Practice Management

An old colleague of mine had an unusual solution to email overload. He simply ignored it. Day after day and year after year emails piled up in his inbox until our IT guy forced him to clean it out to clear up space on the server. When I asked him about the 75,000 emails in his inbox, my colleague said he worried he might need some of the information later, so refused to hit “delete” on any of them.

That may be an extreme case of email overload, but many of us do get bogged down with out-of-control inboxes. We’re not sure what to do with the emails we get. We don’t know if we’ll need the information later. And so the electronic messages sit there day after day. More often than not, important follow-up or necessary communication slips through the cracks.

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This week hundreds of financial professionals gather in Dallas (Feb. 16-18) to discuss the latest technological innovations in the investment advice business. The 7th annual event is sponsored by Financial Planning magazine, On Wall Street, and Bank Investment Consultant, and hosted by practice management guru David Drucker and tech genius Joel Bruckenstein. I learned about the event from Marie Swift of Impact Communcations, who writes for FP magazine.

This year’s conference agenda features discussion of products that help advisors:

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‘Tis the season to be jolly. And for many registered investment advisors, that means decking their halls, and finding creative ways to spread the holiday cheer. The month of December is a perfect time to thank your clients, your team … to make a difference in your community … and to plan ahead for a prosperous new year.

“We are a tight-knit team and are very generous around the holidays,” says Gary Arford, president of Comprehensive Wealth Management in Lynwood, Wash. Arford hosts an office party, participates in charity work, and treats clients to special gifts.

Becky Gaylor of Active Money Management in Phoenix, recently completed a charity project titled “Sock it to the Homeless” where more than 50 of her advisory clients joined her team in helping to collect and wrap several thousand pairs of socks for the Shoebox Ministry, an organization that provides personal hygiene kits to the homeless and working poor in the Greater Phoenix Area.
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It’s amazing what an investment in organization can do for your life and business. I just spent $100 on a wire cubicle shelving system for my daughters’ constantly messy room. The results are satisfying. No more clumps of clothes and toys on the floor.

Have you got clumps of client files and other clutter sapping your productivity? Is your day constantly getting away from you? Here are some quick tips on managing your time and work space.

1. Use voice-recognition software to keep detailed records of client conversations.

Dictate your notes to Copy Talk or purchase voice-recognition software, so vital client conversations can be archived electronically on your computer. It’s a lot better than taking a lot of handwritten notes during the meeting, which may wind up getting lost anyway, and can detract from your eye contact.  Read More

A recent Investment News survey found that economic uncertainty is preventing many advisers from confidently growing their businesses.

Some 48.5% of the respondents to the 2011 Investment News Industry Attitudes survey said the economy is their biggest hurdle. … Falling demand from Europe could cause U.S. growth to slow to 1.5% in the fourth quarter. … [A]ccording to the InvestmentNews poll, more advisers — 35.9% — see persistent unemployment as the most important issue facing the nation, compared with 24.2% who see the deficit as the nation’s most pressing problem. A healthy percentage, 21%, identified Washington gridlock as the country’s biggest issue. … A combined 62.2% [of advisors] are either “somewhat” or “very” concerned about inflation, according to the survey, while 55.4% said the same about deflation.

Whoa! Inflation, deflation, gridlock … the demise of the Euro … it’s all a little bit … TERRIFYING. But while the economic situation is out of your control, your business is still in your own hands.  Read More

Feeling  the blahs lately? You’re not alone.  Here are three quick solutions to put the pep back in your step for a productive final third of the year.

1. Drink.  Oh, I’m not advocating intoxication as a coping device (although that does do the trick on occasion). But, in fact, sharing an adult beverage with friends or clients might just put you in better spirits during these trying times – as well as reminding them you appreciate their business. An advisor in Omaha, Neb. regularly invites his best clients and buddies over to his office for beer and chips after the market close.   Read More

Financial blogs have exploded in the past decade, with more than 10,000 of them now offering unique perspectives, reliable data  – and the occasional off-beat conspiracy theory. Written by financial journalists, investment professionals and investors, some of the most popular financial “web logs” rival major news sites in traffic, and often inspire rabid followings.

So what are the most useful – and entertaining – financial blogs for investment advisors? Here are 10 recommendations from RIAs in my Discussion group, and from my own perusal of the web. Please  suggest your own favorites in the comment section … or better yet, join my Discussion group.

1. The Big Picture. http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/. Written by a Wall Street money manager , The Big Picture blog is designed to be “laden with facts, statistics, and informed, data-driven opinions.” It features a bookshelf of notable new financial tomes. “We key in on what you should be thinking about when it comes to markets and the economy — and what you should not be doing with your money,” says blog founder Barry Ritholz.  Read More

Moving From Individual to Team Management

Russell Achzet realized a goal many advisors dream of:  The fee-based firm he founded in 1977, AM&M Financial Services, was acquired by Tompkins Financial.  While the transition involved some apprehension on the part of clients, and adjustments of roles and responsibilities among the staff of the firm, the succession was smooth and seamless, and put Achzet in a position to enjoy the value of the equity he had built as well as more time pursuing interests outside of work.  Read More

A well-executed Communication Plan assures regular and meaningful contact with your clients. You can use those contacts to keep clients abreast of tax, regulatory, and market trends that affect their wealth management plans. Those contacts also allow you to gain insights into your clients’ current situations, futures, feelings, and family dynamics so you can provide ideas, suggestions, and alternatives where appropriate.

Creating your Communication Plan begins with Client Segmentation. Some of your existing clients require and deserve more and/or different communication than others. Your best clients often have significant assets under management, are engaged in activities that require ongoing and active wealth management, and are sources of introduction to other similarly situated prospective clients. At the other end of the spectrum are clients with which your relationship is largely transactional. The opportunity for expanding the relationship and gaining valuable introductions is limited.  Read More

In 1992 campaign advisor James Carville coined the phrase “It’s the economy stupid” for Bill Clinton’s successful bid for the White House.  I just received an email today from a business-owner friend, from outside the financial services industry, who contends that for most seeking to grow their businesses today, maybe it’s not the economy (stupid). In his email to me, my friend shares a humorous story about his quest to find a new tax preparer.

It seems his tax person, a Certified Public Accountant, was a bit sloppy and failed to keep him informed about the status of his tax return.  When his wife had to call to ensure that an extension was filed on-time, he figured that was a sign from “on high” to find a Best-in-Class tax expert, as a replacement, who was highly skilled, proactive and worthy of trust.  Forget “highly skilled” for a moment, have you noticed that outstanding service is in short supply these days?  When was the last time you raved about the proactive and exceptional service of any business you frequent?  Read More