Displaying items by tag: recruiting

Clients often face unexpected personal setbacks, and advisors should be prepared to offer support without overstepping. Asking thoughtful, respectful questions during reviews can help uncover early warning signs, such as increased withdrawals or halted contributions. 

If something feels off, gently probing with intuitive questions may reveal issues like family medical concerns or caregiving challenges. When a problem surfaces, framing it with empathy and context, like noting how common it is, can make clients feel less isolated and more receptive. 

However, it’s crucial to gauge whether the client welcomes involvement or views it as intrusive; their response should guide your next steps. 

Finsum: Being present during hard times, not just the good ones, is what builds lasting trust and loyalty.

In today’s fast-evolving financial landscape, your broker-dealer relationship plays a central role in the success of your practice. Whether you’re seeking greater flexibility, higher payouts, or more modern tools, here are the key factors to focus on when evaluating your next move:

• Payout Structure: Look for a competitive payout that balances high earnings with strong support services.
• Technology and Tools: Ensure the broker-dealer provides modern, integrated platforms that streamline your operations and enhance client service.
• Culture and Values: Partner with a firm that aligns with your philosophy and genuinely prioritizes advisor success.

If your current BD no longer aligns with your goals, values, or client needs, it might be time to explore alternatives.

Finsum: Choosing the right broker-dealer is more than a financial decision—it’s a strategic step toward building the practice and lifestyle you envision.

A shifting economic and demographic landscape is prompting financial advisors to evolve their strategies, particularly as women are set to control $34 trillion in U.S. assets by 2030. Yet, advisors currently manage a smaller share of female wealth, with many women engaging financial planners later in life. 

Remote work has also changed the profession, with more advisors and clients opting for virtual meetings, while new talent is emerging in nontraditional markets. Advisors are increasingly launching independent RIA firms and exploring complex tax strategies like delayed RMD withholding to better serve clients. 

Building strong, trusting relationships is now seen as more valuable to clients than investment advice alone, according to recent surveys. 

Finsum: As the great wealth transfer accelerates, buying and selling books of business is also gaining importance, with success hinging on transition planning, client retention, and profitability.

Thrivent is ramping up its recruiting efforts to hire nearly 600 new financial advisors in 2025, aiming to counteract the anticipated wave of advisor retirements expected across the industry. 

While the broader advisor workforce has grown only 0.3% annually over the past decade, Thrivent’s hiring initiative would represent a 2% increase, far outpacing the trend. The firm is targeting early-career professionals for salaried virtual advisor roles in key cities like Denver, Atlanta, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, and Dallas. These roles are intended to serve as stepping stones to more advanced positions, either within Thrivent’s employee structure or through its independent RIA, the Thrivent Advisor Network. 

With over a third of U.S. advisors projected to retire within the next ten years, Thrivent is focusing on building a younger, more diverse advisor base aligned with future client demographics. 

Finsum: It’s worth noting this trend in recruiting and what incentives are offered to attract this talent. 

Raymond James is addressing a quieter challenge in the wealth management sector: helping independent advisors scale their teams amid growing client demands. This week, the firm introduced Talent Sourcing, a new in-house recruitment service that offers personalized hiring support, including candidate outreach and screening tailored to each advisory team's needs. 

The service aims to bridge the talent gap across roles ranging from junior advisors to specialized support staff, allowing advisors to focus on growth without sacrificing service quality. It arrives as competition for top advisory talent intensifies, especially following LPL's $2.7 billion acquisition of Commonwealth Financial. 

By providing a vetted shortlist of candidates, Talent Sourcing complements Raymond James’s broader suite of advisor tools, including its Paraplanning Services launched last year. 

Finsum: Ultimately, this initiative not only strengthens internal practices but also positions the firm to meet evolving client expectations for more comprehensive, value-added financial services.