Guide to Financial Advisor Recruiting and Staffing

Staffing surges and shortfalls can make it difficult to predict long-term needs for your firm.

However, financial advisory firms can increase their capacity to support clients and avoid overworking their teams if they hire the right talent and stay on top of adequate staffing ratios.

The hiring process looks different for every firm. This article explores the ins and outs of financial advisor staffing and how advisory firms can attract and retain top talent in the current job landscape.

Recent Changes in Advisor Staffing Needs

With the rapid evolution of technology and digital migration, things have changed dramatically for the financial advisor industry. Firms are expected to offer automated reporting, 24/7 online account portals, virtual consultations, and more.

Robo-advisors have also changed people's expectations surrounding availability and investment opportunities, specifically for the younger generations. While Robo-advisors are limited to offering automated advice based on current market data, they've helped open the door for investors who wanted to dip their toes in the market with a DIY approach. As people grow to need more complex services and experienced advice, they are likely to turn to an advisor offering a hybrid approach of advice mixed with user-friendly technology and an easy-access online portal.

Firms are seeing more clients desire services beyond just investment advice, from family wealth management and retirement planning to next-gen and foundational life planning, as well as tax services.

An increase in services means firms need more tools and staffing—and highly skilled, experienced staffing—to keep up with the demand. With more data stored online, the role of IT has increased to include heightened security and preventative recovery measures. Administrative and operational roles have shifted to include more digital document management and reporting. Additionally, advisors need to have a broader understanding of financial services, investment strategies, asset management, and fintech solutions.

Is There a Demand for Financial Advisors?

Yes, demand continues to increase as more clients want financial support and experienced advisors. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports personal financial advisor jobs are growing at 15%, much faster than average of all occupations at 5%. More than 230,000 financial planners and advisors were employed in the U.S. in 2022. Additionally, Cerulli reports that 37% of financial advisors are expected to retire within the next decade.

Recruiting talent is a top priority for advisory firms as they look forward to addressing and serving complex client needs and consider long-term succession planning for their firm. During periods of market volatility and uncertainty, more people tend to turn to advisors to help them manage their investments and wealth planning. Additionally, as wealth transfers within families are expected to increase over  the coming years/decades, a new cropping of inexperienced young investors will need help addressing their finances. 

Advisors are the backbone of every wealth management firm. To keep clients returning year after year and attracting prospective new clients to your firm, you need to have talented and knowledgeable financial professionals on your team to help support them and ensure you can deliver on your service model. 

Do You Need Operational Staff or a Financial Advisor?

The financial professionals in your firm should be dedicated to serving your clients, nothing else. Other professionals can be brought on to your team to do what they know best, freeing the financial advisor time to attract and work with more clients. Your firm might consider bringing on analysts, administrative assistants, specialists, office clerks, IT support, legal advisors, and more.

The kind of support staff you hire should depend on your preferences and skills. Some business owners like the operational aspects of firm management and might bring on someone to build client relationships or handle planning tasks. On the other hand, other business owners may love building client relationships and want more back-end support.

Determine where you spend most of your time and where your time is best spent. What are you most skilled at? Where do you lack knowledge or expertise? Also, determine your firm’s long-term goals when considering staffing decisions. Bringing on an advisory staff isn’t always the best solution for every firm. The wrong hires can cost you lost time, wasted resources, and lost clients. 

Many firms also hire additional staff to support in other areas. Additionally, firms may choose to outsource some tasks or responsibilities to another provider to further support and supplement their staffing needs.

Alternatively, you may be reaching client capacity, looking to move upmarket, or want to serve a broader client base. In these situations, it may be more beneficial to bring on an Associate Advisor. An Associate Advisor can provide support to lower-level client segments, enable new opportunities for growth, improve your firm’s efficiency, and even help with the planning process to increase client capacity. 

What Advisors Should Look for When Hiring

Financial advisors who own their own firms are the face of their brands, so it’s crucial to choose the right professionals for their team; experts that are in alignment with the brand values and mission. 

Financial advisory firms, no matter the size, hire financial professionals who help clients manage their assets and make investing decisions. RIA firm owners bring on financial advisors to help support client financial needs,  creating long-term wealth-building and wealth-management strategies. Financial advisors should have a solid understanding of what matters to their clients as well as a good grasp of the current economic landscape.

It’s important to look for financial professionals that will fit the goals and needs of your organization. 

