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Experienced advisors know that it takes hard work and smart decisions to reach the highest tiers of success in the constantly evolving financial advisory industry.
A big part of reaching that rarefied air boils down to working with the right partners, including an advisor-centric custodian like Axos Advisor Services. Axos can help busy advisors increase efficiencies and enhance profitability, while delivering on the increasingly holistic demands of clients.
Axos Advisor Services provides an easy-to-use technology platform called Liberty that enables advisors to manage client accounts and investment portfolios efficiently, while delivering an exceptional client experience. This innovative technology is increasingly relevant at a time when surveys suggest advisors are spending less time building their books of business and more time on non-revenue-generating tasks like back-office administrative issues. The good news: Axos provides advisors with the resources they need to get back to the businesses of growing their practices and engaging with clients.
“Our technology is designed to simplify tasks and save you time, so you can be more productive in every area of your business,” says Mike Watson, Head of RIA. “The Axos Advisor Services platform was built with one goal in mind: to make advisors more efficient.”
The Benefits of Building an Elite Business
In considering the best practices for an advisory business, it is helpful to reflect on strategies used by the most successful advisors. Each year, InvestmentNews Research identifies and describes a group of elite RIAs that represent the most productive professionals in the industry. These profiles can provide a starting point for other advisors looking to profitably grow their businesses. The 2021 survey, sponsored by Axos Advisor Services, provides some insights into how top advisors have achieved their success.
The study reveals that advisory firms in the elite stratosphere have a median of 475 clients, or more than double the 212 of their non-elite counterparts. On a related note, it's probably not surprising that those in elite territory generate significantly more revenue – a median of $3.6 million – compared to non-elite rivals at a median of $635,000.
“While elite RIAs may employ a larger staff to support this larger client base, they tend to do more with less— boosting their productivity and profitability,” notes Watson. “Median revenue per professional for elite RIA firms was $901,785, almost three times as great as professional productivity at all other firms. Similarly, median revenue per employee at elite RIA firms was $379,698, or nearly double what it was at other firms.”
Elite firms also focus on more high-net worth clients. To do so successfully, advisors need the right partner with the right technology to help streamline operations and enhance efficiencies – boxes checked by Axos Advisor Services. By leveraging Liberty’s benefits, advisory firms can follow the money.
“Among the elite firms in the InvestmentNews study, 60% serve households with $10 million to $30 million in investable assets, compared with just 25% of other firms,” says Watson. “Nearly 40% of elite advisors targeted households with over $30 million in wealth, versus 16% for other advisors.”
Providing More Holistic Support
Elites provide a broader array of services than other firms, helping to create a virtuous circle that attracts even more wealthy clients. More than other firms, elite advisors typically offer banking services, estate planning, business owner services, and concierge services in addition to the typical menu offered by most advisory firms. As a result of developing a broad array of services, elite RIA firms say they focus on delivering overall financial wellness— not just investment management—for 90% of their clients.
“As investment management becomes increasingly commoditized, advisory firms that emulate elite advisors and offer financial planning, tax planning, banking and a variety of other services are in a better position to attract and retain more affluent clients,” says Watson. “Those firms also are better able to maintain their margins by not having to compete on price.”
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Axos Advisor Services is an RIA custodian that delivers individualized attention, intuitive technology, and knowledgeable consulting support you need to take your business to the next level and beyond. Learn more here.