Financial Advisor: How To Answer The Question "Whom Do I Serve?" September 21, 2015 by Kristen Luke Advisor Perspectives welcomes guest contributions. The views presented here do not necessarily represent those of Advisor Perspectives. Many financial advisory firms come to me looking for a specific problem to be solved: marketing, staffing or profitability, to name a few. My experience is that usually the problem is a symptom of another, more fundamental issue. To uncover the true cause of the issue, I ask firms who their clients are. Nine times out of 10, I hear one of two answers: (1) pre-retirees or retirees with $1 million or more in investable assets; or (2) high-net-worth individuals. When probed for specifics, I’ll hear “delegators,” “people who aren’t jerks” and “people who want to build relationships.” When I hear answers like these, it’s a red flag that a firm is not clear on who they serve best, and this issue is most likely a fundamental cause of the symptom they are coming... More