• Ask why they are looking to make a change and how they acquire or prospect clients. What does their client experience look like? Where do they have expertise?

• Find out what they are passionate about, what their long-term vision is, and what expectations they have for growth.

• Ask questions that help reveal their character. Pose situational questions to see how they react, and find out about any unique abilities or talents they have. What do they enjoy about this field?

You want to screen not only for skill, but also for culture fit. Make sure your firm offers a career path in line with your candidate's long-term goals. You want the ideal candidates to see they have long-term growth opportunities with your firm. 

Another important tip when screening candidate: Be sure to not outline the position and everything you are looking for upfront. Many will regurgitate what they believe you want and candidates will try to sell themselves to your firm. A good advisor has a solid grasp of our industry, but is also extremely skilled at relationship building and persuasion. Stick to your goals and choose an individual that is a good match for your firm.

A firm registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA). Advisors who break away to work independently and are registered with the SEC become independent RIAs.

Additionally, Junior Advisors may come on in a more traditional teaming situation to be considered a junior partner or future partner of the firm. There are several ways to team with other advisors as an RIA, including ensembles, salaried associates, split models, partnerships, and more. 

When you have determined the type of advisor you want to add to your team, you will need to consider where to search for financial professionals.

What is the Best Way to Recruit Financial Advisors?

Ideally, you can get new hires by tapping into your network for referrals. Firms that build up a solid reputation and strong relationships can often rely on trusted professionals in their network to help them recruit ideal candidates and promote their job postings. 

• Referrals might come from bankers, attorneys, CPAs, and other professionals you work with on a regular basis. Referrals might even come from similar firms in your local area or niches within your industry. 

• Firms can also recruit advisors through industry-specific directories, like the Financial Planning Association Job Board and the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors. 

• Job boards, network lists, social media, and the local chamber of commerce are other methods you can use for seeking out advisor candidates for your firm. Even Google can help you find local advisors who might be interested in making a move or know someone else who would be interested. 

• Some universities that offer finance degrees or CFP certifications may have job boards or alumni groups that could provide valuable connections, as well. 

• To outsource the process, you might consider financial services recruiting firms, whose financial advisor recruiter is dedicated to finding the best candidates for your firm.

Before reaching out to top candidates, it's important that your firm is situated to attract top advisors to pick your firm.

Best Practices for Onboarding New Advisors

Onboarding can have a lasting impact on your staff, altering how they perceive your firm and fit into your team. Solid onboarding experiences help your new hires feel and excited about joining your firm and confident in their decision to work for you. Equally, a lack luster training and onboarding experience can leave new staff overwhelmed or feeling deflated about their new role. 

Understand Their “Why”

Knowing why your new advisors decided to join your firm can be a huge advantage during the onboarding process. As you select candidates, try to uncover their “why” — or, in other words, their professional motivations. It’s much easier to retain your employees if your firm’s goals and objectives line up with your advisors’.

Once you know their why, share yours. Define what drives your firm forward and what sets you apart. “Why” you do what you do is much more important than “what” you do. Examples of your “why” might include helping people achieve their dreams, creating financial confidence, offering better financial solutions, helping clients align finances with values, or building up an overlooked part of the market. 

Your advisors should be passionate about their work, and that means they need to be part of your firm’s story, vision, and future.

Provide Clear Expectations

Poor communication can create a frustrating experience for everyone. Not only should a new hire understand their role, but they should also know the hierarchy of authority in the firm and the roles of the other employees.

It’s important that everyone on the team understands their role and responsibilities. As you increase staffing, make sure each new hire understands what you are hoping to accomplish, how they fit into the big picture, and what you expect from them.

Schedule regular check-ins to assess progress, provide feedback, and outline areas of focus or growth.

Offer Ongoing Training and a Slow Ramp

Learning a new firm’s systems, processes, approach, hierarchy, and tech stack can be overwhelming for new hires. Yet, all of it is a crucial part of your firm’s work; advisors need to know your process before they can offer a smooth client experience, create client reports, manage projects, compare plans, track tasks, communicate with the team, and more.

To help your new hires master each process and feel confident at work, try to spread out the training process and ease the learning curve. An assigned peer mentor can help a new hire understand the ropes and have a place to turn with any questions along the way. Set gradually increasing expectations for what tasks a new hire can do and their level of productivity as they gain more familiarity.