Despite challenges in the current wealth management industry, a significant opportunity has presented itself. Financial advisors have a vast market to infiltrate over the next decade, with over seven million more Americans aged 45 to 60 than those aged 60 to 75. The cost of acquiring new clients is currently low, allowing wealth managers to create substantial enterprise value. According to Financial Advisor, success in this landscape requires a few key traits:

• Decisive Owners with Long Investment Horizons: Successful firms will have owners with long-term perspectives, making substantial investments that yield returns over decades.

• Rapid Client Acquisition: Recognizing the limited time window of low acquisition costs, successful firms will do whatever it takes to capture new clients quickly, innovating and changing the terms of competition.

• Operating Model Optimization: Wealth management firms will re-engineer their operating models, allowing talent to specialize in marketing, client acquisition, and servicing. This specialization will accelerate organic growth rates.

• Specialization-by-Function: Firms will face challenges in implementing specialization-by-function, as key employees control client relationships. Successful owners will adopt a two-track approach, creating a compensation system to incentivize marketers and avoid the risk of key departures.

Financial Advisor Transitions consults advisors nationwide to explore employment transition options and to preserve and protect their practice in any transition that they make.