the norm for wealth management businesses. Over the past decade, the capital markets alone have driven revenues among fee-based...
The Multi-Tactic Marketing Approach: Creating a game plan for high-growth firms
While some advisors are content with maintaining a 'lifestyle practice' that allows them to generate enough income to support their lifestyle without feeling pressured...
Calculating Your Client Acquisition Costs: How to optimize 8 key components
Acquiring new clients needs to be the lifeblood of every growth-focused advisory business. Sure, M&A deals tend to garner the lion’s share of media attention, but most...
Beyond the 12-4-2: A Dynamic Approach to Client Engagement
When someone repeats the same thing over and over often enough, it eventually becomes accepted as truth—even when it's not. This phenomenon, which psychologists call...
Unleashing Organic Growth: The Essential Truths Every Financial Advisory Firm Must Embrace
Kevin O’Leary (aka ‘Mr. Wonderful’) is one of my favorites on Shark Tank. I don’t always agree with his delivery, but he never fails to ask tough questions that a good...
8 Essential Qualities for Identifying NextGen Producing Partners
Building an enduring firm is an incredibly noble endeavor. Making a positive difference in a client's life can dramatically impact many future generations of their...
9 Ways to Leverage the Pygmalion Effect: Drive Greater Organizational Success and Raise the Bar for Clients
Setting high standards for your team. It’s crucial in building a client-focused firm – helping foster an interdependent team that consistently achieves excellence for...
The RIA Growth Illusion: How to create a financial model to drive organic growth
For the ten years between 2012 – 2021, wealth management firms experienced a nearly $30 trillion surge in AUM (from $20.6 trillion to $50.4 trillion). Yet during that...
Celebrating Independence Day: Reflecting on Freedom, Unity, and Growth
As we gather to celebrate the Fourth of July, it's more than just a day off work or an opportunity to enjoy fireworks with family and friends. It's a time to reflect on...
7 Steps to Building Your ‘Firm of Dreams’
In the 1989 classic film Field of Dreams, Kevin Costner’s character, Ray Kinsella, hears a mysterious voice whisper, “If you build it, he will come.” Driven by faith, he...
5 Steps for Prospecting Small Business Owners: Navigating the next decade of money-in-motion
Finding new clients. It’s perhaps the single greatest challenge faced by younger next-generation advisors. Traditional cold-calling methods of building a client roster...
9 Keys to Successfully Attract and Retain Next-Generation Leaders
In building a sustainable wealth management firm, the need to attract and retain next-generation future leaders becomes more crucial with each passing year. As firm...
5 Strategies to Gamify Your Next-Generation Path to Partnership
Although you might not consciously think about it, our day-to-day lives involve a wide range of ‘gamified’ systems. From airline frequent flier programs and cash-back...
Mid-Year Team Reviews- Reasons, Tips, and Rules for Effective Mid-Year Reviews: The 4-5-9 Approach
Over the years, I’ve observed that the most effective firms seem to always go above and beyond the typical annual review for their team members – providing more formal...
Honoring Memorial Day: A Tribute to Our Heroes
On this Memorial Day, we at ClientWise unite in a shared national pride and gratitude, pausing to honor and remember the brave men and women who have sacrificed to serve...
Barron's Teams Summit (Part 2) – 8 Takeaways from Industry Leaders on Designing Compensation Structures
During a breakout session at the recent Barron's Teams Summit in Las Vegas, I had the opportunity to facilitate a discussion with Jeff Brown, President of Stratos...
Career Pathing & Team Incentives: Part One
I recently facilitated a breakout session at the Barron’s Teams Summit in Las Vegas. The panelists were three heavy hitters: high-performing large firm leaders – Jeff...
6 Key Drivers to Designing Effective Compensation Programs for Future Leaders
As your firm strives to attract and retain top-tier talent in an ever more competitive environment, designing compensation programs tailored to future financial leaders...
7 Powerful Reasons to Formalize Your Advisory Board
As a CEO or an executive leader, at some point, you’ll likely realize it takes a total team to navigate the challenges, opportunities, and complexities of running a...
