Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Ep. 26: Kate Healy: What the Next Generation Needs from Advisors Today
38 Plays1 month ago
Millennials are set to become the richest generation on record thanks to the $84 trillion wealth transfer from their Baby Boomer parents and grandparents.1 But for financial advisors, winning the trust of this generation may be easier said than done.
One of the best ways to prepare to serve the next generation of investors is to have advisor talent that understands them, according to Kate Healy, CEO & Founder of AdvoKate IQ.
In this episode of the Synergize podcast, Healy joins hosts Bill Coppel, Chief Client Growth Officer at TradePMR, and Ryan Neal, Senior Editor at TradePMR, to explore the opportunity that exists for RIAs to build enterprise value through a strategic focus on NextGen clients and advisors.
Listen as they explore:
● How NextGen client preferences play into the service offerings firms may want to consider and who they may need to hire
● Ways to align business strategy with the evolving needs of the next generation
● Potential blind spots that may hinder a firm’s ability to attract the next generation of investors
Subscribe now, and connect with us on social media:
● YouTube
Get the transcript for this episode, with sources, at https://synergizepodcast.com/.
About Kate Healy
Kate is CEO and Founder of AdvoKate IQ, LLC, a consultancy that partners with financial services firms to help unlock sustainable growth by aligning business strategy with the evolving needs of the next generation.
Previously, she was Managing Director for the CFP® Board’s Center for Financial Planning and a Managing Director at TD Ameritrade Institutional.
Kate Healy and AdvoKateIQ, LLC are not affiliates of TradePMR.
More About Kate:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kateehealy/
If you want to join the conversation or connect with us, please visit us at synergizepodcast.com. This content is provided for general information purposes only. The views expressed by non-affiliated guest speakers are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of TradePMR or its affiliates. TradePMR and its affiliates do not endorse any guest speakers or their companies and therefore give no assurances as to the quality of their products and services. This channel is not monitored by TradePMR. TradePMR does not provide investment advice, tax advice or legal advice. TradePMR is a member of FINRA and SIPC. TradePMR, Inc. is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission {SEC) and the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB). TradePMR provides brokerage and account services to registered investment advisors. Custodial services provided by First Clearing. First Clearing is a trade name used by Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC, Member SIPC, a registered broker dealer and non-bank affiliate of Wells Fargo & Company. Copyright 2025. TradePMR, Inc. For a transcript of this episode with sources, visit synergizepodcast.com.
Trade-PMR, Inc. is a subsidiary of Robinhood Markets, Inc.
1 Millennials are set to become the richest generation on record thanks to the $84 trillion Great Wealth Transfer from their baby boomer parents and grandparents, Fortune, Published March 28, 2025.
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Synergize Podcast
00:00:02
Speaker
Welcome to Synergize, unscripted conversations where we explore the evolving role of the financial advisor in an emerging AI-driven world. Join us as we bring together thought leaders across a range of disciplines and industry experts, sharing insights designed to help RIAs thrive in the industry of tomorrow.
00:00:26
Speaker
Hi, I'm Bill Capell, Chief Client Growth Officer at Trey PMR, a Robinhood company. And I'm Ryan Neal, Senior Editor at Trade PMR slash Robinhood. And you are listening to the Synergize podcast.
Opportunities for RIAs with Millennials
00:00:40
Speaker
Today, we're going to be talking about an opportunity that exists for RIAs to build enterprise value by focusing on millennials. That's right, millennials, the generation that could turn out to be a winner when it comes to what they might inherit, potentially making them the wealthiest generation in the history, according to a recent Fortune article.
00:01:02
Speaker
That's right, Bill. And I'm a millennial myself. And so I think there's still amongst some of you elder folks, a misconception that next generation still refers to the idea like, you college grads that are have no job living at home, parents, basement, avocado toast, et cetera, et cetera.
00:01:20
Speaker
um But today what it really means is, you know someone in their forties or late thirties, many millennials are enjoying their prime earning years. Uh, They have kids. I just had my first one a few months ago.
00:01:32
Speaker
there Some are buying homes, but they have they have real assets is the point. um And many of them typically aren't being served by an advisor, nor are they seen as viable prospects in the industry yet.
00:01:46
Speaker
And, you know connecting with this next generation, offering the guidance, counsel and planning. that they are likely to seek may require a shift, not only in our thinking about the business, but it's probably gonna affect the culture of some of our firms. And oh, by the way, Ryan, you look really good. You've got more rest now that the baby's settling down.
