- How to Become a Wealth Manager: Career Development, Requirements and Timeline
Specializing in wealth management can elevate your career prospects and add more high-net-worth clients to your book of business. In terms of how to become a wealth manager, the process is similar to what’s required for portfolio management. You’ll need relevant education and experience, and many wealth managers choose to earn one or more professional… read more…
- How to Efficiently Increase Your AUM as an Advisor
Growing assets under management (AUM) is a common objective for financial advisors looking to scale their practices. According to the 2025 Investment Adviser Industry Snapshot, the median AUM for SEC-registered advisors was $427.1 million in 2024.1 Meanwhile, just over 200 firms controlled 68.4% of all client assets, totaling $144.6 trillion. That concentration highlights just how… read more…
- How Much Can Financial Advisors Earn Per Client?
Growing your client base can increase assets under management (AUM) and earnings for your advisory practice. How much do financial advisors make per client on average? The answer depends on a number of factors. Your experience level, geographic location, range of services, number of clients, and fee structure can all influence advisor pay. Are you… read more…
- How to Become a Portfolio Manager: Career Development, Requirements and Timeline
Moving into portfolio management may feel like a natural step if you’d like to advance your financial advisor career. It’s possible you may be able to unlock a new client base, while increasing earnings and doing work that you’re passionate about. The process for how to become a portfolio manager begins with obtaining a degree;… read more…
- SEO Strategies and Tips for Financial Services
Search engine optimization (SEO) is a critical tool to master if you want to drive traffic to your advisor website or social media accounts. SEO is simply a set of strategies and tools that can help you increase your visibility in online searches so your ideal clients can find you more easily. Learning SEO for… read more…
- How to Become a CFP®: Career Development, Requirements and Timeline
If you’d like to enhance your credibility and marketability to help attract new clients, you might be interested in becoming a Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP®). The CFP® Board, which is responsible for issuing CFP® credentials, counts more than 107,000 Certified Financial Planners™ in the U.S., as of January 2026.1 Understanding the CFP® certification process and… read more…
- Niche Markets for Financial Advisors
One of the pieces of advice new advisors may hear is to choose a niche. A niche reflects your ideal client audience; it’s who you market your services to, based on your skill set, experience and who you’re uniquely equipped to service. When discussing the best niche markets for financial advisors, there’s no single winner.… read more…
- How to Coach Advisor Clients on the Empty Nest Transition
Advising clients who are entering the empty nest phase requires an approach that’s both strategic and tactful. Clients may experience a range of emotions surrounding this change, which could make it more difficult for them to focus on their financial plan. Successfully coaching clients through the empty nest transition begins with validating those emotions, and… read more…
- Social Media Marketing Plan Template for Financial Advisors
Social media can offer advisors opportunities to connect with prospective clients while nurturing relationships with existing clients. Approximately 40% of advisors use social media as a marketing tool, according to a 2024 Kitces report titled “How Financial Planners Actually Market Their Services.”1 A social media marketing plan template offers a starting point for developing, implementing… read more…
- Free Continuing Education Classes for Financial Advisors
Obtaining professional certifications or designations can enhance your credibility and help you attract new clients. Roughly one-third of advisors have a Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP®) credential, according to self-reported data maintained by the CFP Board.1 Maintaining your credentials often requires completing continuing education (CE) credits to ensure that you’re up to date on the latest… read more…
- AI Tools That Help Advisors Summarize Legal Documents
When you don’t have time to review and summarize a legal document, artificial intelligence can do the heavy lifting for you. Advisors may turn to AI to summarize legal documents into a scannable, more accessible format. AI summary tools scan digital versions of documents, and condense them down so they’re easily readable. These tools rely… read more…
- Advisor Strategies to Manage Capital Gains for Clients
Incorporating tax planning into your suite of services could help you attract new clients and provide even more value to the ones you already serve. Proper tax planning allows your clients to hold on to more of their wealth, which may be important to them if they want to preserve a financial legacy for future… read more…
- Client Management Software for Financial Advisors
Tech tools can make your life as a financial advisor easier, helping you run your practice more efficiently. Building a tech stack begins with identifying your organization’s needs. Client management software (CMS) for financial advisors can help centralize client data and pinpoint growth opportunities. And comparing software options can help you decide which program is… read more…
