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High-net-worth clients also worry about their finances, albeit differently. Their needs are geared towards capital preservation and investment growth. They want to protect what they have worked so hard for. That’s where financial advisors step in — to offer comprehensive financial planning and wealth management solutions.
If you’re a financial advisor and want to step up your game, targeting high-net-worth clients (HNWIs) is the direction you want to go. However, managing wealthy individuals is not like managing other markets. They have specific needs and unique challenges. If you haven’t handled wealthy clients or want to tap into this niche, this article is for you.
Who are High-Net-Worth Individuals
In the finance industry, a high-net-worth individual falls into the category of having at least $1 million in liquid financial assets.
What does “liquid financial assets” mean? It is a type of asset that can be easily converted to cash at its current market value. This includes cash, money market, stocks, and bonds. Liquid assets do not include cars, properties, or fine arts.
According to Forbes, as of 2020, 6.5 million people in the United States fall into this category. Other sub-categories of high-net-worth individuals include:
- Very-High-Net-Worth Individual: Owning liquid assets of at least $5 million
- Ultra-High-Net-Worth Individual: Owning liquid assets of at least $30 million
How to Contact or Where to Find High-Net-Worth Clients
As a financial advisor aiming to offer your services to this specific market, your first step is to identify potential clients. Where do you look for high-net-worth clients? Here are some tips:
Ask for Referrals
Trust and credibility are the foundation of this business. Asking for referrals from friends, family, and existing clients can help bring in more prospects, increase conversion, and increase revenue.
Asking your network to refer you to prospects increases your conversion rate since this acts as a vote of confidence. In this market, network is everything, and when a person they know vouches for you, it means that they (their contacts) can trust you too.
Harness the Power of the Internet
With just a simple Google search, you can find almost all the relevant information about your target market. You can search for the thriving businesses in your area and check their website or social media page. Please do your research and then approach them with your winning pitch.
Related Read: Financial Advisor Meeting Checklist for Impactful Client Meetings
LinkedIn is an excellent platform where you can find executives and business owners. Take note of the name and contact number of the executive or owner, then introduce yourself or set an appointment.
Resort to Digital Marketing
Speaking of the internet and reaching out to potential clients, you should also let your prospects know more about you. How can you do this? It’s by establishing your online presence. Here are some tips you can do:
- Create a website: A website plays a key role in your marketing strategy. It helps new clients search about the services you offer, client testimonies of your past performance, and contact information should they have any questions or concerns they wish to discuss.
Related Read: SEO Company for Financial Companies: Get More Traffic, Leads, and Sales
- Implement a CRM: An effective CRM helps you manage your clients, automate tasks and increase profitability. The analytics that an effective CRM software provides is invaluable. By understanding your clients’ and prospects’ information, you can better tailor your marketing and sales approach to serve your niche.
Related Read: Salesforce vs. Infusionsoft: Which CRM is Right for Your Business
- Create a mobile app: The majority of the population is on their phones all the time. This is where they get updates about the market, check the news, and manage their finances. Cater to this need by having your mobile application. You can have your own application where your client can see the value of their investments in real-time or have a medium where they can provide instructions, get an update from you, or contact you if needed.
Join Clubs
Here’s a secret you ought to know: wealthy individuals keep on growing and expanding their networks. One way they do this is by joining clubs. Therefore, you should join one or a few of these clubs. You might be surprised at how many wealthy individuals belong to such clubs.
In addition to clubs and memberships, you can also join non-profit organizations, charitable institutions, volunteer work organizations, and many more. You can also join country clubs if you have the extra funds. Being a financial advisor means you also have to invest to gain contacts and relationships.
Attend or Join Sports Events
Some high-net-worth individuals love to attend sporting events. Examples of where you can find them are in the luxury box or skybox of stadiums, floor seats of basketball games, or the VIP section of the horse track.
If you love sports and watching on the sideline is not enough to meet new clients, you can play sports too. You can play golf, tennis, competitive sailing, polo and any other sports wealthy individuals indulge in.
Engage in Their Hobbies
While they are very busy, these individuals also make time for their hobbies. If you want to reach out to them, you can engage in their hobbies too. Here are some common hobbies where wealthy individuals spend their free time:
- Art collecting
- Riding hot air balloons
- Fishing or scuba diving
- Paragliding or other air sports
- Winemaking or brewing beer
- Racing, skiing, sailing, and the likes
- Traveling
Organize Local Networking Events
As a financial advisor actively seeking high-net-worth clients, be proactive and organize local networking events. Start the initiative of organizing events like seminars, luncheons, or virtual conferences.
How can you attract potential clients to attend your event? Organize an event to give free advice for financial planning or wealth management. Many people want to pick the brains of wealth advisors, and many people who are willing to invest their wealth will surely attend the seminar.