00:02:07
Speaker
Oh yeah, she sleeps at the night at five months and I'm ah counting counting my lucky stars on that. Absolutely.
Kate Healy on Next-Gen Talent
00:02:13
Speaker
Our guest today, Kate Healy, is here to help us explore what firms may want to consider when it comes to finding, hiring, developing, and retaining next-generation talent, and how doing so may help them attract next-gen clients as well.
00:02:31
Speaker
Look at other ways that you can serve them. We always wait till people are 50 and they can afford us. Think of how much more money they would have at 50 if we got to give them advice when they were in their twenty s and 30s and help them make decisions that were smarter about their finances, how much more money they would have. That would be better for all of us.
00:02:50
Speaker
Kate is CEO and founder of Advocate IQ, a consultancy designed to help firms grow organically with a focus on next generation clients and advisors.
00:03:02
Speaker
To learn more about Kate's background and her experience, please refer to our show notes. Kate, thanks for joining us. Thanks so much for having me, Bill and Ryan. I'm really excited to be part of this conversation today because it's ah it's one we still have to keep having.
00:03:20
Speaker
Well, Kate, it's good to have you back. I think, well, last time I saw you was probably at T3, though in my mind, it's the and NBA draft we went to together in Brooklyn. that was ah that was a fun That was a fun memory. But I know you've been talking about next-gen advisors and clients for a while now, longer than most. I think when I first came in the industry, ah you were at a previous firm and you were the head of next-gen there, something like that.
00:03:44
Speaker
So I'm curious to ask you, Has the conversation shifted at all? Have you noticed that the industry is actually evolving anywhere on this? Are they taking it seriously are they still dragging their feet?
00:03:55
Speaker
Yeah, um those were good times, Ryan. But, you know, I've been talking about this since 2009. um we We've been you know just trying to have this conversation. And you know it's really interesting, and I think that people don't realize this, why we started the conversation. One of the reasons that we started the conversation around NextGen was because everyone thought millennials were lazy. Do you remember that? Remember back when millennials were the worst? we They ruined everything. You ate avocado toast, you ruined the malls, you ruined everything.
00:04:26
Speaker
And everyone thought that they were just waiting for a trophy. And we realized that the advisory world wasn't paying attention to the fact that this was their next generation workforce. So we actually started to bring students to our conferences.
00:04:40
Speaker
It was good for the students, but that's not why we did it. We needed to show advisors that this was the up and coming talent and that they weren't lazy. They weren't entitled. They were smart. They were learning about financial planning in a different way.
00:04:53
Speaker
They were going to school for it. They were learning all of these things. So it's been ah definitely an evolution over the past, well, gosh, it's it's what, 15, 20 years now. um As millennials have grown up, to your point, right, millennials are actually – taking over, right? They're the ones that are moving into some senior level positions at this point in their career.
00:05:14
Speaker
So we are seeing that conversation shift. I think what we're seeing now is it took years to build some awareness around this and no one wanted to believe it because it makes us face our own mortality,
Urgency for Next-Gen Advisors
00:05:25
Speaker
right?
00:05:25
Speaker
What mean there's a generation coming up against us that are going to take over? well we we We're the with it the cream of the crop, we're the owners. But now we're starting to see that urgency. We're seeing that you know we've we've got all the statistics about advisors retiring.
00:05:40
Speaker
um When you look at um you know the Cerule report, right ah more than a third of advisors are expected to retire within the next 10 years, but only less than a third have formal succession plans.
00:05:52
Speaker
That's where this urgency around next-gen talent becomes so important. And when we talk about, and I know we'll get into just the the generational wealth transfers that are going to happen, how important it is for clients to be prepared to serve that. And one of the best ways to do that is to have the talent that understands that.
00:06:11
Speaker
So that the conversation has shifted. There are some firms that are are getting this, you know, some of the larger firms that have that, that are really, you know, constantly hiring talent, looking for talent, building that pipeline.
00:06:23
Speaker
Their understanding, they have to broaden that horizon and start to develop people. I think that's what caught up firms, right? They did not want to hire young talent. They didn't want to train and develop young talent because that took away from what they were doing in their businesses.
00:06:38
Speaker
That's a great point. Kate, as you pointed out ah with your comments around how we may have interpreted ah the mindset and perhaps the work ethic of the millennials, they clearly think differently, right?
