PLANADVISER - November/December 2018 - 29

Audience Poll
Team Building
Which of these solutions or services do you feel
you're most likely to integrate into your practice
moving forward?
n Multiple employer plans
n Better provider technology
n Better pricing structures
n State-facilitated auto-IRA plans
n Better plan design
n Third-party administrator model
65.6%
18.8%
9.4%
3.1%
3.1%
0%
The " Team Building " panel explored
the various ways a retirement advisory
practice can expand. Citing data
from Ann Schleck of Fi360, Joseph Lee,
senior vice president, head of retirement
platforms and strategy at First
Eagle Investment Management LLC,
said only 17% of teams are " elite. "
They get there first by " forming, then
by storming, norming and, finally,
performing, " he said.
" Once they get there, they are
has already made-namely, keeping its
current adviser. "
Another consideration both panelists
shared was that an adviser will
see more success in the process if it
has some type of advocate or center of
influence within or associated with the
employer conducting the RFP.
" If we hear from an employer
just through an RFP who has never
contacted us otherwise, this makes it
seem more like a due diligence process
rather than a real, honest RFP, " Hanna
said.
Practice Efficiencies
Speaking on the " Practice Efficiencies "
panel, David Griffin, founder and
owner of Atlanta Retirement Partners
LLC, said hiring the right people
is the first step to achieving practice
efficiencies. " When I started, I was
doing everything myself, " Griffin said.
" I realized I needed to supplement my
weaknesses with someone who has
those strengths in order to make me
more efficient. "
Griffin found a candidate who
was employed by a recordkeeper and
making six figures. He negotiated
with the person by offering $65,000 in
salary plus the perk of working from
home. The following year, he hired
another person, from Principal. This
allowed him to focus on sales, while
his staff handled Excel spreadsheets
and requests for proposals (RFPs).
" Getting people in the right role
improves client service, " he said. It also
enabled him to move his profit margin
from 30% to 60%, which then allowed
him to lower his fees. Additionally, he
said, he uses a Colby screening process
to determine people's strengths. " This
can help organizations be more profitable, "
he said.
Joseph DeNoyior, managing partner
with Washington Financial Group, said
he also uses Colby screens, not to hire
people but to ascertain how best to
communicate with his staff. " It helps
us to better manage human capital in
order to best serve clients, " he said.
" Once every six months, we have
each team inventory what they do
every week, " DeNoyior said. " Our CFO
[chief financial officer] then analyzes
these functions to figure out what positions
or services we need to fill. "
Besides this, Washington Financial
Group offers three different service
tiers to clients. " This allows us to
deliver consistent service, " he said.
One way the practice ensures that
it can deliver consistent service should
a team member be out of the office is
to have team members trade jobs for
a day. " It also gives them an opportunity
to suggest how their peers could
be doing their jobs more efficiently, "
he pointed out. DeNoyior suggested
yet another way to achieve efficiencies:
Have multiple retirement plans
operate off the same platform.
humming on all cylinders, " he said,
remarking that elite teams advise 44%
of all of the plans in the nation and
92% of the assets. " They have achieved
excellence in effectiveness and efficiencies, "
he observed, noting
that
their average assets under advisement
(AUA) per adviser is $1.33 billion and
average plans per adviser is 25.6. These
teams divide up roles by having some
members focus on running the practice
and others on selling and business
development, he said.
Answering a question from moderator
John Ludwig, a financial adviser
with LPL Financial, about what a practice
should focus on first when trying
to expand, Eileen Greenspan, senior
vice president with Sentinel Benefits
& Financial Group, said, " Client-facing
positions. We are, after all, in a relationship
business. "
In addition, it is important to have
a strong " back-office team, including
analysts, who can provide incredible
support, " she said. From there, " as you
grow your team further, add members
who can spend time with participants
to educate them, " Greenspan said.
" That's how we developed our team. "
Ludwig then asked Bill Rice, director
of adviser development at Pensionmark
Financial Group LLC, what aspects of a
team can be centralized at the home
office. Rice agreed with Greenspan
that client-interfacing staff are important
and that these employees can be
centralized, along with salespeople.
" One way to grow is to bring on
additional people, yourself, " he said.
" Another is to look at affiliation models
or acquisition models. "
-Lee Barney and John Manganaro
planadviser.com November-December 2018 | 29
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