Cultivating a Culture of Gratitude: One Simple, Cost-Effective Tool with 4 Transformative Benefits
A recent Gallup study states, “workers who feel strongly connected to their team’s culture are 55% less likely to be actively looking for job opportunities and more than...
6 Tips For Integrating OKRs With EOS To Amplify Performance
High-performing advisory teams leverage valuable frameworks such as Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) and the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) to set strategic...
8 Steps to Harnessing Organic Growth- Prepare Your RIA for a Tsunami of Wealth Transfer
Earlier this week, I attended the Tiburon CEO Summit and had the opportunity to connect with a sophisticated group of wealth management CEOs—where the best come together...
5 Essentials to Choosing Business Partners Wisely
Much like in a law firm, where choosing the right partners often plays a pivotal role in shaping not only the trajectory of the practice but also its prospects for...
Talent Acquisition and the Current Advisor Recruiting and Breakaway Broker Trends
For the most successful advisor firms emphasizing organic growth, competing for top talent to strengthen their ranks and enhance client service capabilities has become...
Founder-Focused Firms Fail to Scale: The Pitfalls of Single-Leader Advisory Firms and How to Change the Game
In many cases, a founder's vision serves as the guiding light for his or her advisory firm's operations. Their expertise, passion, and drive are pivotal in establishing...
Building a Strong Foundation: 3 Critical Governance Committees for Larger Practices
Paraphrasing Michael Gerber, author of E-Myth Revisited, “Sooner or later, the day will come where the technical skills of your trade or profession are no longer enough;...
The Power of Co-Creating Goals: 4 Strategies to Help Move Beyond the Numbers
As an advisor, much of your day revolves around numbers—setting financial goals, managing portfolios, and ensuring the financial well-being of your clients. Although...
9 Trends That Will Impact the Future of Your Firm
Given the ever-evolving advisory landscape, staying ahead of the curve can be a difficult challenge. It will be essential to your continued success. As we look forward...
10 Must Listen Advisor-Led Podcasts for Wealth Wisdom
In today's fast-paced world, staying up-to-date with the latest financial trends, insights, and strategies is crucial—especially as you strive to offer your clients the...
16 Practice Management Podcasts to Elevate Your Business
Mastering practice management is an essential success driver as you build your enterprise. Effective practice management strategies not only help streamline your...
4 Steps to Delegate More Effectively
Every successful leader knows that delegation is essential to achieving maximum capacity. The key question, however, is whether or not you’re approaching delegation...
5 Tips for More Impactful 1:1 Meetings
When developing professional relationships, there's simply nothing quite as valuable or productive as a well-structured, one-on-one meeting. We’re all incredibly busy...
8 Benefits of a Five-Year Strategic Plan for Your Business
Recently, I was talking with one of our elite advisor clients (the CEO of a $2.4 billion firm), and he shared the notion that for all its critical importance, ‘strategic...
7 Essential Metrics for Your CEO Scorecard
Recently, I was coaching a group of larger ($1+ billion in AUM) advisory firm CEOs. Our objective was to develop a CEO scorecard they could all commit to holding...
Industry Disruptors—Challenging the Status Quo
As the leader of a dynamic, growing wealth advisory business, several times each year, you and your leadership team should engage with your strategic planning...
10 Tips to Fast-Track Team Goal Setting in 2024
As we embark on the journey of a new year, fully present, with clear heads and open minds, this is the perfect time to commit to a ‘growth restart.’ From carefully...
9 Creative Ways for Financial Advisors to Acquire Clients
Identifying high-impact clients. Helping them clearly understand the value you deliver. Building the necessary levels of trust to establish lasting relationships. And...
7 Tips for Creating a More Interdependent Team
At ClientWise, we often stress the critical importance of developing an interdependent team rather than an autonomous work group. But how do you objectively determine...
3 Important Areas of Team Productivity to Focus on
Time is the ultimate equalizer. A couple of years ago, I reviewed the results of a time management and productivity study conducted by Michael Kitces. He found that less...
