Top Independent Financial Advisors

TD Ameritrade provided valuable Top Independent Financial Advisors in an article written in Financial-Planning.com.

The top independent financial advisor insight and ideas shared will help you create a financial services business plan that provides the results you desire.

These top independent financial advisors are ranked in Barron’s Top 100 Independent Financial Advisors 2010 list. They share top independent financial advisors insight that helped them get to the top.

First up:

David Kudla, CEO of Manistay Capital Mangement, LLC

He shares my personal opinion that an affluent target market is one of the biggest keys to success. He added some humor stating, “Even if it is a dying target market like mine.” His affluent client niche is comprised of automobile executives in Detroit. Targeting an affluent niche is crucial to becoming a success. As Dave confirmed, “Do not get diluted with a lot of clients from a lot of different walks of life.”

Cultivating an affluent niche market helps with client attraction, retention, referrals and winning clients for life. He shares another top producer insight which that you should be selective in your affluent client acquisitions and not work with too many affluent clients. While it is hard to not work with anyone when you start out, as soon as your advisory business matures focus on a niche market. When advisors work with clients that are outside their niche market they are not as efficient.

He also added, “Within a niche, you can become the ‘go-to’ person for media.” When you “Become the expert – it will bring tremendous business building opportunities, which is a key to successful financial advisor marketing.”

Furthermore, he shared that “Institutionalizing processes is important to grow, so others can fill responsibilities where needed.” He added that it is important to identify your strengths and what you like, so you can delegate the things to others better qualified.

His final words of wisdom, “Know your unique value proposition.”

Take a few minutes and add two strategies, from his top producer insight, into your financial services marketing plan.

The next advisor:

Thomas Muldowney, Partner of Savant Capital Management

Muldowney stated, “The clients need to be in a position of trust. Treat your clients and staff well and make yourself trustworthy. That is the way you want to grow the business.”

He educates his affluent clients “To understand that they are not playing a market.” It is important to educate your clients, so they understand that they are purchasing a piece of a company whose responsibility is to provide a return on investment, helps to influence their expectations.

Muldowney shared advice on leveraging relationships with smaller accounts, as well, “For smaller asset accounts, we built a feeder program for our wealth management business.”

He shared advice many financial services companies would be well served to adopt, “We are moving away from the maverick entrepreneur model. As a mature organization, you need to leverage others expertise, including human resources, compliance and operations.”

He also reiterated the importance of specializing, “Avoid being a jack of all trades, master of nothing. Ask yourself, what can be done to institutionalize the business so it can live for 100 or 200 years.”

The next advisor:

Randy Conner, President, Churchill Management Group

Conner shared insight on challenges companies face when growing, “Any successful organization will constantly bump into limitations where expansion is needed to grow. When a firm is smaller, it usually is in need of 1¼ or 1½ of a person, so that needs to be figured out.” He shared insight all top advisors experience, “In the beginning you are used to doing everything. When it comes to delegating, you need to let go.”

Conner also shed light on the importance of our intentions in making your business plan a reality, “The big thing that triggered our growth was really a conscious effort to grow. We made a decision, within the practice, to be an organization with a marketing and sales arm.”

He challenged other financial advisors by asking, “Look at yourself… and ask, ‘Can I get good at competing for business?’ If you can’t get better at it, you need to partner with someone.” He explained that sometimes advisors need to do what is uncomfortable so they can grow to their potential.

By taking this insight on top independent financial advisors and applying it, you too can create an amazing advisory business.

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