00:06:52
Speaker
and And so ah what's interesting to me, and the question I wanted to run by you is that as an industry, ah the financial services world has really been slow to change. In fact, the training programs haven't evolved much you know in a time that I've been in the business.
00:07:07
Speaker
And here we have this very new generation coming into the business. And to your point, There are many universities and colleges throughout the country. you know Kids are graduating with degrees in financial service, or I should say they're in wealth management and planning and things of that nature. So clearly they got the academic training.
00:07:26
Speaker
So when you think about that and you think about the way we have traditionally, quote, trained ah advisors, what do you see coming on that front? I mean, you know how are firms going to be able to actually understand this new generation of advisors? And then you what are the skills they're going to need to be successful ah against this this very new generation of investors? Right.
00:07:49
Speaker
Yeah, Bill, it's a great point. It's so important, right? you know Traditionally, we train people on investment management, on products. That's table stakes. That's how everyone has to come into the business. It's been great to see the evolution, even from a reg you know a regulator regulator's perspective. There's the SIE exam um that folks are already coming out of school with, right? They're getting that. So they're starting to build on that.
00:08:12
Speaker
Well, we're still training advisors to talk. to clients. We're not training them to listen to clients. And so those, and I hesitate to call them soft skills because they're not, they're really the skills that you need today.
00:08:25
Speaker
Active listening. showcasing that there's a values alignment between the client and the firm. It's really helping advisors understand that, you know, i'm going to talk about it from a next-gen perspective, but honestly, this applies to all advisors, even the older generations, right? It's a shift in how do we, we're not talking to the clients anymore. We're listening. We're getting that input from the clients.
00:08:48
Speaker
You know, the next-gen clients, millennials especially, they don't want you to tell them what to do. They want you to help them through it. They want an accountability partner. So really teaching advisors how they can become that person that the client goes to.
00:09:03
Speaker
and And it probably isn't just one person. They like the idea of a team. They understand that one, you know, Bill, you're not going to know every single thing that I'm going to need in my plan. But you've got Ryan in the background. You've got these other people that you can help.
00:09:16
Speaker
That's great for me. I want to go to a firm that and that's going to learn to understand my needs, what I need and how I can get that help. And I'm okay if you're going to talk to other people in the firm. So I don't expect you to be that only person. I expect you to be that quarterback, but I, you need to understand my life
Communication Across Generations
00:09:33
Speaker
and my values. And that's where having some next gen talent that can sit at that table and have that understanding really helps, you know, I'm yeah you know You know, I was going to add to that ah quickly is that what's interesting to me is you're so right about the listening piece, right?
00:09:50
Speaker
But you have to millennials listen the same way as boomers listen in the greatest generation. So we've got those nuances, the way we communicate it. I can tell you that as a boomer,
00:10:02
Speaker
ah I've actually learned more from my millennial kids than they probably have learned from me, just simply in the way we communicate, how we interact and so forth. And technology has played a big role.
00:10:13
Speaker
And now you've got these new advisors coming into the business, as you mentioned. And not only are they there to hopefully serve their peers, right? The generation is going to inherit at least part of this money.
00:10:27
Speaker
on or um And they've got to also be able to communicate ah across Gen X, boomers, even some of the greatest generation. What do you see differently about that challenge than say, you know, when I came into the business?
00:10:43
Speaker
Yeah, Bill, it's such an important point, right? The way we communicate is tenfold different, right? We used type memos, put them in interoffice envelopes, and a week later, someone would get it if they were in a different office.
00:10:55
Speaker
Now it's constant communication. You can... chat You can text, you can call, you can email, you can do all of those things. And so what it really comes down to is also finding out the preferences of your clients and and the advisors that you work with.
00:11:09
Speaker
You know, obviously sticking with, you know, regulatory measures, you you don't text what you can't text. But checking in, i always tell, you know, young advisors, talk to your firm to find out how they communicate and what is allowable for you to do.
00:11:22
Speaker
And then talk to your clients and find out what, how do they receive that message? Do they want to watch, you know, the younger generations want to watch a video. So if you're doing educational content, if you want to push out that weekly newsletter, I'm putting air quotes around that.
00:11:36
Speaker
It's, it's a video, right? It's not something that they're going to read. Now your boomer clients might want to still read it. they're not going to remember what was on the video. They want to like, Hey, I got to, you know, instead of taking notes, let me look at this. um I'd rather watch it to be honest with you.
