The following is the first of a two-part series on partnering for success. Whether you’re looking to partner with a like-minded advisor, seeking to connect with other businesses to maximize referrals or outsource to a professional services firm to take your practice to the next level, choosing the right partnerships can be a win-win.
Growing Your Practice? 5 Key Considerations when Selecting a Partner
If you’re a wealth advisor looking to grow your business while providing exceptional service to your clients, you may be considering partnering with another advisor.
There are two primary reasons why you might be seeking a partnership. One simply has to do with client workload; you can no longer handle the increased business coming your way and another advisor can help ease the burden. In this scenario, your practice is in growth mode and it’s time to increase capacity.
The other has to do with expertise and providing value to your clients. There are many specialty areas of wealth management and financial planning, as well as within investment management. Perhaps you focus on retirement planning and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) investing, but don’t specialize in estate planning or serve high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs). Rather than sending clients to look for services elsewhere, partnering with an advisor with other areas of expertise can only help to grow your service offering—and ultimately, your practice.
The bottom line is to create a mutually beneficial partnership so you can attract more clients and retain their business for years—and generations—to come. Whether you choose to build a niche practice or provide comprehensive services, selecting the right advisor-partner can be easier said than done. Here are five key considerations for a successful collaboration:
What are the objectives for the partnership?
- Capacity
- Adding complementary, specialty areas of expertise
- Succession
- Career development
What does the ideal arrangement look like?
- Independent with separate practices doing their own thing
- Independent with separate practices with high level of collaboration to achieve common goals, i.e., save money on expenses and administrative costs, share responsibilities
- Employment with ownership of clients with senior advisor
- Partnership with clear joint ownership of practice and clients
What’s the economic arrangement?
- Ownership in practice or clients
- Charge for services
- How are fees shared, i.e., across all clients or varied based upon who owns client relationships?
- Who pays affiliation costs such as professional services providers like Dynamic, as well as E&O insurance, technology and various service fees?
Who has client/account access?
- Both advisors have access to all information
- Each advisor only sees their own clients’ information
- Senior advisor can view other advisor’s clients’ information
What if the arrangement doesn’t work out?
- What are the financial responsibilities?
- Who owns the clients?
- Can an advisor remain with affiliated partners/RIAs such as Dynamic?
Remember: Despite your business goals for partnering up, picking the right advisor-partner starts with creating new connections with like-minded professionals. If you’re looking to grow your practice by establishing valuable business relationships. With more than 80 advisory practices—both IARs and RIAs throughout the U.S.—contact Dynamic at (888) 997-4212 or at joinus@dynamicwealthadvisors.com for a free consultation on putting your practice on the path to growth through sustainable partnerships.
Investment advisory services are offered through Dynamic Advisor Solutions, LLC, dba Dynamic Wealth Advisors, an SEC registered investment advisor.
Photo: Amy Hirschi, Unsplash