“Ourlifeisfritteredawaybydetail...simplify,simplify.”HenryDavidThoreau

THOUGHTLEADERSHIP

Author:WilliamJ.CerynikDirectorofBusinessDevelopmentSeniorWealthAdvisor

PR IVATE WEA L T H

Areyouabusinessownerorafinancialadvisor/planner?That’saseriousquestion.

Nowthatyourattentionhasbeengarnered,perhapssomeclarificationisinorder.

Thinkaboutit.Asafinancialadvisorand/orfinancialplanner,yourlifeisdevotedtodetail.Considerthemovingpartsofonboardingnewclients.Aligningcalendarstoschedulemeetings.Formsandquestionnaires.Privacynotices.Prospectuses.FormADVbrochures.Clientfolderprep,eitherdigitallyormanually. And,complyingwiththeDOLFiduciaryRulewillonlyaddtothelist.

Then,thereistheprocessofmanagingclientrelationships.Ifyou’reafinancialplanner,youarealwaysgatheringandorganizationclientdata.Always.Ifyoumanageinvestments,thereisrebalancinganddriftmonitoringandperformancereporting…nottomentionduediligenceandmodeladjustments.Clientscancallandpressthepausebuttononyourdayatanytimewithgenuinelylife-changingeventsforwhichtheyneedyourundividedattention.

PR IVATE WEA L T H

Yourstaffmembersmightbewitheringinadeath-by-a-thousand-cutsscenario.Theyareconstantlyhelpingyoudothingsyoucoulddoonyourown,butcan’tbecauseyoudon’tknowhowtonavigateyourfirm’ssoftwareandrecordkeepingsystemsefficiently.

Simultaneously,clientswhodon’tknowhowtoaccesstheirdata– orsimplycan’tbecauseyourclient-facingportalsaretoocomplexforanaveragepersontounderstand– canfritteraway(shamelesshomagetoThoreau) yourstaff’stimewithrepeatedrequestsforassistance.Sometimes,technologydoesn’tdeservetherighttobeexplained…toanyone…because,wellfrankly,it’snotverygood.

Whenwasthelasttimeyoureviewedeverylineofyourcommissionreportindetail?YourE&Ocoverage?Areyourcompliancefilesuptodate?Allofthem?Areyousure?Wewon’tmentionkeepingtrackofstateregistrationsandinsurancecarrierappointments .And,wedefinitelywillnotmention(again) compliancewiththeDOLFiduciaryRuleatapracticelevel.

Whoismakingthecoffeeeveryday?Whilethatmaynotbeaseriousquestion ,itcouldbe.Moreimportantly,whenwasthelasttimeanyonecheckedthedatesonpublicationsinyourclientwaitingarea?(Seriously,itwouldbeagoodideatocheckthat.Now.)

Yourlifeasacompetent,responsible,ethicalfinancialadvisor/planneriscomplex.Bydefault.But,youchosethislife,right?Yourstaffandclients,however,didnotinthatsense.Theychoseyouandyouareresponsibleforhoweasyordifficulttheirlivesare.You’realsoinchargeofyourownlife.

Ifyoumanageclientrelationshipsandownyourpracticeindependently,butdonothavethebudgetforalargestaff,youhaveotherconcerns.You’rewearingalotofhats.Alot.CEO,COO,CFO,CTO,CIO,CCO,CMO,andsomethingelsethathasyettobeconsignedtoaC-levelrole.Thebuck– everyoneofthem,infact– stopswithyou,yourbroker-dealerorcustodianorTAMPnotwithstanding.

Maybeyouhavethebudgetforasizeablestaff,butyouarecomingtotherealizationthatasizeablestaffiskillingyourbudgetandthetrendisunsustainable.Perhapsit’syourtechnologybudgetthat’skillingyouandnotyourpeoplebudget.Or,perhapsyou’rejusttiredofjugglingallthe“C”hatsandyouwantyourlifeback.

SO, SIMPLIFY.IT’STHATSIMPLE.REALLY.

1) WHATAREYOU?

Areyouafinancialadvisor/plannerorabusinessowner?Areyouafinancialplanneroraninvestmentmanager?Areyouaclientrelationshipmanageroraninvestmentstrategist?Dosomethingwell.Reallywell.Don’tdotheotherthings.Findsomeoneelse– orsomethingelse,suchasanoutsourcedvendororlargerRIAwithdeepandbroadresources– todotheotherthings.