What Services Do High-Net-Worth Clients Look For?
Wealthy clients have a lot of investable assets, and it’s important for a wealth manager to go above and beyond when offering high-quality services to clients. So what do high-net-worth clients look for? They usually seek financial advisors for the following services:
Wealth Management/Financial Planning
Wealth management is a broad term for financial planning that helps clients protect and grow their wealth. As a trusted advisor, how do you give your clients more assets? What are other investments you can offer to your client?
Asset Protection
Asset protection is a type of investment planning where assets are protected from creditors through legal means. It requires transferring assets from an unprotected form of ownership to a protected form of ownership. Examples of asset protection vehicles are trust funds and limited liability partnerships or corporations.
Since this is legally avoiding creditors, you need to have a good lawyer who can help you plan, navigate, and understand the applicable laws.
Retirement Planning
These individuals sacrifice a lot of time to grow their money so they can retire early or retire comfortably. This is why part of your job is to offer services that will help them grow their money and maximize the value of their investments.
This requires you to know and understand different investment vehicles. And depending on the type of risk appetite your client has, it may need you to invest in moderate to high-risk investments.
Tax Strategies
Affluent individuals have their own Certified Public Accountants, bookkeepers, lawyers, or other qualified professionals to help them with their tax planning. But if you can help your client with tax strategies, why not? High-net-worth clients want more purposeful insights when it comes to matters of the IRS.
Other Services High-Net-Worth Clients Look For
- Investment advice
- Debt management
- Budgeting advice
- Examine and understand insurance policies
- Legacy and estate planning
- Advanced planning of investments
How to Present Your Services to High-Net-Worth Clients
You’ve reached out and had initial contact with potential clients; your hard work does not stop there. The next step is to present your services to the client. Freelance personal financial advisors compete with huge wealth management firms. So you have to make sure your investment strategies are competitive and are in your client’s best interest.
Before presenting your services to high-net-worth clients, here’s one major tip: show them proof that you’re an excellent investment adviser. In the financial world, wealth managers need to prove their worth and let their work speak for itself.
After all, you’re taking care of other people’s money. Credibility and liability are your selling points, especially for high-net-worth families.
In your presentation to clients, the first thing you need to understand is your client’s expectations. What do they need? Do they need someone for tax planning? Retirement planning? Do they want to invest in hedge funds and triple their portfolio?
Once you’ve figured out your client’s financial goals, formulate a plan that’s suited to their needs. Remember, there is no “one plan fits all” strategy, especially for HNW individuals, so your presentation must relate to their needs.
Related Read: 11 Financial Planning Questions to Ask Clients and Why They Are Relevant
How to Manage High-Net-Worth Clients
Once you’ve successfully turned your prospect into a client, the hard work begins. At this point, as an investment advisor, you have to manage your relationship with your client and take care of them. How do you manage your relationship with your client and their financial portfolios? Here’s what you should remember:
Quality Service Before Discounted Rates
Financial advisers struggle in a cut-throat industry, and they tend to lower their professional fees to attract clients. It may work for some clients, but not all high-net-worth individuals. Wealthy individuals appreciate value and cost-effectiveness.
So before you lower your rates, offer high-quality services first. Because if you’re worth their trust and focus on results, they will invest in you. Some research shows that several wealth advisors who underprice their services decrease their desirability to clients.
As a result, they land fewer clients and manage fewer assets. Focus on offering high-quality services before giving discounted rates.
TIP: Fee-only financial advisors land more clients compared to commission-based wealth advisors.
Related Read: How to Become an Independent Financial Advisor: All You Need to Know
Be Patient
The investment portfolio of a wealthy client requires a long onboarding process. As an investment advisor, you should be patient; be patient in gaining their trust when creating a financial plan and in meeting their needs.
Also, dealing with high-net-worth clients can be time-consuming, so always make the time for them. Be available all the time as much as possible. Reaching out to you must be easy, and all the other information they need must be easily and readily available.
Key Takeaways
- Understand what they worry about and offer solutions primarily targeted to their needs.
- Other financial advisors are trying to negotiate a deal with high-net-worth clients. Always stay on top and offer personalized financial planning.
- Charge a fair price for high-net-worth clients. Fee-based is preferred as compared to the commission-based fee structure.
- Being a registered investment advisor with the Securities and Exchange Commission gives you more credibility in handling this niche.
Bottom Line
With the information you learned above, you are now equipped with the knowledge of how to be a financial advisor for high-net-worth clients. If you need help with marketing your services by building your online presence, Peregrine Consulting Group is here to help you.
Book an appointment with Peregrine Consulting Group now. Learn more about our services and let us help you broaden your clientele.