- How to Create KPI-Based Bonuses for Financial Advisors
If you’d like to incentivize your team, you may consider introducing key performance indicator-based bonuses as part of your firm’s compensation structure. This approach ties salary bonuses to specific key performance indicators (KPIs) and is designed to motivate your employees to actively participate in driving success for themselves and your firm. Learn how to create… read more…
- Remote RIAs by State: Where Financial Advisors Work From Home Most – 2025 Study
Working remotely can offer both potential opportunities and challenges for financial advisors. For remote advisors, commute and prep times may be slashed in favor of other productive tasks, and the geographic scope of potential new clients may widen. But working face to face with clients and teammates may also have lots of benefits, including access… read more…
- Recommendations That Advisors Can Give to Clients Now
When the economy feels uncertain and market volatility increases, it’s natural for your clients to have questions about what comes next. Certified Financial Planners™ (CFPs®) report that 53% of their clients are cautious, while only 36% are optimistic, according to the CFP® Board’s 2026 CFP Professionals Financial Outlook Survey. What are financial advisors telling clients… read more…
- Custodians for Independent Firms Who Need Ops and Marketing Help
Going independent has its benefits, including flexibility and freedom. Half of advisors who go independent choose to start their own registered investment advisor firm, according to a 2024 Schwab survey. If you follow this path, you’ll need a trusted RIA custodian to hold client assets. What’s the best custodian for small independent advisors needing ops… read more…
- What Advisor Services Attract High Net Worth (HNW) Clients?
Working with high-net-worth (HNW) clients can increase assets under management and revenue, but getting them in the door can sometimes be challenging. Wealthier clients often have specialized needs that require in-depth knowledge of taxation, estate planning and charitable giving, and may bring higher expectations for the advisor-client relationship, as well. Adding HNW services to your… read more…
- Millennial Investor Strategies for Advisory Firms
As the oldest millennials enter their peak earning years, investing and retirement may be weighing heavily on their minds. While 82% of millennials say their financial plan could use some improvement, only 26% have sought out professional financial advice, according to Northwestern Mutual’s 2025 Planning & Progress Study.1 Leveraging technology, developing personalized solutions and targeting… read more…
- Does CCO Outsourcing Make Sense for Your RIA?
Starting a registered investment advisor (RIA) firm or growing an existing one means having a chief compliance officer (CCO) on board to ensure that your business satisfies regulatory requirements. The question is, should you hire in-house or outsource the role to a third-party? According to Schwab’s 2025 RIA Benchmarking Study, 83% of advisors outsource compliance… read more…
- Relying Adviser: Characteristics, Requirements, Examples
Registering an investment advisory firm with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is a complex process that requires, among other things, the filing of Form ADV. Umbrella registration may be an option for entities that qualify for relying adviser status. A relying adviser is eligible to register with the SEC, but has another adviser handle… read more…
- Reputation Management Strategies for Financial Advisors
A good reputation can help attract new clients to your advisory firm, as well as retain the ones you have. A 2025 Wealthtender study of households earning more than $100,000 found that 83% of respondents took time to research an advisor’s reputation, taking into consideration online reviews and awards1. This highlights just how important online… read more…
- How to Prepare Clients for Retirement as a Financial Advisor
For many clients, retirement is a goal that can feel far away, until one day, it’s right around the corner. Preparing clients for retirement means addressing their financial concerns, as well as their mental and emotional readiness. How you approach your planning and preparation strategy depends on how close (or far away) your clients are… read more…
- 5 Ways Financial Advisors Can Maintain Work/Life Balance
Work-life balance can often feel elusive for financial advisors. Your working hours are split between client meetings, business development and the back-office tasks necessary to keep your firm running. It may become all too easy to slip into a pattern of taking work home with you or sacrificing weekends to complete any unfinished tasks. Maintaining… read more…
- How Does the Outsourced CIO (OCIO) Model Work for RIAs?
Outsourcing allows advisors to delegate operational tasks and, in some cases, certain organizational roles. For example, RIAs may opt to handle investment management with the help of an OCIO, or Outsourced Chief Investment Officer. Examining the benefits of an outsourced CIO for RIAs, as well as the potential drawbacks, can help advisory firms determine if… read more…