The pandemic has fundamentally changed the way many of us work, and that includes many financial advisors. A recent conversation with an advisor who transitioned to a home office revealed the impact: her daily 15-minute commute, combined with a 10-minute walk from the parking lot to the office, added up to 50 minutes of wasted time each day. With an average of 250 workdays per year, that totals 208 hours annually—a staggering 5 workweeks no longer spent in transit!
This led the advisor to reflect on how non-essential tasks were consuming her time and affecting her practice and personal life. If a mere 50 minutes of commute time could accumulate to 5 weeks a year, imagine how much more time could be reclaimed by addressing other non-essential tasks keeping her from her highest and best use.
1 Work Hour Daily Equals 1 Year of Every 10 Years!
Identifying and Eliminating Time-Sucking Tasks
Advisors often find themselves bogged down by repetitive, low-value tasks that detract from the core activities where advisor expertise truly shines. Here are some common examples:
- Administering Cash In and Out: Tracking cash balances, seeking client instructions for investment and distribution, and manually entering orders.
- Performance Calculations: Running performance reports for client inquiries and your own use due to inadequate reporting tools that do not provide robust, easy-to-read performance reporting at every level and time period.
- Portfolio Adjustments: Making changes across hundreds of accounts manually.
- Processing Billing: Finalizing monthly billing, answering client questions, finding billing calculation details, and ensuring payments.
- Trade Entries and Withdrawals: Entering trades to raise cash and processing check withdrawals.
- Account Transfers: Tracking and following up on account transfers and sitting on hold searching for answers to why a transfer was rejected.
- Dollar-Cost Averaging: Repeatedly entering trades to manage dollar-cost averaging orders.
- Processing New Accounts: Gathering new account paperwork, additional forms, and client signatures. There always seems to be yet another form that needs the client’s signature, but you were not told before it was required!
- Market Tracking: Constantly monitoring market fluctuations for anxious clients.
- Account Maintenance: Manually updating account details like address changes.
The Path to Greater Efficiency
To reclaim your time, implement these steps:
- Systematize and Demand Automation: Leverage modern technology to automate routine tasks. From performance reporting to order entries, automation can significantly reduce manual workload. Challenge every manual task to determine if it can be automated. Invest in tools and systems that streamline your operations, or outsource to the right partner that has those tools and systems.
- Establish Client Ground Rules & Minimum Requirements: Set clear expectations and minimum requirements for your clients. You do not necessarily have to have an asset minimum. It may be important to you to help some clients who do not have substantial assets, but you should demand that clients, staff and your providers value your precious time and adhere to your processes so that you make the best use of your time.
- Outsource When Necessary: Identify tasks that can be outsourced to experts or third-party providers, such as back-office support, investment due diligence, compliance, and marketing. Turnkey asset management platforms (TAMPs) are designed to free you to do what you do best, if you select the right partner.
A 2023 Cerulli Associates survey found a significant shift in time allocation between “outsourcer” advisors who use TAMPs for many practice management tasks compared to “insourcers” who perform these responsibilities themselves.
- Maintain Discipline: Enforce adherence to long-term investment plans and processes. Avoid clients or providers who disrupt your workflow or demand excessive customization.
- Optimize Your Practice: Design your workday around activities where you have the most impact. This is your practice. If you run your day in the way you know you will be most productive and impactful, you’ll be able to deliver the greatest value for your clients and enhance both your practice and personal life.
Conclusion
It is possible to save or redirect one year of work time over the next 10 years! By addressing non-essential tasks and embracing automation and systematization, you can dramatically improve your efficiency allowing you to focus on your highest and best use as an advisor and deliver maximum value to your clients. Embrace these changes and watch how they transform your practice for the better.
To learn more about the technology, investment solutions, and operational support turnkey asset management platforms provide, download our 30-factor TAMP Partner Selection Checklist.
Advisory services are offered through Freedom Investment Management, Inc. ("Freedom"), a registered investment adviser. Freedom does not provide tax or legal advice. The information contained herein is for informational purposes only. This is not an offer to sell securities or provide investment advice. Investment strategies carry varying degrees of risk to include total loss. The representations and opinions herein are the opinions and view of Freedom and are believed to be reliable but are not guaranteed by Freedom nor its affiliates. When applicable, sources used in forming Freedom’s opinion are cited, however, other sources may be available which contradict Freedom’s opinion, process, and methodology. Potential investors are advised to consult with their financial, tax and/or legal advisors prior to investing.
1-800-949-9936
Schedule Demo
