A candid conversation between advisors: who grows faster, the hungry young rep or the seasoned vet, and are advisors actually charging what they are worth? Here is how both sides shake out.
Are younger advisors better at growth, or just worse at saying no?
One take favors the younger advisor: they are more tech savvy, and growth is not only sales but also efficiency, doing more with less. The young advisor does not have the bad habits of doing it the wrong way for the last 40 years, and they are usually hungrier. They pick up the phone and make the call, and speed to lead counts.
But put yourself in the prospect's shoes. Many would rather sit with the seasoned vet. The older advisor has already been through the objections. The first time a young advisor hears a sales objection, they do not know what to do. With experience, you have seen it time and again and worked your talk track to overcome it.
Experience builds a library you can tap
There are drawbacks to being an older advisor. One call took ten minutes on Google Meet just to explain how to share a screen. Boomers are going to boom.
Still, mature advisors have a sales process. They have built their rhythm, flow, elevator pitch, brochures, assets, website, and content. Advisors who have invested in themselves over the years created a library they can tap into, and that is hard to do when you are just starting out.
Are advisors charging what they are worth?
If anything, advisors are undercharging. Back in the 2000s you could charge 1% just for investment management. Now the same 1% has to cover financial planning, and increasingly tax planning, more and more services just to command that fee.
If you are shopping advisory firms, now is the time. Some firms are popping up at $2,500 a year for financial planning, advisor access, and a full written plan.
The real question is retention
It raises the question: how many clients can one advisor have? Some research puts the sweet spot around 150 to 250 clients, which is a ton. That advisor probably cannot meet with you as much as you would like if your finances are complex.
The most telling metric is retention. How many people stay with that advisor? If clients do not feel they are meeting enough, it is fair to wonder how long those businesses last. Time will tell.
Frequently asked questions
- Are younger or older financial advisors better at growth?
- Both have edges. Younger advisors are more tech savvy, hungrier, and faster to lead, without decades of bad habits. Seasoned advisors have refined talk tracks, a proven sales process, and a library of assets that is hard to build early on.
- Are financial advisors charging what they are worth?
- Many are undercharging. The same 1% fee that once covered only investment management now has to include financial planning and often tax planning, so advisors deliver far more services for the same price.
- How many clients can one financial advisor effectively serve?
- Research suggests a sweet spot of roughly 150 to 250 clients. Beyond that, an advisor may struggle to meet often enough with clients who have complex needs.
- What matters most when evaluating an advisory firm's model?
- Retention. Low-cost, high-volume models can look attractive, but the real test is how many clients stay. If clients do not feel they meet often enough, the model's longevity is in question.