Schwab Extends Consulting Program To Tackle RIA Business Complexity

Eliane Chavagnon

8 August 2012

Schwab Advisor Services is expanding its “Insight to Action” practice management consulting program to offer RIAs support and guidance on issues which the firm said often hamper successful growth and business management.

“Rapid firm growth and increasing competition have made running an RIA more complex,” said Nick Georgis, vice president of Schwab.

The curriculum - initially launched last year - is available in select cities throughout the country and covers strategic planning, managing profitability, technology integration and succession planning. So far over 600 advisors have participated in at least one of the programs, Schwab said.

Developments to the program have been informed by the firm's annual RIA Benchmarking study, which found that the “best-managed” firms - those in the top 20 per cent based on profitability, productivity and growth - have seen double the revenue growth rate and margin, and almost 50 per cent higher revenue per professional, compared with the other firms.

The curriculum

· Mastering strategic planning: The study suggests that strategic planning ranks among the top three initiatives for many advisors in the coming year;

· Managing client profitability: This helps firms analyze and optimize client profitability and determine the cost to serve clients; and

· Transition “on your terms”: Designed to guide an advisor through the process of creating a written succession plan.

As well as these sessions, Schwab has also created a workshop to tackle the technology challenges faced by RIAs. In these events, called “Driving Productivity: How Best-Managed Firms Leverage Technology,” the firm shares industry “best practices” for using a customer relationship management system.