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Financial Advisors Need To Adjust Business To Attract Younger Clients - Report
The report was executed by BNY Mellon's Pershing, which examined the decisions of young high net worth investors.
Financial advisors need to adjust their marketing strategies and
business models to attract younger high net worth investors,
according to a new Pershing report.
BNY Mellon’s Pershing drafted a report called Gen Why? How to
Succeed with Younger, HNW Clients Who Question Everything,
which examined the demographic and psychological factors driving
decision-making among Generation X, Y and Z clients with $5
million to $25 million in investable assets.
The report suggested several ways that advisors could change
their business to adapt to younger clients. Below are the key
suggestions:
- Actively manage time: Time is a limited resource
to be spent wisely. Younger investors want to work with advisors
who use their time as efficiently as possible—interactions should
be polite but productive and to the point.
- Meet them where they are (online, mobile):
Advisors will not find many millennials on the golf course.
Younger investors are hyper-connected, relying on their devices
to save them time and keep them up to speed, and expect their
advisors to do the same. More touchpoints but of shorter
durations with email and text are preferred, while video chat is
preferable to face-to-face meetings.
- Align your business to a broader mission: In
addition to providing an array of socially responsible investment
offerings, advisors should champion a social cause that's of real
importance to them, and clearly communicate how this commitment
ladders back to the core values of their business.
- Skip the standard pitch: Younger investors want to
feel they have the necessary information to make smart, informed
financial decisions. With that in mind, advisors should consider
curating podcasts, short videos and objective investment insights
to keep clients informed and involved.
"Younger generations are poised to earn and inherit significant
wealth in the years to come," said Katie Swain, director of
financial solutions at Pershing. "For advisors looking to attract
and retain young high net worth clients, rapid response times,
authenticity and complete transparency, along with technology and
social media savvy have all become absolute requirements."