20 CONNECT | SUMMER 2014 The Right Way to Bring on an Associate Advisor Bringing in the right candidate can help you achieve the next level in your business, find a suitable successor – or both W hether you are focused on finding a succes- sor to your practice or have been fortunate to have experienced growth in clients and assets that exceeds what you want to manage on your own, consider the reasons to add an associate advisor to your business. Adding new advisors and providing the proper path to success are integral parts of industry growth. A 2013 re- port from consulting firm Accenture noted the average age of a financial advisor today is about 50, and 21 per- cent are over 60. Yet, of the estimated 300,000 financial advisors in the country, Forbes reported in 2012 that less than 5 percent are under age 30. Associate advisors fill many roles in an office, from suc- cession planning options to attracting younger clients, but awareness of all the implications growing your team creates is essential. Some simple questions to consider before making a decision can include: 1. Is this a good time to expand our practice? Are there any reasons this process should wait, or is it long overdue? 2. Have I defined exactly what I am looking for so I can select the best candidate? Once interviews are com- pleted, the question becomes – is this person truly the best fit or just someone to fill a role? 3. Am I prepared to take on the shift in my role from advisor to trainer and manager? For groups looking to add an associate advisor, is there a designated person for those duties? 4. How will I leverage the associate advisor’s talents to make the most of their role on the team? Because the candidate you hire becomes a reflection of your practice, finding the best candidate and building a mutually beneficial relationship for success requires a strong plan. Starting the process to find the right advisor Laurie Burkhard, senior business consultant at independent bro- ker-dealer Securities America, often coaches advisors on success- ful ways to manage the entire process of sourcing and hiring an associate advisor. The map she gives to advisors follows this guidance: Search for the ideal candidate • Double the amount of time you would normally allow for a hiring process. This position can be slower to fill than many other positions in your office. • Get creative in your recruiting. Beyond common sources like Monster.com and CareerBuilder.com, use your connections on LinkedIn to find candidates as well. • Consider outsourcing the hire. Ask if your broker- dealer has resources to assist, or consider a local agency. Laurie Burkhard
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20 CONNECT | SUMMER 2014
The Right Way toBring on an Associate AdvisorBringing in the right candidate can help you achieve the next level in yourbusiness, find a suitable successor – or both
Whether you are focused on finding a succes-sor to your practice or have been fortunateto have experienced growth in clients and
assets that exceeds what you want to manage on yourown, consider the reasons to add an associate advisor toyour business.
Adding new advisors and providing the proper path tosuccess are integral parts of industry growth. A 2013 re-port from consulting firm Accenture noted the averageage of a financial advisor today is about 50, and 21 per-cent are over 60. Yet, of the estimated 300,000 financialadvisors in the country, Forbes reported in 2012 thatless than 5 percent are under age 30.
Associate advisors fill many roles in an office, from suc-cession planning options to attracting younger clients,but awareness of all the implications growing your teamcreates is essential. Some simple questions to considerbefore making a decision can include:
1. Is this a good time to expand our practice? Are thereany reasons this process should wait, or is it long overdue?
2. Have I defined exactly what I am looking for so I canselect the best candidate? Once interviews are com-pleted, the question becomes – is this person truly thebest fit or just someone to fill a role?
3. Am I prepared to take on the shift in my role fromadvisor to trainer and manager? For groups looking toadd an associate advisor, is there a designated person forthose duties?
4. How will I leverage the associate advisor’s talents tomake the most of their role on the team?
Because the candidate you hire becomes a reflection ofyour practice, finding the best candidate and buildinga mutually beneficial relationship for success requires astrong plan.
Starting the process to find the right advisorLaurie Burkhard, senior businessconsultant at independent bro-ker-dealer Securities America,often coaches advisors on success-ful ways to manage the entireprocess of sourcing and hiring anassociate advisor. The map shegives to advisors follows thisguidance:
Search for the ideal candidate
• Double the amount of time you would normally allowfor a hiring process. This position can be slower to fillthan many other positions in your office.
• Get creative in your recruiting. Beyond commonsources like Monster.com and CareerBuilder.com, useyour connections on LinkedIn to find candidates aswell.
• Consider outsourcing the hire. Ask if your broker-dealer has resources to assist, or consider a localagency.
• Look for a team player who is willing to learn fromyou as a senior advisor.
