Zoe Lawford, an online marketing associate at Blossom Wealth Management, outlines some of the ways she believes wealth managers can stand out in the crowd in today's competitive environment.

The period after the 2007/2008 global recession is an interesting one for wealth managers in the US. Not only is the industry experiencing more assets under management according to the Financial Times, but there are also more unique demands from high net worth individuals. These investors now include families, salaried professionals and non-residents.

Making the client feel special

With these emerging challenges, financial advisors are being forced to come up with unique strategies that are aimed at offering more comprehensive investment solutions. A case study is Emily Bach, executive director and wealth advisor at Morgan Stanley’s Orinda office in California. For the ninth year in a row, Emily has been recognized as among Barron's Top 100 Women Financial Advisors in America.

During a recent interview Bach told The New York Times that the only secret her team uses to achieve so much is the ability to make a client feel special. The success of the financial advisor is all about personalized service and enhanced customer experience. By going an extra mile, the Orinda office has achieved much more than by using any other approach.

Creating family and business histories

Another case study is Karen McNeill, head of family history at Ascent Private Capital Management. As a specialist in history with a PHD from Berkeley University, McNeill now uses this expertise to help high net worth individuals create family and business histories.

Although a non-investment service, what McNeill is offering can unify families and help them make important financial decisions. By offering such a specialized service, McNeill has distinguished the company from the large crowd of financial advisors in the country.

Leveraging unique strategies to retain clients

With the industry still evolving, it is time to leverage some of the unique strategies that successful wealth managers are offering to retain customers.  Wealth managers can capitalize on some of these tested and proven approaches to retain clients:

1. Financial advice to children

This is one of the most overlooked aspects of wealth management and if your clients have children or even grandchildren you can spice up your service by offering them free advice. This is a win-win situation that will help you keep this client while transforming their children into future high net worth individuals and potential clients.

2. Concierge service

Clients need to get what they want and more. Your wealthy investors are used to the best things in life and when they come to your office they expect the same kind of treatment.  It is easy to retain these clients if you pamper them and satisfy their preferences to the minutest detail. You must stand out by recording everything a client needs and offering it in your meeting area. 

From room ideal temperature to their favorite beverage, you must invest in these luxurious services to assure the client that indeed you can handle their vast investment portfolio. Going for a round of golf with a client or even taking them for a boating experience adds value to the services you are offering and there is no reason not to do it.

3. Comprehensive management services

The role of the wealth manager is moving away from the ordinary advisory role. Successful wealth managers are now offering a holistic approach to wealth management that cuts across a client’s life.

Whether they want to know if leasing or buying a car is a better option, or if they want to build a house without selling any assets, you should be ready to give a viable solution. From helping with insurance queries, tax planning to retirement planning, the contemporary wealth manager must be ready to do it all and much more.

4. Future perfect services

As a financial advisor continues developing new services to meet growing needs, the client will come up with even more problems to be sorted.  This makes it necessary to have regular meetings and retreats to provide an enabling environment for all these issues to be discussed.

These meetings can take the form of a dinner party where the entire family meets with these financial experts to come up with the best possible solution.
These value-added services are bound to revolutionize the industry and while they might come at a higher fee, a wealth manager is assured there will be someone out there who needs them.