00:11:50
Speaker
Right. I mean, there's different ways, but what I love about what you said about how you learned is I think that's the big difference in the generations, prior generations. learned from the generation ahead of them.
00:12:03
Speaker
Right. That's just how it was. Older people taught the younger people. And it's a big shift for us to sit back, you know, Gen X boomers and say, hey, maybe these people are actually smarter than me and I need to listen.
00:12:16
Speaker
And that is a hard pill for some folks to swallow because that's not how a lot of people were raised. So I love the fact that you're saying you're learning from your, you know, your millennial kids and clients and things like that, because that's the important part.
00:12:29
Speaker
We have to get away from this, you know, the old days of the power, the the information came from the top and and came all the way cascaded down. The information is coming at us from both ways.
00:12:40
Speaker
So that's where that importance of how do you synergize that information? That is an important thing. um component of when we start to train advisors, new advisors, and and all advisors to understand that there's messaging points
Embracing AI and New Service Models
00:12:53
Speaker
coming in from all different ways. You're looking at CRM data from a client. You're looking at a client's communications. You're probably going to start to use AI to figure things out.
00:13:02
Speaker
How do you synergize all that to figure out the best communications? And you're going to have to do more than one as a communicator, as a marketer, right? One message doesn't resonate. Ryan, you know this better than most, right You've got to send it out there many different ways. It's got to be a video and a newsletter and a blog post and a X post and a LinkedIn post and all of the, you know, on your Facebook page, you're going to have to keep relaying that message several different ways and times to catch people in what's going to resonate with them.
00:13:32
Speaker
I think for me, what it comes down to is, um especially with something as important as your money and working with an advisor is is someone that really truly understands and gets where you're coming from.
00:13:43
Speaker
um And I think especially millennials around my age that we you know graduated college right when the economy crashed. And, and you know, the causes of that, a lot of us have maybe a distrust of the traditional financial services firm ermen and the stock you know investing system in general.
00:14:01
Speaker
um And so someone, when i when I have reached out to talk to advisors, whether it was like my mother's advisor or just out there you know in as a reporter and trying to get you know answers to my financial questions, um there's sometimes ah just a disconnect over the way we talk about it, and the way we think about it. and Sometimes feels almost like I'm being scolded, like, oh, why do you have student loan debt and haven't saved as much? Well, I do. So don't even know what's age. I want somebody be able to understand me. And like with the communication part, as you said, like, yeah, I want to be able to communicate via text.
00:14:33
Speaker
But that doesn't mean you got to text me all the time. Like, you know, leave me alone. sort of they But there's someone who gets that. So I guess my question for you, Kate, would be, um how do you see like that next-gen talent playing out? like Does it have to be that you have to have advise you know millennial advisors to get millennial clients?
00:14:51
Speaker
or is it Or is it something a little more different than that, just when it comes to winning the trust of this generation investors and and serving them? You know, it's it's a little bit of a couple different things. So it's good to have clients that are of the same age group, right? When you walk into a room, you want to think people can understand the life that you're leading right now.
00:15:10
Speaker
But I would also say it's very important to have a product and service offering that attracts millennials. So at the younger edge of the spectrum, millennials are probably Henry's, right? They may be high earners, not rich yet.
00:15:22
Speaker
So they don't have assets that you as a firm are going to make money on under the AUM model. That doesn't mean that they don't want your advice, but nor are they not willing to pay for it, because they are willing to pay for advice.
00:15:34
Speaker
So when you're looking at your firm and how you're going to work with them, having a team of people that are of diverse backgrounds, ages, genders, all of those things are going to help you better broaden the understanding that you have of clients. And when you're teaming up with people, that's a great approach to let the client see that.
00:15:53
Speaker
But you also have to take a step back and say, what am I offering to those clients? Right. They've said they want transparency. So are you co-creating financial plans with them or do you once a year meet with them and give them a big document?
00:16:04
Speaker
That doesn't work. How are you able to, you know, have technology that's allowing them to tweak things or say, you know what, I think I'm going to pay off my student loan debt in the next year. Now, now I want to switch to Retirement funding, help me with that, those kinds of things.
00:16:18
Speaker
But also, are you in it as you're looking to build your firm's growth, you have to be looking at other service offerings. So is it a retainer model? Is it a subscription model? Is it a fee-for-service model for just the advice while people are building up, while younger people are building up their assets?
