Mistakes Wealth Management Advisors Make When Moving

By Genie Fletcher 
This is why when wealth managers meet with a finance industry recruiter they are advised to make sure the move is as seamless as possible, meaning that clients understand what is happening ahead of time, are kept abreast with a quick note during the process, and that they do not get any negative surprises in the process.
This applies to the financial advisor who moves from one company to another, as well as to a wealth manager who decides to convert his focus to caring for family offices.
Mistake #1: Announcing a Move Before it is Final
One advisor who is a client of ours was all set to move from his current firm - a large bank - into a leadership role at a private equity firm. He succeeded in all of the interviews, made a great impression, and had just accepted his employment package. Emotionally, he was gone.
However, the firm was going to have him start at the beginning of the year - 2 months away. When December came he gave appropriate notice to his supervisor and then began to speak freely about the move to clients. It was that week that that firm fell under investigation for securities fraud and later closed down.
It made him look very foolish, and clients couldn't help but question his judgment.
Mistake #2: Not Announcing the Move When it is Final
Another person we know was able to make a very successful move. However, he had failed to communicate the change to his clients. When they received statements the only thing they could conclude was that something was wrong. After all, they always banked with ABC, not XYZ.
It all ended up being okay, but it was a lesson in customer service that wouldn't be forgotten.
Mistake #3: Losing Sight of Customer Service
Moving takes a lot of time and energy, so it is understandable that one may find him or herself in a whirlwind, but for clients who feel as though they have lost access to you, they may wonder why they are with you, especially if they get bogged down in the day-to-day fluctuations of the market.
A simple way to resolve this before it occurs is to make sure that clients receive your new contact information. This should be done by email and through the mail. For those who have 100 clients or less, it would be a great idea to reach out by phone to each of them over the course of a week. The calls will take just a minute or two for the most part, but it's also an incredible opportunity to get to know them better to solidify the relationship.
Wealth managers can do just about anything once they have earned their stripes. However, the skills involved with managing wealth also include managing relationships, which is what everything is built upon.