2) WHAT’SKILLINGYOURPRACTICE?

Somethinginyourpracticeneedstochange.Ifnot,you’dbeatthetopofyourfieldandextremelyhappy.Ifyouare,congratulations!You’repartofthesmallpercentagewhoare.Forthoseinthemajority,let’stalkchange.Whatonething(ortwoorthree)wouldyouchangetomakeyourpractice– andyourlifestyle– better?Focusonthatandnottheotherthings.Ifyouneedtochangewhereorhowyoudobusiness(seelastmonth’sThoughtLeadershippiece),doit!

3) WHAT’SKILLINGYOU?

Areyoudoingtoomanythings?Thewrongthingforhowyou’reputtogether?Isyourqualityoflifewhereyouwantedittobeatthispointinyourcareerasanadvisor?Ifnot,maybeit’stimeforachange.Youhavemorepowertoinfluenceyourlifechoicesthanyourealize.However,manyadvisorsandplannersgetcaughtupinthedailytaskoftakingcareoftheirclients– that’swhyyougotintothisbusiness,right?– totheirowndetriment.Stepbackforaminute.Areyouhappywithyourlife?Canyoubreathe?Pickonethingyoucansimplifythismonth.Thenpickanothernextmonth.Soonenough,you’llmakeahabitofitandyou’llbebreathingagain.

SIMPLIFY,simplify.PerhapsThoreauhaditrightallalong.

PR IVATE WEA L T H

GoingBacktotheoriginalquestion:Areyouafinancialadvisor/plannerorabusinessowner?

Fordecades,peopleinthisindustryweretaughttobeself-made.That’sapositivetraitinmanyways.But,it’snotnecessarilyhealthyorwisewhennotbalancedwithreality.Rememberthatphrase,“earlytobed,earlytorise?”Afteryearsofself-makingself-starters,lifestyleisbecominganissueagain.

Faceit.Youcan’tdoeverything. And,perhapsit’stimetostoptrying .Ifyoutrytodoeverything,youendupdoingnothingverywell.

Inlastmonth’sThoughtLeadershippiece,wetalkedaboutsomeofthepressuressmallerpracticesarefacingfromatimeandresourcemanagementperspective.Toomanyfinancialadvisorsandplannersareoverworked.Plainandsimple.And,inthisever-opportunisticeconomy,changeisintheair.Insomecases,clientsaredemandingthechange.

Fee-onlyRIAsandRobo-advisors,bothwithfreshcropsofhappily-salariedemployeeswhoactuallyenjoylife,havecroppedupbythedozensandaresnatchingupadvisoryclientsleftandright.“Butnotmyclients!”yousay.“Never!”Denialisapowerfulpainkiller.And,whilepersonalized,relationship-drivenadvicemaynevergoaway,thatdoesn’tmeanabusinessmodelwillnevergoaway.

HELLO FUTURE. HELLO ASHTONTHOMAS.

COME HOME TO ASHTON THOMAS. WE’LL BE GLAD TO HAVE YOU.

PR IVATE WEA L T H

About Ashton Thomas Private Wealth

Someofthestrengthsandbenefitswebelievesetusapartinclude:

• Atechnologyplatformtomanageyourpracticeandserveyourclients• Accesstoinstitutionalpricingonindustry-leadingcustodialplatforms• Single-clicktradingandrebalancing• Simple,reliablereportingandtrackingforclients’investmentandfinancialplanningneeds• Over40yearsofcombinedin-houseportfoliostrategyexperienceandguidance• Afamily-oriented,warm,professionalculturewhereyouandyourclientscanthrive

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Investment Advisory services provided by Ashton Thomas Private Wealth, LLC, an SECregistered investment adviser. Securities brokerage services provided by PeachtreeCapital Corporation, an SEC registered and FINRA member broker-dealer. Insuranceproducts offered by Ashton Thomas Insurance Agency, LLC, a licensed insuranceagency. Though there are similarities among these services, the investment advisoryprograms and brokerage services offered by Ashton Thomas' advisors are separate anddistinct, differ in material ways and are governed by different laws and separatecontracts with you.

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