00:16:36
Speaker
You have to start to consider different ways of doing that. They're going to get to a point where they probably fit into an AUM model, but don't turn them away because they don't have your your asset minimums.
00:16:49
Speaker
Look at other ways that you can serve them. ah you know I always say, we always wait till people are 50 and they can afford us. Think of how much more money they would have at 50 if we've got to give them advice when they were in their twenty s and 30s and help them make decisions that were smarter about their finances, how much more money they would have. That would be better for all of us.
Career Paths for Next-Gen Advisors
00:17:09
Speaker
So really think about evolving your service offering as well as bringing in next-gen talent. And you really hit the nail on the head here, Kate, because this will be the single greatest challenge, right? Yeah.
00:17:22
Speaker
As it relates to ah the amount of change firms are going to have to embrace in order to begin to create a path forward. for the success of this next generation advisor, which will ultimately lead to the success of the firm, right? So um just take another minute know and and kind of break down maybe two or three key themes that you you've mentioned a couple, you know, diversity of thought, ah mentorship is a big part of this. yeah
00:17:54
Speaker
ah But what are some of the other things firms, you know, practical things firms should be thinking about in order to set in motion a yeah ah a learning experience, let's call it. I hate saying training because I feel like I'm a newspaper on the floor with a puppy.
00:18:09
Speaker
But what what is that learning experience going to be like? And what are these, what are firms, what you recommending to firms today? The things that they should really embrace, what the top two or three ideas? Yeah, great question.
00:18:21
Speaker
I think, you know, top is career path. When someone is looking to join your firm, What kind of visibility are you giving them into where they can be and how they can get there?
00:18:32
Speaker
You know, I think the old school, we thought, oh, millennials want to be owners without doing the work. That's not it. They just want to know how they get there. So if you can show a clear perspective path, not just here's the title you get, but what are the kinds of things you need to do? what are the competencies you need to have?
00:18:48
Speaker
And then when you get to that competency, how does it bring you to that next level? I think that is so important. And I can't stress this enough. I think sometimes we treat new advisors like just support staff.
00:19:00
Speaker
They have got to be sitting in the room with clients. That is how you learn listening to them. um I was just talking to an advisor last week and she said, you know, I have someone in in the and he's been in the room, but he's always taking notes.
00:19:13
Speaker
And now I want to start to position him as kind of the person on the team they should talk to. How do I make that change? and And my advice was, bring them into the meetings, have them have a role, right? Maybe he becomes the insurance guru, or maybe he becomes the estate planning liaison or the trader, whatever that is, your clients will start to notice, oh, hey, I talked to Bill and that's, you know, when we start to talk about that kind of part of the conversation, it shifts over to Bill.
00:19:39
Speaker
They start to build that trust. And I also say, there's nothing wrong with telling your clients, hey, you know, Ryan's sitting in this meeting, right? He's learning. So I'm going to give him some things to help him learn. Are you OK with that?
00:19:53
Speaker
There's not a most clients are going to be. Of course, I go to teaching hospitals all the time. I want the next generation to learn things. So giving them that ability to work with clients as soon as they they get into the firm, I think is so important um because it's also showing your clients that I've built out this bench.
00:20:11
Speaker
It's me, but i look at all the support I have. I can go on vacation. I can take a leave of absence, whatever that is. But and regardless, I've built out a strong team structure. And then I would say the last thing is when we think about compensation.
00:20:25
Speaker
you You know, so many of the people leave our industry because of models that make them eat what they kill. Right. You've got to bring in clients. It's all commission based. And it's hard. to raise a family and have children and support and buy a house while you're paying off student loan debt if you don't have a steady paycheck.
00:20:41
Speaker
And the next generation really looks more at how is the team working? So think about compensation models that can reward team success. So there's a salary component so that people can live.
00:20:53
Speaker
And then there's an incentive component. And there's ways to do that, right? You can incent, to you know, part of the incentive comes from your personal um you know, what you've done personally. Some of it comes from what the team has done.
00:21:05
Speaker
Some of it comes the firm revenue, whatever. You can look at different levers to pull there. But having that approach of this is a team, I'm working for a firm. And I think that's a mindset shift for a lot of earlier firms where it was just a one, three, five person shop. And it was very much the owner's firm.
00:21:23
Speaker
you're going to build an enterprise value. This has to become a team effort and you have to show people that. And one of the best ways to get that, that buy-in is to have that team compensation structure that builds that ownership feeling.
