PLANADVISER - March/April 2021 - 35

to a benefits and insurance broker, " Pottichen explains.
" While it is helpful, the access and scale itself goes only so
far. Scale itself is not enough. What does make a big difference
for us as we sell is how holistic and responsive we
can be as advice providers and consultants. The primary
theme that's driving our business forward is the marriage of
health and wealth. I've been on this train since we were first
acquired by Alliant. Our vision is that health and wealth are
not church and state-it's one issue. "
Westminster Consulting does not have the same inherent
incentive or ability to cross-sell health care services or insurance
services to its clients. Rather, Patton says, the firm
engages in discussions about the health care plan or other
ancillary benefits in its direct capacity as an independent
fiduciary plan consultant.
Patton says his firm must do this to remain competitive
in a landscape being so fundamentally and rapidly altered
by mergers and acquisitions (M&As).
Collectively, dozens of sizable acquisitions of well-established
plan advisory firms have been enacted in the last
several years, by the likes of OneDigital, Hub International
Ltd., Marsh McLennan and others. All of these groups are
already helping their new advisers deliver a holistic package
of " health and wealth " services-comprising traditional
retirement plans, health savings accounts (HSAs), ancillary
insurance products, financial wellness solutions and more,
both to existing clients and prospects.
In discussing why her firm chose to sell to Hub, Barbara
Delaney, founder of StoneStreet Renaissance (SS/RBA), in
Pearl River, New York, emphasizes the back-office efficiencies
that let her focus much more on business development
and on building increasingly holistic relationships with
existing clients. In addition, she cites Hub's broad employee
benefits capabilities, especially with respect to HSAs and
financial wellness tools. She says being able to efficiently
deliver such services presents a clear advantage in today's
marketplace, given that financial leaders at companies want
a rational benefits strategy-not a jumble of disparate products
and services.
This may seem like a daunting competitive environfor
an independent
ment
firm such as Westminster,
Patton says, and he points to a clear need for his firm to
step up to the challenge. That said, he is confident that a
small advice-only shop such as his does have a role in this
emerging ecosystem.
" For starters, I would point to the importance of delivering
financial wellness with a model that still includes
that human interaction, and we can provide that profitably,
in part because of the increased acceptance of digital
meetings, " Patton says.
By taking travel out of the equation and keeping people
in the office, Westminster can provide financial wellness
services at scale. It can also take the time to talk about the
bridging of wealth to health in a way that responds nimbly
to client needs. " That's the future of how we deliver these
services, " Patton says.
" It won't always have to be in person, I believe. The new
" The primary
theme that's
driving our
business
forward is
the marriage
of health
and wealth. "
acceptance of digital
meetings, largely due to
COVID-19, is very significant
in this discussion. "
he says. " If you think
about having to put two
coaches on a plane, and
you add the cost of a
hotel for a couple of days
and paying them for
all that time, it doesn't
work financially. Using
digital tools, that is no
longer such a problem. "
Pottichen agrees
that varied approaches
to delivering
wealth services " will be
possible, to suit advisory firms' different styles, whether or
not they affiliate with a bigger provider.
" I'll say that many of the top recordkeepers are coming
out with their own HSA products, and some are even doing
white-label HSA products, " he says. " They're also offering
flexible spending accounts [FSAs] and group life insurance
embedded into the 401(k) platform. There are new product
sets and platforms for advisers and consultants to take
advantage of, even if they can't provide some of these things
from under their own roof. "
The Demographics Connection
Another adviser in similar shoes to Pottichen is Daniel
Bryant, who co-founded Sheridan Road Financial, in Northbrook,
Illinois. He transitioned his advisory shop into Hub's
private wealth and retirement business in 2018. That experience
has already made a few things clear, he says.
" To be successful, every adviser should be operating with
some understanding of the interconnectivity of financial
fitness, emotional well-being and health wellness, " Bryant
says. " These three things are completely tied together from
the perspective of the employer, and advisers have to understand
and embrace that fact to keep their clients and to win
new business. "
Whether an adviser affiliates with a benefits provider
or not, he can make clear to employers that wellness at
work is not about paternalism, Bryant says. " My view is that
the adviser can always help the employer understand the
demographics of its employee base, which can then help it
pick the right tools and services for that demographic. "
" For example, the adviser can help determine that you
probably don't want to prioritize a retirement income planning
solution at a startup tech company that has a very
young employee base, and, by the same token, you don't
want to prioritize a student loan repayment option at a
blue-collar employer with relatively few college grads on
the payroll, " Bryant continues. " The adviser, whatever kind
of firm he works at, can be the strategic voice and help
employers sort through all of this. " -John Manganaro
" health/
planadviser.com March-April 2021 | 35
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