We would love to hear from you. Click on the ‘Contact Us’ link to the right and choose your favorite way to reach-out!

wscdsdc

media/speaking contact

Jamie Johnson

business contact

Victoria Peterson

Contact Us

855.ask.wink

Close [x]
pattern

Industry News

Categories

  • Industry Articles (21,155)
  • Industry Conferences (2)
  • Industry Job Openings (35)
  • Moore on the Market (414)
  • Negative Media (144)
  • Positive Media (73)
  • Sheryl's Articles (800)
  • Wink's Articles (353)
  • Wink's Inside Story (274)
  • Wink's Press Releases (123)
  • Blog Archives

  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • August 2009
  • June 2009
  • May 2009
  • April 2009
  • March 2009
  • November 2008
  • September 2008
  • May 2008
  • February 2008
  • August 2006
  • Acute Shortage Of Top Advisors

    March 25, 2013 by Charles Paikert

    If you haven’t had to fill any vacancies in a while, your next job posting may offer a rude awakening.

    Recruiting and hiring experienced, client-facing advisors with ultra high-net-worth experience is extremely difficult right now, with demand high and supply low, say a number of executive search specialists.

    Although the job market for all advisors is robust, the talent shortage among firms catering to extremely wealthy clients is particularly acute. That’s good news for advisors, but a problem for firms hoping to expand. “The higher up you are on the food chain in terms of the size of your clients and the size of your business, the more choices you have,” saysDanny Sarch, president ofLeitner Sarch Consultants.

    A recent study by the Family Office Exchange cited “the relative scarcity of top-tier client facing talent” as a “key operational challenge” for multi-family offices and wealth advisors.

    The talent drought is causing firms to pay more, take more time to fill positions and consider giving equity to new hires, according to executive search and wealth management executives. The tight market is also forcing high-end wealth firms to start grooming younger, less experienced relationship managers.

    ACUTE SHORTAGE

    While a shortage of top client-facing talent is a perennial problem for high-end wealth advisors and family offices, the market is particularly constricted this year, say industry executives.

    While the economic recovery has improved equity markets and increased assets under management, firms have also been making a greater effort to retain their experienced relationship managers. That has further constricted the job market, as potential candidates say they have stopped looking around.

    In fact, less than half of executives surveyed last month byKathy Freeman, who heads an executive search firm inSan Luis Obispo, Calif., said they would “consider an opportunity” outside the firm they currently work for. That’s a stunning drop of 30 percentage points from the 78% who answered that question affirmatively in 2009.

    SOARING COMPENSATION

    Total compensation for top client-facing talent is now nearing$1 million, industry sources say; even below that top tier, firms serving the wealthiest clients are now paying$400,000 to $800,000. And executive searches for those candidates now frequently take six months and beyond, up from two to three months, according to recruiters.

    “The market for those who have the complex set of skills necessary to work with high- and ultra high-net-worth clients and wealthy families has expanded and the development of talent has not kept up,” says Freeman, who specializes in finding client-facing executives for wealth managers around the country.

    To attract talent, firms will need to “offer equity more frequently and act more decisively than they have in the recent past when a compelling candidate has been identified,” according to Freeman’s 2013 survey,Attracting and Retaining Human Capital.

    In fact, Freeman says, clients sometimes prefer equity to up-front compensation. “People are willing to step back in cash to get equity and a bigger piece of the payout down the line,” she says. “But it’s not just about economic opportunities. These executives want to believe in a company and its vision.”

    In addition to offering more money and equity, family offices and wealth management firms are also offering potential hires forgivable loans and more freedom on the job, saysJane Swan, the former head of search firm giantKorn/Ferry International’s wealth management division.

    “It is a sellers’ market, and relationship managers are looking for independence and access to the right investment solutions as they service their clients,” says Swan, who is currently setting up her own firm.

    Firms also need to move fast when they find the right candidate, warns Freeman. “If the right fit comes along, they can’t just sit there,” she says. “There aren’t going to be two or three other candidates who are just as good right behind them.”

    MIDMARKET ADVISORS

    Advisors serving less affluent clients can also bargain from a position of strength, saysMindy Diamond, president and chief executive,Diamond Consultants.

    “If someone generates$700,000 in revenue and has$100 million in assets, their transition package won’t be as large,” Diamond says. “But it’s still a sellers’ market for them.

    “There isn’t a firm around who wouldn’t want to hire that person if their assets are growing, their compliance record is clean and they are a quality individual,” she adds.

    For high-end firms, however, the job requirements are even more restrictive. “People we can comfortably put in front of a billion-dollar family and their legal, tax and banking advisors and not have to worry are extremely rare,” saysGreg Curtis, chairman of Greycourt & Co., a family office inPittsburgh with$10 billion in assets under management and an average client size of approximately$160 million in investable assets.

    “Talent has always been the limiting factor in the growth of a firm like Greycourt,” Curtis says. “We interview about half a dozen top people a year, get far down the road with one or two, and almost never close the deal.”

    DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES

    Some high-end firms, such asManchester Capital Management, have begun in-house programs to train younger advisors to assume more sophisticated relationship management skills.

    Manchester has made a point of bringing in bright young professionals in their mid-20s, often at the recommendation of clients, saysMurray Stoltz, president of theNew York firm. The firm puts these “next generation” advisors on teams where they can observe senior executives and begin to interact with clients.

    By the time advisors are in their early 30s, Stoltz says, they are “pretty capable” and ready to “ramp up to the next level” to take on client-facing responsibilities. “It’s proven to be a very powerful program and mutually beneficial for everyone.”

    The shortage of experienced talent has also pushedGreycourt to “grow our own,” says Curtis.

    “We typically hire someone with an MBA and/or a CFA who already has about five years of experience, then train them in-house,” he explained. “The result is that we currently have four generations of client advisors.”

    He explains the breakdown: “G1 and G2 include me, our CEO and the majority of the members of the management committee, guys in their 50s. G3 are younger advisors in their 40s who work with smaller clients or back up more senior advisors on larger accounts. And G4 are people in their 30s who sometimes attend client meetings but are mainly competing to become client advisors.”

    Originally Posted at InsuranceNewsNet on March 19, 2013 by Charles Paikert.

    Categories: Industry Articles
    currency