12 Keys to Building an Enduring Firm
If building an enduring business – one that cares for future generations (of both clients and advisors) – is important to you, then now’s the time to start planning. But...
Memorial Day: Honoring Our Fallen Heroes
This weekend, we commemorate those who have fought for all we hold so precious and dear. Memorial Day is a day when we pause to give thanks to the people who fought for...
5 Ways to Create and Cultivate a Growth Mindset Culture
Carol Dweck, Ph.D. and author of Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, defines a growth mindset as believing “the hand you’re dealt is just the starting point for...
New Success in Succession™ Program Addresses Glaring Gap
We’ve all seen the sobering statistics. The average age of financial advisors is currently reported to be 55 years old, with roughly one in five age 65 or older. And...
Top 5 Key Insights for Business Continuity
Q1 2022 INSIGHTS During the first quarter of 2022 (Jan - Mar), we asked our clients a series of business-specific questions to gauge their perceptions as to how prepared...
5 Key Benefits of a Structured Team Recognition Program
“Don’t ask how we can motivate people. That’s the wrong question. Ask how we can provide the conditions within which people can motivate themselves.” — Edward Deci,...
"What's in Their Wallet?" Part 2: Why Your Compensation Stack Matters
Your compensation stack is the combination of human capital tools which create a framework for fully compensating your team members and framing your firm as a desirable...
Random Acts of Kindness
The OED defines gratitude as “the quality or condition of being grateful or thankful; the appreciation of and inclination to return kindness; gratefulness.” But it’s...
7 Central Concepts to Shape Your Hiring
This week at the Barron’s Advisor Independent Summit, a group of self-made leaders gathered for an invitation-only event to learn and grow, sharing ideas and insights....
8 Ways to Better Frame Your Firm
Odds are you’ve created hundreds of pitch books over the course of your advisory career—PowerPoint presentations with your company brand, bulleted facts and figures,...
7 Leading and Lagging Indicators for the Health of Your Business
For better or worse, we’re bombarded by a constant stream of economic data. Looking closely at both leading indicators such as bond yields and housing starts as well as...
Top 10 Team Icebreakers
Recently, I attended a leadership meeting for one of our clients. As everyone was gathering in the virtual zoom room for the virtual meeting, it was clear there were...
"What's in Their Wallet?" Part 1: Why Your Compensation Stack Matters
In Part 1 of a two-part series, we will explore what factors to consider when putting together the compensation stack for your team members. Like a tech stack, your...
The Unintended Consequences of Growth: Why Elite Advisors are Always Recruiting
Why elite advisors are always recruiting Pick up any trade journal these days and you’re bound to see at least a couple of articles about the current ‘Great Resignation’...
Build It and They Will Come: Structuring your Compensation Philosophy
If you’re at all familiar with the film Field of Dreams, you know that it takes more than simply plowing the cornfield and building a baseball diamond to achieve your...
The Talent Crunch
The race for talent is heating up. Do you have a plan? According to a recent study conducted by Barron’s, advisor growth over the past two years has been off the charts:
Looking Beyond the Multiple
Not too long ago, financial practice values were just a simple multiple of revenue. Depending on the book of business, an advisor generally could expect 1x to 2x...
5 Impactful Ways to Scale Culture
We’re in the midst of a transitional time—not just because of the systemic changes that have been brought on by COVID. Advisory businesses are currently experiencing...
7 Key Considerations for Advisors Committed to Building Enduring Firms
Building an enduring business. For most of us, it’s one of the most important goals we have—to establish a firm that will care for future generations of both clients and...
M&A Considerations Part 2 - When the Seller is Staying
One of the critical factors you’ll need to consider as a buyer is whether you’re acquiring the business with the intent of having the acquiree exit the practice, or...
M&A Considerations Part I - When the Seller is Leaving
One of the critical factors you’ll need to consider as a buyer is whether you’re acquiring the business with the intent of having the acquiree exit the practice, or...Happy Holidays! 2021
From our family to yours, we would like to wish you a Happy Holidays and a very Happy New Year! In this season of giving, we are most grateful for that which you give to...
