That was a central theme of the eighth annual Kehrer study group on developing holistic advisors. The first afternoon the group dissected the conflicting data on whether banks and credit unions are making progress on increasing advisor planning productivity and plan penetration of their investment clients. The typical firm did less planning last year, but the average advisor actually increased the number of new plans produced and overall plan penetration.
The group learned that this anomaly was because advisors in large banks, which employ most of the advisors, have higher plan productivity than their colleagues in smaller banks.
Erik Schwartz and Arthur Osman shared their work at ESL Federal Credit Union to leverage financial planning to make investment and wealth management services core to the institution, driving growth in banking products and services. The group also discussed how financial planning is being used to integrate omni channel delivery of financial advice across licensed bankers, investment call centers, digital platforms, branch-based and second-story advisors, and wealth advisors. The day concluded with case studies of the use of planning in the investment call centers of Huntington Advisors and Old National Investments.
The theme of the second day was what Directors can do to encourage development of holistic advice. Participants shared their successes and missteps, and Tim and Ken Kehrer shared their analysis of what management levers are actually driving planning.
Developing Holistic Advisors – a Kehrer Group Study Group – was held at the Rizzo Center, the Convention Center of the Graduate School of Business at the University of North Carolina in Chape Hill, Oct 21-22. The Meeting was sponsored by AMS, Midwood Financial, and LPL. Participants include executives who champion financial planning in their institutions, and their CEOs. Next year’s meeting will be Oct 22-23, again in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area.