• Decide if they show enthusiasm for the role, whilerealizing that this is a fantastic opportunity for them.
Understand their strengths and weaknesses
• Someone who knows the industry but is not strongat generating their own leads could be a valuable assetto a team that has more leads than they can manage.The associate advisor can follow up with leads and closethe sale while providing a high level of service.
• Candidates with no industry knowledge may be bet-ter suited for a sales assistant role where they learn yourbrand and philosophy while learning the industry.
An Advisor’s PerspectiveFor advisor Denise Fries, the decision to add an associateadvisor hinged on the quality of service for clients andthe quality of life for her team.
“We had too much in AUM per advisor to provide thelevel of service we wanted and still work a reasonableamount of hours,” Fries said.
Fries has been building a successful practice in Bryan,Texas, for the past 30 years. Ten years ago she brought ina second advisor to work with her, and the continuedgrowth of her business led her to add an associate advisortwo years ago.
At the time, Fries was participating in a coaching pro-gram at her broker-dealer, Securities America. She gainedinsight from Burkhard, a certified masters coach, on whatto look for. Moving forward with a theme of “come growwith us,” they received many applicants from the ad theyplaced. The associate advisor they selected answered thead on a local news station’s job site.
Fries was deliberate in her recruiting, addressing manycommon concerns faced while evaluating candidates toensure they would be a good fit to join her practice and
integrate well into the group. Although her goal wasoriginally to consider two new associate advisors, onlyone candidate possessed the skill set and demeanor forher team.
“I knew I wanted someone with industry experience, soI did not have to provide training from the ground up,”Fries said. “I also wanted someone with communityinvolvement – a servant’s heart, who would not justfocus on themselves, but work towards the bettermentof the whole team.”
Matthew Gentry came on board in early 2012, and thetransition was smooth from a team of two advisors to agroup of three, with Fries leading the team. Having ex-perienced onboarding an advisor earlier in her practicegave Fries a clear vision for Gentry’s training. She saidthe first year of introducing clients to a new associateadvisor can be challenging.
“It’s not a quick process. I still have clients who will onlysee me,” Fries added. “But Matthew takes on most newclients.”
She quickly worked to enhance Gentry’s skills by havinghim accompany her on appointments to build relation-ships and handle follow-up matters for clients, a processthat went on for a full year. That training aspect helpedhim connect with the firm’s current clients.
Today, Gentry works with about 200 accounts totaling$25 million in assets.
What to think about for your practiceAdvisors who do not have a plan for training and inte-grating new advisors may have a bumpier experiencethan Fries.
Roger Verboon, director of practice succession andacquisition at Securities America, fields a lot of questionson the process.
“The main question advisors ask first is: how much doI pay them, followed by: how is that figure brokendown,” Verboon said. “Yet, the two areas that advisorsstruggle with most in the process are knowing how totrain and knowing how to leverage a new advisor intheir practice.”
The decision to bring on an advisor usually stems fromtrying to solve a problem in the practice, such as no suc-cession plan, too many clients to manage or scalabilityin growing the business, Verboon said. Advisors whofocus on problem solving often overlook a crucial factor– is the senior advisor mentally prepared to take on theextra workload of the transition element and embracethe shift from being an advisor to a manager of anotheremployee?
“One pitfall in the process is senior advisors who expectthe junior advisors to be them right away and immedi-ately know what to do.” Verboon said. “Many advisorsare great at what they do, which is building relationshipsand providing excellent client service, but they are notmanagers by nature, so this process will take time.”
Verboon helped develop Securities America’s AssociateAdvisor coaching program, designed to provide a struc-tured approach to training new advisors by providingthe steps, tools and resources as an alternative for senioradvisors who may not be prepared for this part of theprocess. This standardized approach allows every aspectof the transition to be addressed by industry expertswho can provide guidance through this time.
Many advisors have successfully integrated new membersonto their team and been able to enjoy the benefits to theirbusiness. The most essential part before you onboard anassociate advisor is having a clear plan of how they will betrained, managed and properly leveraged in your business,so both of you can grow and succeed together.
“Many advisors are great atwhat they do, which is
building relationships andproviding excellent client service,
but they are notmanagers by nature, so thisprocess will take time.”
- Roger Verboon
SUMMER 2014 | CONNECT 23
For more on hiring an associate, turn to page 45 to download an“Associate Advisor Guide .”