Veterans Day 2021
Today, ClientWise celebrates and graciously thanks all of the men and women who have served in the United States Military.
How Good Teams Fall Apart
It’s rarely a cataclysmic event. Far more often, it’s a slow, cumulative effect – the impact of small, insidious behaviors that in and of themselves seem relatively...
Transfers of Trust
Whether in the context of the work we do with advisory firms looking to merge, or building structures to facilitate the move of clients from a founder to a next...
Quick Start For A New Year Ahead
We all have a vision of our future business. Too often, however, that vision is solely focused on some relatively far-off (5, 10, or even 20 year) end date. Don’t get me...
Scale Your Business More Effectively
Capacity and Productivity. Any advisory firm that’s serious about meaningful and sustainable growth must learn how to better control those two critical financial...
10 Essential Drivers of Enterprise Value
One of the biggest challenges for any thriving advisory firm is finding time (beyond day-to-day operations) to plan and execute on the activities which will most...
5 Critical Keys to Effective Compensation Planning
Ask any consultant who works on compensation in the financial services industry and they’ll probably tell you that retaining Human Capital should be the #1 cause of...
Happy Holidays! 2020
On behalf of the entire ClientWise team, we would like to wish you Happy Holidays from our family to yours! In this season of giving, we are most grateful for that which...
Give in the Time of Corona
First off, my sincerest apology to author Gabriel Garcìa Màrquez for butchering the title of his remarkable novel Love in the Time of Cholera just to come up with a...
The time to repair the roof…
…is when the sun is shining. That was the clarion call of JFK in his 1962 State of the Union address – a challenge to the nation to use current times of prosperity to...
Giving thanks by giving back 11/25/2020
To say that 2020 has been a challenging year could perhaps be the greatest understatement of all time. It’s honestly been a year of unimaginable struggle. The loss of...
A Heartfelt Thank You to Our Veterans!
On behalf of the entire ClientWise team, we wish to express our deep appreciation to those of you who have served (or perhaps are still serving) in our nation’s Armed...
Stay Connected Recommendations - For You and Your Team 10/28/2020
Looking for ways to keep your team and your clients focused and engaged? Share with them some of the books, TV shows, movies, podcasts, etc. that have helped lift your...
Stay Connected Recommendations - For You and Your Team
Looking for ways to keep your team and your clients focused and engaged? Share with them some of the books, TV shows, movies, podcasts, etc. that have helped lift your...
Micro-Segmentation
An opportunity to test and learn new acquisition strategies Lately, whenever I talk to one of our clients, I make it a point to ask them what their year-to-date new...
Stay Connected Recommendations - For You and Your Team 10/01/2020
Looking for ways to keep your team and your clients focused and engaged? Share with them some of the books, TV shows, movies, podcasts, etc. that have helped lift your...
Zoom Your Way to Loyal Client Advocates
Sit down at a lunch table during any advisor conference, and I can pretty much guarantee you that sooner than later, the topic of conversation will gravitate to client...
Stay Connected Recommendations - For You and Your Team 09/15/2020
Looking for ways to keep your team and your clients focused and engaged? Share with them some of the books, TV shows, movies, podcasts, etc. that have helped lift your...
Why Aren’t You "Board"?
Late last year, I led a working session of sixteen advisory clients – all but one of them managed in excess of $1B in assets (with at least two firms north of $2B in...
Are Socially Distanced BBQs a Thing?
The very first Labor Day was celebrated in New York City on September 5, 1882. And on June 28, 1894, President Grover Cleveland signed a law making the first Monday in...
Stay Connected Recommendations - For You and Your Team 9/01/2020
Looking for ways to keep your team and your clients focused and engaged? Share with them some of the books, TV shows, movies, podcasts, etc. that have helped lift your...
Curated Content for Financial Leaders (Week of August 31)
Each of these important articles and podcasts have been thoughtfully curated, timely, and helpful for you and your team.
