New Commonwealth practice grows on ‘very good earner’ millennial clients

For financial advisors Michelle Cortes-Harkins and Rick Harkins, the door to millennial clients opened through the “craft beers and crafting your budget” event they held at their practice.

Fast forward three years, and about one-third of Harkins Wealth Management’s clients are under 40 years old, according to the husband-wife team. The Providence, Rhode Island-based practice, which has $57 million in client assets, now aims for further growth under Commonwealth Financial Network.

The independent broker-dealer sent them gag-gift bottles of “extra-strength transition relief” candy, which it gives to many incoming advisors, after Harkins Wealth came over from LPL Financial. At least three teams have left LPL for Commonwealth in the past four months, bringing a combined $610 million in client assets.

Commonwealth offerings, such as its platform integration with RightCapital, drew them to join the firm. The planning software with student-loan tools could be particularly useful for the firm’s younger clients who are mainly professors and staff at area universities, resident physicians and other medical professionals.

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Some two-thirds of millennials say they’re saving for retirement but almost 70% are not working with a financial advisor, according to a 2018 study by Broadridge Financial Solutions. Investors of that age prefer phone calls and in-person meetings with advisors over texting and social media contact.

Word-of-mouth referrals, the practice’s location near several colleges and a monthly personal finance book club have helped Harkins Wealth reel them into the practice over the past few years. Too many advisors assume millennial clients don’t want or need comprehensive service, Cortes-Harkins says.

“They really want a relationship, and they want to talk with you and meet with you and just ask questions and understand,” she says. “For a long time, there's been this thought in our industry that all you need to do is have this passive portfolio and you'll do fine.”

Millennials are “very good earners,” even if they haven’t amassed the assets of clients nearing retirement, Rick Harkins agrees. The practice approaches younger clients with events like the craft beer tasting and the book club because they don’t want a sales pitch, he says.

“It’s not just about an investment product, it’s about education,” Harkins says. “We’re not here just trying to sell them a product.”

He and his wife launched the independent practice with LPL in 2008 after tenures with Edward Jones and Merrill Lynch. They affiliated with Commonwealth on Feb. 19, according to FINRA BrokerCheck. The practice has about 225 clients with nearly all assets in advisory accounts and about $9 million in additional employer-plan assets.

Harkins praises LPL as a longtime fit for their practice but says Commonwealth has a better service model from its back office. Representatives for LPL didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Harkins Wealth posted pictures of the two candy jars, which look like cartoon-size pain medication bottles. Commonwealth has been sending incoming advisors bottles of Hershey’s Kisses or Lifesavers with a stress ball for about 20 years, says Becca Hajjar, senior vice president for field development.

“The idea was to recreate an aspirin bottle to help take away the headache of transition,” Hajjar said in an email. “Our message is that Commonwealth has the team, the experience and the attitude to support your transition, and we’re here for you at every step.”

Commonwealth hit record recruiting last year with $64.3 million in gross recruited revenue, according to the firm. In January, the firm added a practice with $500 million in client assets who left Cadaret, Grant after their IBD of three decades changed hands in an M&A deal.