00:21:35
Speaker
And, you know you raise a great point because if it's a firm that's been in existence for, know, for a couple of decades, as an example, they've got an established compensation structure and that becomes a barrier.
00:21:46
Speaker
yeah One of the things I, I'll share this quickly before I go back to Ryan, you know, Another thing I've seen work very very nicely, and I've actually worked with advisors on this, is when you get into a situation, as you mentioned, and you bring a younger advisor into the conversation, I think it's important to remember that that younger advisor can be talking to that client. Let's say it is a buyer client.
00:22:10
Speaker
Now they can ask questions that are important to that individual's children. They can almost become that bridge between these generations. I've seen that work really well.
00:22:21
Speaker
And it makes, it creates an environment for the millennial advisor to operate with a high degree of confidence because they are one, right? And now you're able to reflect without some, the ah questions can't be so overt that they're awkward, but they have that sensitivity.
00:22:39
Speaker
Yeah. um And I think that's something that we can, know, we can build it. Absolutely.
Aligning Services with Client Values
00:22:44
Speaker
So I want to talk about next-gen clients. I know we've been using, we've been saying millennials, millennials, millennials here a lot, but I actually, this morning was reading an article basically like when it comes to, you know, kind of culture and and creation and, you know, athletes, celebrities, et cetera, millennials are kind of done already. Ask me back. You mean all conversation about Gen Z to have.
00:23:07
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So should should I, should I be looking for your replacement already, Ryan? What's going on? Yeah. I mean, I've got gray hairs coming in, so it's it's it's curtains for me. But um and really just kind of next generation in general.
00:23:21
Speaker
um You know, obviously, you'll you don't want to paint a whole swath of millions of people with one brush, but have you have you seen in your work any sort of ah general preferences or or things they want to do that plays into the into the service offerings you were talking about earlier? um i know we talked about like assets but is there any sort of like personality or behavioral preferences that firms should be considering?
00:23:46
Speaker
Yeah, it's it's interesting. And, you know, I mean, obviously we talked about values, right? But they want to align with the values of your firm. So when you're thinking about your brand promise and your value proposition and how you live that within the firm, they want to know what that is. That's got to be front and center in your website. In every you know conversation that you have, they've got to feel it when they talk to people.
00:24:05
Speaker
um And that transparency piece is is really, really huge. um One of the ways I see it most strikingly is when you look at who your firm works with as a center of influence.
00:24:19
Speaker
Most firms work with an estate planning attorney, a tax accountant, right? Those are their their centers of influence. When you look at the next generation, that the help that they're going to ask you for, so when you think through your service offering and who you bring into your table as a center of influence, they're asking for help around This is the where the accountability piece comes in. They're asking for help for career coaching.
00:24:43
Speaker
They're asking for help for elder care because they're taking care of, they're at that age now where they're starting to take care of their elderly parents and their children. So they're they're becoming that sandwich generation. They're asking for mental health resources.
00:24:55
Speaker
They are asking for resources to help them decide what from an educational perspective, if they go to, you know, back to grad school or they just finish paying off, you know, make that investment or just pay off their student loans. so So you have to broaden also that center of influence base of people that you can have referrals back and forth with, because they're going to come in and ask you for help in ways that they haven't asked you before, because it gets very personal. It gets when they think about their goals and when they're thinking about,
00:25:22
Speaker
The purpose of this world, you know, we talked earlier about how they, you know, maybe don't trust all financial institutions. Look what they've been raised in, right? This generation has seen the biggest land war in Europe since World War II.
00:25:34
Speaker
They were raised in the midst of, you know, how many, you know, economic crises, school shootings, all of these things. Their values are much different. They are, you've got to prove it to me. um so So understand me and what my changes are. And that's where I said, go back to that.
00:25:51
Speaker
It's so important that we learn to listen to them um instead of just talking to them. They're also much more diverse. 44% of...
00:26:02
Speaker
millennials, Gen Y, whichever you want to call them, hold themselves out to be non-white. So when you think about just the different cultural competencies that you need to start to think about, right? Certain, you know, you bring a Hispanic family and there may be a multi-generational in the room with you for and an annual review meeting.
00:26:18
Speaker
When you're talking to people that have interracial marriages, there's going to be different things that come into play around not just investments, but who they're taking care of. Are they you know Is college education a really, really important investment more so than retirement for them?