Opportunity's Knocking
New clients and new talent have never been more accessible Perhaps all this industry buzz and talk about entering “a new normal” is legitimate, and that the way you...
Curated Content for Financial Leaders (Week of August 24)
Each of these important articles and podcasts have been thoughtfully curated, timely, and helpful for you and your team.
Stay Connected Recommendations - For You and Your Team 08/18/2020
Looking for ways to keep your team and your clients focused and engaged? Share with them some of the books, TV shows, movies, podcasts, etc. that have helped lift your...
Curated Content for Financial Leaders (Week of August 17)
Each of these important articles and podcasts have been thoughtfully curated, timely, and helpful for you and your team.
Rethinking Your Personal Productivity Tech Stack
Moore’s Law states that every two years the number of transistors on a microchip will double while over the same period the cost of computers will halve. Rather than a...
Stay Connected Recommendations - For You and Your Team 08/05/2020
Looking for ways to keep your team and your clients focused and engaged? Share with them some of the books, TV shows, movies, podcasts, etc. that have helped lift your...
Best Practices in Creating a Distributed Workforce
When it comes to returning to the workplace, there’s no shortage of conflicting viewpoints in the marketplace in general – nor among advisors and their teams in...
Stay Connected Recommendations - For You and Your Team 07/27/2020
Looking for ways to keep your team and your clients focused and engaged? Share with them some of the books, TV shows, movies, podcasts, etc. that have helped lift your...
Why and When Should You Hire a COO?
If you’re like most successful firm founders, you’re probably either a tremendous relationship manager, rainmaker and/or investment technician. And as your firm has...
Stay Connected Recommendations - For You and Your Team 07/20/2020
Looking for ways to keep your team and your clients focused and engaged? Share with them some of the books, TV shows, movies, podcasts, etc. that have helped lift your...
Curated Content for Financial Leaders (Week of July 20)
Each of these important articles and podcasts have been thoughtfully curated, timely, and helpful for you and your team.
Stay Connected Recommendations - For You and Your Team 07/15/2020
Looking for ways to keep your team and your clients focused and engaged? Share with them some of the books, TV shows, movies, podcasts, etc. that have helped lift your...
Curated Content for Financial Leaders (Week of July 10)
Each of these important articles and podcasts have been thoughtfully curated, timely, and helpful for you and your team.
Coaching? Now? Are you serious?
You’re the CEO of a successful RIA. You’ve grown the business from a fledgling operation to a thriving firm with a talented team of skilled planning and investment...
Stay Connected Recommendations - For You and Your Team July 7, 2020
Looking for ways to keep your team and your clients focused and engaged? Share with them some of the books, TV shows, movies, podcasts, etc. that have helped lift your...
24 Tips for Team Members When Working From Home
Looking for ways to keep your team and your clients focused and engaged? Share with them these 24 tips that will help them stay focused and organized while working from...
Online Collaboration Tools
Bringing the best out in your team during challenging times. While compliance requirements may limit some financial advisory firms from using certain technologies,...
Curated Content for Financial Leaders (Week of June 29)
Each of these important articles and podcasts have been thoughtfully curated, timely, and helpful for you and your team.
8 Essential Qualities of Successful NextGen Leaders
At ClientWise, we talk at great length about the critical importance of cultivating the NextGen owners and partners who will guide your firm into the future. It’s not...
Curated Content for Financial Leaders (Week of June 22)
Each of these important articles and podcasts have been thoughtfully curated, timely, and helpful for you and your team.
Managing your OWN fear and uncertainty
If you’re not experiencing any; you’re not human! Assuming you’ve ventured onto ThinkAdvisor, FA-Mag, InvestmentNews or any one of the many other online information...
Stay Connected Recommendations - For You and Your Team 06/15/2020
Looking for ways to keep your team and your clients focused and engaged? Share with them some of the books, TV shows, movies, podcasts, etc. that have helped lift your...
Curated Content for Financial Leaders (Week of June 15)
Each of these important articles and podcasts have been thoughtfully curated, timely, and helpful for you and your team.
