What younger clients are looking for in an RIA
The world has become an increasingly complicated place. RIAs need to do more than simply be good stewards of wealth who can offer sage financial advice—they need to be true partners to their clients and connect on a human level. It is no longer enough to simply understand the markets.
Your clients’ children won’t automatically hire you
As younger generations finally begin to get a bigger piece of the pie and require the help of a financial advisor, the RIAs that succeed will be the ones who go the extra mile to connect. Many generations have fraught relationships with their parents. Just because you are managing the wealth of the elder generation, there is no guarantee their children will keep you on once they have their inheritance.
Here are four things the next generation of wealth holders are looking for in an RIA.
They want someone who understands their wants and fears
The things that older generations wanted may not necessarily apply to the next generations of wealth holders. As people navigate climate change, geopolitical upheaval, and the increasing cost of things like home ownership in the face of stagnant wages, they need an RIA who has a firm, broad mastery and understanding of current events.
Their fears are rooted in a reality that is very different from the one their parents grew up in, and RIAs that can listen with an open mind will be better positioned to build a relationship with younger prospects.
Concurrently, what they are looking for in life might be different. While a member of the boomer generation or Generation X might have been looking to own property and start a family as they came into their financial prime, millennials and younger generations have different ideas about how to live a fulfilling life. The RIA who respects and understands that will win their business.
New challenges create new values
The struggles and challenges impacting younger generations have led to a different set of values. They want their money to align with their beliefs. A financial advisor who listens deeply and effortlessly aligns portfolios to reflect values is going to be more trusted than one that is not considering values at all.
Now, no generation is a monolith, and within every generation there is a wide range of beliefs. However, the circumstances that are informing those beliefs are vastly different today than they were even a few years ago.
An interesting corollary to this is that authenticity is also important. In other words, prospects want to know what you believe, and trying to be everything to everyone or maintain a traditional professional neutrality might not always be the best play. Even if your values don’t fully align with the clients, younger generations greatly appreciate an authentic representation of the self over a cultivated neutral veneer.
Communication matters — but it has to be in the right way
Financial advisory has always been about human connection. Wealth is an intimate, important part of everyone’s life. To trust someone with your wealth is a big deal. As the steward of your clients’ wealth, it is incumbent upon you to find the right ways to communicate and connect with your clients. You need to demonstrate that the trust is warranted and show that you are on top of the events shaping the markets, but you have to do so without adding undue stress or unnecessary time sinks.
Remember, everyone is underwater. Most people are being spammed on their phones, in their emails, and at their job. They prefer a light touch that they can opt into rather than being bombarded with large walls of text.
We’ve had success leveraging video updates. Client communication through the power of video is an underused tool. A traditional newsletter has its place, but few people have the time to really sit down and read. Being able to put a video on is much easier for many clients to opt into. It helps to have a video that is well put together, as it demonstrates competency and confidence.
Above all, listen
As an expert, it is easy to want to drive conversations and share expertise. You are hired for your expertise, after all. But experts who monologue at prospects will start to sound like Charlie Brown’s teacher. The most powerful thing you can do is listen and truly take in what someone else is saying. Nothing will make a client trust you more than feeling heard.
Tags: client connection, financial advice, RIA
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