A top-notch tech stack is table stakes. And you won’t “out tech the tech titans” so you can’t win on technology.
So what can a financial advisor do to remain relevant and thrive in the years ahead?
You can double-down on your ability to humanize the advisor-client relationship, to understand and deliver on exactly what your clients really need, and you should do it in a technologically-enhanced way.
“You're not competing on your toolkit or the software that you deploy in your office,” says podcast guest Lex Sokolin. “You're competing on the core need, which is that most people don't have enough money. They don't know how to retire. They're super anxious. I think the smart financial advisor will shade the constructs of how they work and move towards what the human need is in this evolving world.”
Lex Sokolin is the Global Fintech Co-Head at ConsenSys, a blockchain technology company building the infrastructure, applications, and practices that enable a decentralized world. Lex is also a futurist and entrepreneur whose newsletter, Future of Finance, should be on your must-read list every week if you want to stay ahead of the curve (I read it each week).
In today’s conversation, we discuss the sweeping changes in the fintech landscape and what new skills advisors will need to thrive in an industry that’s getting more digital and more automated every day.
“You’re either growing or dying.” How many times have you heard that chestnut? Too many!
But what if you decided you didn’t want to grow? What if you decided you’d be happy at the current size of your business and just add new clients when an existing client leaves or passes away?
Does the thought of that idea make you vomit or is it liberating?
If you decide it’s all about growth, what are you willing to sacrifice to scale?
My guest today, Carolyn McClanahan recently decided her practice was “big enough” with 100 families and she has now closed her firm to new clients.
Carolyn is the Director of Financial Planning at Life Planning Partners in Jacksonville, FL and she has a fascinating background. She's actually a M.D. who decided to become a CFP® after she and her husband couldn't find a financial planner who provided the kind of life-planning advice that they really wanted. After she opened her own firm in 2004, Carolyn split her time between advising some of her doctor buddies and treating patients as an emergency room doctor.
In our conversation, we discuss how Carolyn replaced the old “big book” financial plans we all remember with a more personal, goals-based narrative approach. She also talks about her unique fee structure of pricing based on complexity, and we discuss how she concluded that 100 families was the optimal size for her practice.