00:26:33
Speaker
That could be a value that they have. And you've got to learn about that before you're going to alienate them. So there's lot values there. Yeah, and one thing i i would add, it just anecdotally from you know my my friends and my wife and myself, is um I've always wanted someone that can, almost more of a coach, that can help me explain, here's why we're making decisions, here's why we're doing this with a portfolio, or here's why these are the right money moves, and not someone who's saying, we're doing X, Y, and Z, and just trust me.
00:27:03
Speaker
I want, you know, that the kind of... the the The current systems are so complex that I'm looking for someone to go beyond what I can Google and really like help educate, like, here's what we're doing and why. So ah that would be my two cents there.
00:27:17
Speaker
Yeah, right. this education This generation is exposed to more. They have more information than any of us. What the advisor needs to do is break through that for them and give them what's really important to them. There's so much stuff that we all hear that we don't need to know every day.
00:27:31
Speaker
Absolutely.
Addressing Blind Spots in Firms
00:27:33
Speaker
So, Kay, you're out there and in the market helping firms navigate this new frontier, if you will. i And through that experience, what are some of those blind spots you're seeing firms have when it comes to attracting millennials, right? What are those habits, perhaps, or practices, or what I call just purely blind spots? mean, the biggest thing um um I'm concerned about personally and professionally is, you know not realizing something, right? Self-awareness and so forth, it becomes a really big issue.
00:28:10
Speaker
these are These are major obstacles and they can be paralyzing for a lot of folks ah that are in the business or been in the business a while. So, you know share with our listeners what you're seeing as blind stops and maybe a couple of anecdotes around what they should be doing to help themselves to prevent that from slowing down their ability or attract to attract this next generation of investors.
00:28:34
Speaker
Yeah, I think, you know, it's it's such a great point. and And firms need to actually do that, right? Take that step back. And a lot of that goes into taking a look at your strategic plan, right? What are you doing in your strategic plan that's going to allow you to next attract that next generation?
00:28:51
Speaker
You know, I talked to advisors and I think there's a disbelief that it's now, right? it's That's in the future. Everyone's like, no, no I'll be retired before that's happening.
00:29:02
Speaker
Well, guess what? It's happening now. It's here. And the millennials are looking for help. They are looking to be ready to go to, um they're looking for that advisory help. And so I think the point is that you've got to be ready to look for them where they are. You've got to change your marketing habits.
00:29:20
Speaker
You may have to change your service offering, look at your staffing and be strategic about that. You know, 90% of firms that I talk to have 50% or more of their clients in distribution mode.
00:29:32
Speaker
And that's a shocking statistic every time I tell it to them. They're like, no, no, no, no. And I'm like, what's the average age of your client? Are they your peers? Sure, they're in there, you know, 55, 60, 65. Well, guess what now they're doing? They're taking money out.
00:29:44
Speaker
And if you have an AUM based model, you have now a declining asset. And so as you think about your succession, if you think about selling your firm and you don't have a base of growth from millennial and Gen and gen Z clients built up there,
00:29:59
Speaker
your multiples are gonna be decreased. You're not going to attract, not not only that, you're not gonna attract next-gen talent because they don't wanna come into a firm that's just working with people who are taking money out, right? They wanna, many people enter this profession because it is a helping profession and they wanna help people get better at their lives. They want to help their peers.
00:30:20
Speaker
And it's always bothered them that they get a job here and then they're the minimum is a million dollars. and they're like, my peers have $50,000. The rest is in a 401k. How do I help them?
00:30:30
Speaker
So really, I think being intentional about, is this the market that you want to tap? And again, I tell Practice Management 101, work with clients that you like and make you happy.
00:30:41
Speaker
But don't give up on them because you're not looking at the potential that is there. The reality is this is the future. And that money is already in the hands. like That intergenerational wealth transfer has already started to happen.
00:30:54
Speaker
So, you know, um this is it's a little Gen Z, but on the latest Fortune um ah Forbes list of the top 100 billionaires or whatever it is, of the thirty under Of the under 30 crowd, 90% of them are billionaires because they inherited that money.
00:31:12
Speaker
And that's one of the first shifts that they've started to see in that. It's not self-earned anymore. It's becoming inherent. And those people are out there. So if you're not thinking strategically within your firm,
00:31:23
Speaker
really about what is my hiring plan? What is my development plan to bring those people in? um And how does that align to what my firm's values are? If I'm saying I'm all in on client service, does my hiring reflect that? Does my development reflect that?
