Though he has been in his current role at U.S. Bank for less than two months, Scott Ford, the firm's recently appointed president of wealth management, is not shy about where he hopes to take the organization in the years ahead.
"Getting to 1 million wealth management clients is our goal, and we are aiming to do that over the next three to five years," Ford tells ThinkAdvisor. "Today we serve 13 million core households across the organization, and we want to serve the needs of many more of these households with our growing wealth management capabilities."
According to Ford, there are many reasons for optimism with this ambitious goal, which would essentially represent a doubling of the wealth management business. Put simply, American consumers across the wealth spectrum need more advice to deal with the increasing complexity of their financial lives.
Younger Americans in their early and prime earning years need support with their growth goals, Ford explains, while older Americans approaching and entering retirement face their own set of wealth protection challenges. Then there are the needs of the high- and ultra-high net worth client segments, who face big questions about monetizing closely held businesses and mitigating taxes through effective estate planning and charitable giving.
Ford says his other strategic priorities for the years ahead are all focused on this central goal of deepening the organization's connections to new and existing clients, and they include sourcing and empowering top talent, helping to improve diversity in both the firm's professionals and its client base, and embracing the right technology solutions without losing the all-important human touch.
"It's an exciting time to be taking on leadership of this great organization," Ford says. "Frankly, we have more clients that need our help and advice than we have people to provide that advice. It's a good problem to have, but we are pushing hard to get the staff in place and to embrace the right tech."
Talent Acquisition Trends
Before becoming president, Ford led U.S. Bank's affluent wealth management business, guiding a team of more than 1,400 bankers, associates and U.S. Bancorp financial advisors.
His role has now expanded to oversee a team of 3,200 across all of U.S. Bank's wealth businesses, including affluent wealth management, U.S. Bancorp investments, private wealth management and the Ascent Private Capital Management group.
"I can tell you from this and prior experience that talent acquisition is a challenge for this entire industry," Ford said. "I actually serve on the board of the Bank Insurance and Securities Association, and we are talking about this all the time."
As Ford points out, there is a shrinking pool of senior, established talent in the advisor business, thanks to the pace of retirement and the older average age of advisors in general.
"It's a key challenge," Ford says. "For us, we are building our strategy around two prongs. Yes, we will continue the traditional route of recruiting top advisors and private bankers, but we also need to home-grow our own talent from that entry and mid-management level to the senior leadership level."
Ford says addressing the industry's diversity shortcomings is a key part of this effort, because firms that don't evolve alongside the changing fabric of American society risk getting left behind by the next generation of clients.
While more than 50% of the population is female, "women only comprise 30% of the advisor population. That's a problem," Ford said. "With respect to racial representation, it's about 15% of the U.S. population that is African American, but they are only 5% of the advisor population. I believe we have to move the needle by hiring and training people, not just by recruiting."
Client Concerns
As Ford explains, U.S. Bank takes a segmented approach to the wealth management business, beginning with the branch advisors and bankers who serve clients with $250,000 to $3 million in net worth through a team-based approach.