Stay Connected Recommendations - For You and Your Team 06/05/2020
Looking for ways to keep your team and your clients focused and engaged? Share with them some of the books, TV shows, movies, podcasts, etc. that have helped lift your...
Moving the Right Financial Levers
Moving the Right Financial Levers Avoid permanent outcomes to temporary problems Unlike countless retail, manufacturing and hospitality businesses, financial advisors...
Curated Content for Financial Leaders (Week of June 1)
Each of these important articles and podcasts have been thoughtfully curated, timely, and helpful for you and your team. HBR Podcast: Staying Agile Beyond a Crisis...
Gauging your clients’ confidence
Despite the bounce-back of financial markets we’re currently seeing, our world has indeed changed. Even if this unprecedented loosening of monetary policy by the Fed can...
The Anatomy of a Client Review
By now, you’ve reached out to check-in with all of your clients -apprising them as to your operating plan during the pandemic, as well as addressing any initial fears...
Stay social, my friends!
By now, we’re all more than a little burned out on Zoom meetings, virtual client reviews, and the seemingly endless litany of daily and weekly online check-ins and team...
Stay Connected Recommendations - For You and Your Team 05/14/2020
Looking for ways to keep your team and your clients focused and engaged? Share with them some of the books, TV shows, movies, podcasts, etc. that have helped lift your...
Keeping Your Team Productive in a Virtual World
Dare I say that just a few months ago, none of us could possibly have fathomed the world we currently find ourselves trying to navigate?! Not only is the human toll of...
Stay Connected Recommendations - For You and Your Team 05/07/2020
Looking for ways to keep your team and your clients focused and engaged? Share with them some of the books, TV shows, movies, podcasts, etc. that have helped lift your...
Twelve Positive Ways the Crisis Will Impact RIAs
This weeks research insights, best practices, and fresh ideas on how to lead your clients and your team... Twelve Positive Ways the Crisis Will Impact RIAs General James...
Stay Connected Recommendations - For You and Your Team 04/30/2020
Looking for ways to keep your team and your clients focused and engaged? Share with them some of the books, TV shows, movies, podcasts, etc. that have helped lift your...
How to alleviate Zoom fatigue
This weeks research insights, best practices, and fresh ideas on how to lead your clients and your team... Demonstrating Corporate Purpose In the Time of Coronavirus How...
How the CARES Act Impacts Your Clients’ Taxes
Harold Evensky’s musings on the Coronavirus McKkinsey & Company: The Future is Not What it used to Be - Seven Elements for Business Leaders to Consider as They Plan for...
Effective Investment Charts for Communication with Clients
"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts." - Winston Churchill The Most Beautiful Virtual Choir For This Holiday Week On...
Adversity Gives Rise to Great Leaders
Sometimes it’s at the turbulent center of a monumental crisis where true leaders discover their inner strength. Individuals who despite incredible fear and uncertainty...
A Guide to Working From Home
Controlling What You Can, Learning From What You Can’t How to Make the Most of this Nationwide Timeout - Diamond Consultants: Financial Advisor Recruiting Firm Financial...
Staying Centered and Focused in a VUCA World
Yesterday I exhumed a white paper that was published on Leadership Development by the Center for Creative Leadership in 2011 thinking it might be relevant to our current...
Keeping Your Team Effective While Working Remotely
Some offices have already closed, and others may do so in the future, so knowing how to organize yourself and your team to continue to provide exemplary service is...
Giving Thanks
At this reflective time of year, I remind myself that while gratitude is important, it’s in the giving (of our time, talent and treasure) that we best demonstrate our...
Polonius Never Tried to Grow a Practice
“Neither a borrower nor a lender be: For loan oft loses both itself and friend.” Hamlet; Act 1, Scene 3 It’s one of the most recognizable and oft quoted lines in all of...
Capacity and Productivity - The keys to unlocking future growth
For any enterprise that’s serious about meaningful and sustainable growth, getting a grasp on how to better control these two critical financial metrics is essential. As...
Rainmaking Matters
One storm is no longer enough... When it comes to fueling meaningful growth in your enterprise, the days of succeeding by doing one thing very well are quickly becoming...