00:31:39
Speaker
All of those kinds of things. So it's really important for firms to look at that and really understand begin to develop those leadership plans, those development plans for all the different um roles that they have within the
Building Inclusive Ecosystems
00:31:53
Speaker
firm. It's not just advisory.
00:31:54
Speaker
You know, the firms are getting so much bigger now. You have to really think about, I'm running a firm. I have people in training. i have people in operations. I have people in compliance. i have people in marketing. How am I creating an ecosystem that they can all learn?
00:32:05
Speaker
and and And because millennials want to know that you're treating your employees well. And so they're going to look for examples of that. Well, I think somewhere in that answer, Kate, we have our promo material because I think you almost defined what Bill and i talked about over a year ago for what we want this podcast to be, right? Like why advisors need to be focusing on growth and and all of these things we've talked about.
00:32:29
Speaker
um It's just so crucial for for the shift that our industry is going through. um And, you know, we're we're we're coming up on time here. I mean, we could have probably made this a multi-part podcast, because it's always great to talk to you.
00:32:41
Speaker
So really briefly, what we'd like to do to sort of end these though, is um like three things, three actual items that our listeners can take. I know we covered a lot of ground, but ah let's say, you know, for firms looking to and ah incorporate next gen advisors into their business, what are some like three real quick actual items for them?
00:33:01
Speaker
um would just say, be strategic about it. Form a hiring plan that may include forming a relationship with universities to start to build the pipeline of that talent. So do that. Take a look at your development plans and assign a budget. Every employee in your firm should have a development budget assigned to them.
00:33:19
Speaker
That can be going to conferences where they can learn new things. That can be classes within your firm. That's really important. And bring them to the table. It's so important for them to sit in front of the clients.
00:33:31
Speaker
It's why they joined. it's why they want It's why they wanted to join this business. but it's going to help you. It's actually what you'll, you'll watch how smart they are and how they're going to start to help you develop new service offerings, whatever. And it's going to give you time to take that step back and figure out what your succession plan is, because that's what a lot of advisors are missing.
00:33:52
Speaker
Great. So, so be strategic, ah have a budget to support development and, and bring them to the table and, And for boomers, go go relax a little more. Go play some more golf. but let the Let the millennials take over.
Conclusion and Listener Engagement
00:34:06
Speaker
Absolutely. Maybe not all the way over, but a little bit over. Well, great. Well, thanks, Kate. Thank you so much for joining us. And for everyone listening, we hope you enjoyed today's conversation. If you like what you heard, please just take a moment to like, subscribe, share, follow us on social media, all of those good things. You would need know the buttons to c click.
00:34:25
Speaker
ah They help the algorithm. They help get us out there. So we really appreciate it. And I want to add my thanks, Kate. It was a great conversation and thank you for all your input. I hope our listeners really do take this to heart. This is not a one and done exercise and we're dealing with a very different ah but very capable generation ahead of us. So, Kate, thanks so much. I look forward to seeing you at Synergy.
00:34:49
Speaker
Absolutely. Thanks so much, Bill and Ryan. Appreciate it. Thanks for listening and watch for our next episode where we'll bring you more insights and actionable ideas to help you grow your business.
00:35:00
Speaker
And remember, the challenge is yours to capitalize on what the future offers.
00:35:13
Speaker
If you want to join the conversation or connect with us, please visit us at SynergizePodcast.com. This content is provided for general information purposes only. The views expressed by non-affiliated guest speakers are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Trade PMR or its affiliates.
00:35:31
Speaker
Trade PMR and its affiliates do not endorse any guest speakers or their companies and therefore give no assurances as to the quality of their products and services. This channel is not monitored by Trade PMR. Trade PMR does not provide investment advice, tax advice, or legal advice.
00:35:47
Speaker
Trade PMR is a member of FINRA and SIPC. Trade PMR Inc. is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission s e and the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board. msrb Trade PMR provides brokerage and account services to registered investment advisors.
00:36:03
Speaker
Custodial services provided by First Clearing. First Clearing is a trade name used by Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC. Member SIPC, a registered broker dealer and non-bank affiliate of Wells Fargo & Company.
00:36:16
Speaker
Copyright 2025, Trade PMR Inc. For a transcript of this episode with sources, visit synergizedpodcast.com.