Page 16 - Investment Advisor - Jan/Feb 2021

INDUSTRY INSIGHTS

platforms, turnkey asset management and potential reach, while saving money CORE OFFERING
platforms, established RIAs and other on overhead and gaining access to human We’ll lead our advisory firm with finan-
outsourced technology providers we can talent regardless of where it’s based. cial planning as our core offering, charg-
rent the stack from. ing a premium fee for our valuable
Many are cloud-native, affordable PRICING MODEL advice while bifurcating our investment
and cybersecure. We can immediately Unlike most of the advisory industry, management services as a separate fee,
white label with our chosen tech part- we will not be based solely on an assets- at cost.
ner and go to market with it. under-management pricing model or Investment management has become
Not having the burden of a tech- have any asset minimums. We’ll offer so commoditized that it’s now being
nology stack that we have to procure, our financial planning and investment offered for “free” at many of the larger
manage, integrate, update and oper- management services on a true fee basis, institutions. That is not where we’ll be
ate on our own, will free up able to add value, nor what we
countless hours of staff and If we were to extend this model want our brand to stand for.
advisor time to drastically
increase our capacity, profit- of perfection in sports to the MARKETING AND SALES
ability and scale. business of advice, here’s how On the marketing and sales

tal marketing — publishing
A VIRTUALLY it might manifest itself in a front, we’ll go all in on digi-
INDEPENDENT RIA valuable content through
To truly custom build our theoretical “perfect” firm that social channels and search
advisory firm to our unique platforms to engage our tar-
specifications, our entity can stand the test of time. get market and position our-
will be organized as an inde- selves as experts in our target
pendent RIA. These firms have the enabling subscription models, hourly niche. These efforts should attract sig-
most flexibility in terms of business engagements and retainers, in addition nificant media attention and exposure,
models and services offered, while to an AUM model for those who want to resulting in powerful brand building and
also having a fiduciary standard of work with us that way. lead generation opportunities.
care, aligning our mission with our Clients can choose to pay us anyway To connect the dots on the impor-
clients’ needs. they like — via credit card, electron- tance of our brand name in the market,
Most notably, we will establish the ic transfers, other digital channels or we need to own our brand name via
firm as a virtual enterprise, with no through basis points on their AUM bal- our website URL (or domain) and the
physical office spaces to staff or manage. ance. We’ll be able to digitally onboard associated handles (or usernames) on all
If there’s any silver lining to the pan- and facilitate these choices automati- digital and social platforms.
demic, it’s that we have learned that cli- cally by using the latest digital billing Ultimately, what we’ll build is an
ents are more than comfortable meeting and payment processing technologies. advisory firm that has the brand, opera-
with professional service providers over As noted by many industry experts, tional excellence, client centricity and
video conferencing and collaboration the AUM model prevents advisors from compelling value proposition for a
tools, relieving us of the burden of hav- working with high-earning profession- defined market, as well as a powerful
ing any physical, geographic location. als who don’t yet have enough assets to growth engine and global reach. These
In fact, many staff and clients may manage. They do have plenty of income are the key components to building a
never want to return to an office setting to pay for professional advice that they sustainable enterprise that can be easily
again. Mmanaging a remote workforce need, but they just can’t pay it through passed on to the next generation of own-
is no longer the exception; it is rapidly an AUM fee and thus are not pros- ers as we look to move on to our next
becoming the rule. pects for most firms in the industry that perfect game.
Removing the constraints of geogra- require minimum asset levels.
phy also means that as a virtual firm, This will be the perfect grand slam in Timothy D. Welsh, CFP, is president, CEO and
we can recruit the best advisor and staff expanding our potential target market founder of Nexus Strategy, LLC, a consulting
talent anywhere in the world, while to the 98% of investors who aren’t being firm to the wealth management industry and
pitching our services globally. This signif- served by advisors simply because they can be reached at [email protected] or on
icantly increases our target market size don’t already have a sizable nest egg. Twitter @NexusStrategy.

14 INVESTMENT ADVISOR JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2021 | ThinkAdvisor.com