Who’s your Practice Management Champion™?
Every enterprise needs one; here’s why
Celebrating Independence
If there’s one holiday that should especially resonate with financial advisors, it’s the 4th of July – a celebration of our nation’s unyielding and relentless desire for...
Motivation Beyond Money
Finding Your Personal Satisfaction Drivers In our work over the years with hundreds of advisory teams, nearly every phenomenally successful team leader has shared ONE...
Empty Chairs - The looming NextGen advisor crisis
The statistics paint a pretty bleak picture. The average financial advisor today is age 51, with nearly half (43%) over the age of 55 and therefore inside of a decade...
Proclamation on Prayer for Peace, Memorial Day, 2019
Regardless of political persuasion, whether red state or blue, there are some messages that transcend politics and provide a rare opportunity to begin salving wounds and...
Engaging the NextGen client
The clock is ticking We’ve all seen the statistics. The probability that your firm will be able to retain your current clients’ assets once they transfer to the next...
What’s My Job Again?
Why clearly defined roles and responsibilities matter Remember when you first started your firm? Not only were you the owner of the business, you and your original team...
Rewarding Performance - Human capital is an asset, not a liability
As a strategic business leader, you recognize that your team – your human capital – is your most important asset. You invest in them in a variety of ways and, in turn,...
The Case for OKRs
Odds are, at some point during college or in the early years of your career, you were introduced to the acronym “SMART” as it relates to creating business goals and...
Happy Holidays - from our family to yours!
On behalf of the entire ClientWise team, we would like to wish you Happy Holidays from our family to yours! In this season of giving, we are most grateful for that which...
A History Lesson in Gratitude, Living and Laughing at it All
As we take time to give thanks and reflect on the relationships for which we are most grateful, we invariably recall certain history lessons that serve as important...Happy 4th of July
Four Fun Historical Facts for Financial Advisors on the 4th of July Happy Belated Birthday! In actuality, the real Independence Day, is on July 2nd. This is the day that...
15 Tips for Financial Advisors Who are Networking on LinkedIn
Expand client marketing via LinkedIn As the premier professional network on the Internet, LinkedIn is a great place to make professional connections and network for...
Happy Memorial Day: Let Us Honor Our Fallen Heroes
Thanksgiving is a day when we pause to give thanks for the things we have. Memorial Day is a day when we pause to give thanks to the people who fought for the things we...
Growing a Financial Advisory Business thru Mergers and Acquisitions
How three unique firms found common purpose in coming together Rick Kent (founder of the suburban Atlanta-based Merit Financial Group) was actively seeking to grow his...
How are you acquiring clients today?
All businesses need a sound marketing strategy, particularly in acquiring new clients. It’s not enough to be an expert in your field or provide outstanding service. If...
The NFL will donate 5$ if you RETWEET! #SaluteToService
This past weekend the NFL announced for every Re-Tweet they will make a $5 donation. @NFL will donate up to $5 MILLION! Here's the article but before you go be sure to...
Hurricane Harvey
Nearly a week after Hurricane Harvey slammed into the southeast Texas coast, thousands of residents remain stranded without food or water. And the dangers arising from...
What is My Future Company?
I often ask advisors I work with to describe their future company to me. With very few exceptions, the responses I get overwhelmingly revolve around incremental change....
Continue Your Education with Coaching Skills
Most successful financial professionals possess the technical skills and qualifications necessary to help their clients and colleagues maneuver in a fast-changing market...
10 Key Marketing Elements for Successful Financial Advisors
It's always a good time for financial advisory teams to fine-tune their marketing plans. It’s vital that the team remains focused on reaching defined marketing and...
Your Most Important Clients? It's Your Team.
If we only had a dollar for every time we’ve heard an advisor say “I’d really prefer not to add new team members because I just don’t like managing people.” Mind you,...
Developing an Emotionally Intelligent Team
The best in the business know that a critical part of their role is mentoring, coaching and developing their team. It's extremely important to gain the skills and...