In Practice December 6, 2012

Advisers Need to Automate Workflows

Financial advisers need to create a Starbucks client experience to drive profitability and growth, according to a white paper on client service. 
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“The Rise of Automated Workflows in Financial Advisory Practices: Why Developing a ‘Starbucks’ Client Experience is the Key to Sustainability, Profitability and Growth” sheds light on how advisers can design and automate client service workflow to create a consistent and outstanding client experience. The paper was released by Fox Financial Planning Network (FFPN).

The industry report documents how the independent adviser industry evolved from a start-up mentality that has led to many firms not developing the core systems, workflows and infrastructure necessary to provide a consistent level of service efficiently. This issue is leading to capacity constraints for advisers at exactly the same time that macro-forces, such as Baby Boomer retirement, are driving a growth curve their way. 

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Other industry-wide issues fueling the need for a more consistent and efficient operational foundation include changing compliance mandates, the growing urgency for succession planning and the complex and more time-consuming operating environment for providing financial advice.

Many advisers and their staff spend most of their working day reactively instead of proactively, because they lack well-developed systems and operating procedures, said Deborah Fox, chief executive and founder of Fox.

The solution is to adopt systematized workflows for providing a high level of service similar to providers such as Starbucks, according to the report. “At the heart of that service experience is a detailed set of workflows and checklists that are consistently executed upon,” Fox said.

“The Rise of Automated Workflows” provides a detailed roadmap for advisers to use to design workflows and automate them through their CRM systems, including several specific examples in flow chart form. “We’ve taken the best ideas, systems and technology from our nearly 30 years in the business and are providing them to the profession as a resource,” the report said. “We strongly believe in giving back to the profession, and FFPN has been specifically designed to help advisers take control of their businesses and build a strong foundation for future growth and profitability.”

The report, first in a series of practice management resources from FFPN, is available on the www.FoxFinancialPlanningNetwork.com website and can be downloaded at no cost by clicking on the whitepaper download box on the home page.

Data & Research December 6, 2012

Boomers with Pensions Still Face Uncertainty

While Baby Boomers participating in pension plans may feel more flexibility around their expected retirement date, nearly half still expect to retire with debt.
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More working Baby Boomers with pensions indicate they are more likely (56%) to retire at or before the traditional age of 65 than those without pensions (39%), according to a Fidelity Investments survey. Forty-eight percent of all Boomers—regardless of whether they expect to retire with a pension—anticipate retiring with debt from some of life’s typical demands; primarily mortgage payments followed by credit cards, car payments and student loans of their own, of spouses or of children.  

Regardless of whether they have access to pension payments in retirement, seven in 10 retired boomers said they wished they had done more to save for retirement during their working years. One in five retirees with pensions acknowledged they did no planning before retirement, with half (51%) indicating they only began planning just a year or more before retirement.   

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The majority (58%) of those surveyed said they were not familiar with the procedures and requirements involved in setting up pension payments upon retirement.  

As more companies are offering current and former employees participating in a pension plan a lump-sum distribution option in lieu of a future traditional annuity payout, the Fidelity study found 63% of employed Boomers would roll all of their pension assets into an individual retirement account (IRA) or 401(k) if given the choice or required to take a lump-sum. Sixteen percent would roll some of it into an IRA/401(k) and use some to purchase an annuity and just 6% would purchase an annuity with the entire amount.   

“What to do when offered a lump sum payout is a personal decision, making it critical that individuals seek help from a financial professional to fully understand their options and the potential impact on their overall financial plan,” said Ken Hevert, vice president at Fidelity Investments.   

The study was conducted among 1,018 Baby Boomers either working in or recently retired from corporate jobs.

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