Wealth management

Getting introductions from current clients is the most important way to generate new clients, but too many advisors do not regularly reach out to their clients to ask for these crucial introductions. How can you make it happen.

Some planners offer all of their clients concierge services, while others help only top clients with special projects. No matter the details, concierge services help advisors strengthen existing client relationships and attract new ones.

Five years ago, only about 15% of new clients came in over the transom, says the chief executive of one leading RIA. Today, that number has grown to 25% to 35% -- with many of those prospects specifically looking for independent advice.

In an industry where everyone seems to have an opinion, these financial services veterans have learned to leverage Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media to their advantage.

With high levels of volatility in the markets and a financial environment that remains risk-adverse, lower returns on traditional financial investments are driving more high-net-worth clients toward niche alternatives. Independent television documentary director Elena Mannes highlights some of these exotic assets – including trees and violins – and the underlying risk their attractive returns hold.

In the RIA space, rapid consolidation is driving firms to merge, acquire and seek larger partners. In 10 to 20 years, many predict a series of giant $100 billion-AUM firms will emerge to dominate the market. So what does the future hold for smaller firms?

Brinton Eaton, a Madison, N.J., based wealth manager with $700 million in assets under management, has joined Chicago-based Mariner Wealth Advisors, bringing the latter’s AUM to $6.3 billion.

Upon completion of the addition of two West Coast advisories by the end of 2012, hybrid RIA Washington Wealth Management will reach over $1 billion in recruited assets under management, representing a 900% increase since December 2011.

With RIA balance sheets healthier, banks once again are taking an interest in RIAs, which are growing as much as 50% more rapidly than wirehouses.

“[A] segment of wealth managers appear to live in denial, clinging to investment methodologies that have patently failed twice over the past decade and are likely to fall short again,” the authors of a white paper accompanying the survey results wrote.

With yields low and the uncertainty of retirement looming in the minds of Baby Boomers and current retirees, maximizing social security benefits become ever-more important. Unfortunately not all retirees are doing that.

“We always have an opinion,” said James Odorczuk. “That’s what clients want. You can’t just ‘set it and forget it.’ A lot of clients are unhappy with a passive investment style.”

The New York City based wealth advisory firm appointed Lyle LaMothe as Non-Executive Chairman of the board and Greg Franks as a managing partner and president. Chris Lappas joined the firm as the chief operating officer.

Having trouble convincing your clients to think charitably? If so, you might want to mention that a number of studies have shown that people who give to causes they believe in find that doing so feels good, really good, according to Eileen Heisman, president and CEO of the National Philanthropic Trust in Jenkintown, Pa, which manages donor-advised funds.

Gathering the information needed to make a career move and hiding that research from a current firm can be enough to make some advisors decide to forget it. That’s just where The Advisor Center, an anonymous online recruiting community that launches Monday, comes into play.

This year’s survey provides insights into advisors’ changing relationship with the technology they use each day. To improve the accuracy of results, single-use links to thousands of readers were implemented making the survey the most scientifically accurate version the magazine has ever done.

Self-settled trusts seem to offer the impossible: They remove assets from an individual's estate while still allowing them to benefit from them.

Here it is, our annual list of the top advisors in the bank channel.

Many advisory firms are suffering capacity constraints at a time where macro forces, like Boomer retirement, are driving growth their way. Advisors can take advantage of this growth curve by implementing the “Starbucks Experience," which will allow them to scale businesses for growth and provide a better client service experience.

These record levels are expected to continue through the end of the year as individuals and their advisors seek to meet charitable giving priorities while also navigating the uncertain outlook for taxes given the expiration of the Bush-era tax cuts at year’s end, according to Schwab.