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Written by: East Bay Investment Solutions
Thanks to advancements in AI and technology, access to sophisticated investment strategies and solutions are more accessible to individual investors than perhaps ever before. While this can be helpful for many DIY investors, those with high net worths are still seeking out the personalized advice and holistic guidance that financial advisors are able to offer. But as the financial services landscape continues to grow more competitive, you’ll need to leverage your distinct differentiators to both attract and retain your ideal clients.
To successfully attract high-net-worth clients, it's not enough to simply offer investment advice. These investors are looking for a seamless and engaging experience, one that showcases your firm’s efficiency, expertise, and personal touch at every step. Achieving this level of service requires mastery over key operational elements that impact both client onboarding and ongoing interactions. Let’s explore three operational challenges you’ll need to perfect in order to build the kind of advisory firm that consistently attracts—and retains—high-net-worth investors.
Perfect Your Onboarding Process
Advisors tend to be familiar with cognitive biases as they pertain to investing (think loss aversion or familiarity bias), but did you know these cognitive biases can impact your relationship with clients as well?
It’s a big reason why first impressions are incredibly important—because when people see one positive trait in another individual, they begin to make positive judgments. This is a cognitive bias called the halo effect, and understanding its importance can help you use it in your favor.
Once a prospect has transitioned into a client, your onboarding process is really your firm’s first order of business, and it gives your brand new client a glimpse into what the rest of your working relationship will likely look like. Making the experience smooth and seamless will serve you well—and keep your new client feeling valued and well cared for. You’ll want to ensure, that from start to finish, your client is not only kept in the loop, but feels confident about what’s happening every step in the process.
It can be tough for you to oversee this when you’re juggling so many different roles and responsibilities as a planning-focused financial advisor. That’s why having a supportive team is critical. Does every team member know their role in the onboarding process? How can you delegate some of your other tasks, like the heavy-lift of investments, to free your time to work on your onboarding process?
How an Outsourced Chief Investment Officer (OCIO) Can Help
An OCIO can provide a cost-effective and scalable solution to maintaining your impeccable standards of service—while taking the stress and time commitment of managing complex investments off your plate.
By aligning the expertise of a fractional investment officer with your desire to help your clients grow their portfolios over time, you and your OCIO can work together to enhance your reputation as a superior financial partner to your ideal clientele.
Create a Rave-Worthy Client Experience
If your clients had to rate every interaction they had with you and your firm, be honest. Would they give you a 10 out of 10? Or, more realistically, do you think there’s room for improvement?
We’re all human, and chances are you may be missing out on opportunities to deliver your clients with a more “wow”-worthy experience—one that makes them inclined to share your information with friends, family, and colleagues.
From the moment a prospect interacts with your firm through the entire lifecycle of the advisor-client relationship, your clients expect you to be communicative, educational, transparent, and engaging. In a world where automation and technology reign supreme, they’re looking for personalized guidance from you, their trusted advisor.
How an OCIO Can Help
One of the great things about working with an OCIO (particularly when compared to other investment support options), is that they can be as client-facing as you’d like. Allow your OCIO to answer all investment-related questions from clients, co-host regular webinars, prepare client-facing communications, and otherwise bring another layer of personalized engagement to the client experience.
Conversely, an OCIO can work in the background as well—gathering up resources and helping you address client questions quickly, efficiently, and accurately.
Follow a Unified Investment Approach
If you’re a growth-focused firm interested in attracting high-net-worth investors, scalability is key—and that’s only possible if your entire team is operating in full alignment. Having a uniform investment approach ensures the level of service you are providing is standardized across the firm and, most importantly, scalable. This is especially important for those teams (and clients) who value collaboration and want to be able to offer their clients access to working with multiple financial professionals.
How an OCIO Can Help
Your OCIO can help you enhance the client experience—and, ultimately, build a more refer-worthy firm—by ensuring all team members are fully aligned on the firm’s singular investment philosophy. An OCIO takes the guesswork out of understanding your investment management strategy since they can offer trainings, critical insights, and ongoing oversight all on your behalf.
Put simply, your OCIO is a wealth of knowledge who can help your advisors speak fluently about investment selection and choices with their clients. Because high-net-worth investors especially want to feel confident that they’re working with a knowledgeable and capable advisor, having the right language and resources to leverage can make a huge difference in your firm’s ability to attract that ideal client base.
Is Your Firm Operating with Your Growth Goals in Mind?
When you think of implementing strategies to attract more high-net-worth investors, it’s natural to assume more marketing is the only option. But considering 61% of advisors get new client leads from referrals, finding opportunities to improve your existing processes and client engagements should be just as high a priority (if not more).
Beyond basic investment management, an OCIO can help advisors deliver a more engaging and personalized client experience while improving their access to resources, advancing their investment knowledge, and bringing greater alignment across the team.
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