“You hear a lot about the war for talent, but I don’t think firm leaders take the second and third rounds of battle as seriously as the first. Recruiting smart, motivated individuals is important, but can you keep them and can you groom them into future leaders?” said Jylanne Dunne, senior vice president of practice management and consulting at Fidelity Clearing & Custody Solutions.

“Individual motivations may differ, but there are some underlying basic needs and aspirations of next generation advisors which firms are, in many ways, already capable of supporting. The real opportunity exists in formalizing this support to develop and retain top talent,” Dunne added.

Based on its latest findings, Fidelity has outlined three steps RIAs can fairly easily take to help their budding advisors progress - and not stall - in their careers, while also addressing the critical issues of succession planning and talent retention.

1) Stabilize

The young, successful advisors who participated in the study agreed that the early years of their career were challenging, Fidelity said. Variable compensation, unclear career paths and difficulties establishing a book of business were common challenges cited by one participant, for example.

RIAs can therefore help talented advisors “stick with it” by creating stability for them early on. This could include embedding new advisors in existing teams; providing training on matters such as Social Security, healthcare and pensions to help build credibility with older clients; alleviating pressures such as the burden of establishing a book of business by offering salaried positions and introducing young advisors to strong centers of influence; and providing transparency and direction from the offset in terms of how advisors are compensated.

2) Identify high performers

Fidelity said it found that potential future leaders tend to share three standout characteristics: being compassionate problem-solvers, motivated by financial planning and developing solutions but not too sales-oriented; being goal-oriented and confident in their ability to build relationships with people; and they enjoy the “thrill of the hunt.”

These individuals also tend to have taken varied life paths which led to their career, according to Fidelity. “Firms that pay close attention to the specific advisor profiles and paths can make more personalized decisions that can help align teams properly and provide incentives that may truly motivate these advisors throughout their career,” the firm said.

3) Enable top talent to excel

Once firms identify top talent, they should ensure that these advisors have the tools to achieve their goals. Given that participants in the study viewed success as financial freedom, independence, gratification and flexibility, firms can help with this by: being candid in their discussions about compensation, while providing support in marketing and business development; helping advisors serve younger investors; harnessing technology effectively; and addressing industry challenges such as the DoL fiduciary rule, the percieved shift to passive investments and the rise of “robo” advice.

“Advisors continue to switch firms and once they do, they are better paid than they were before. Firms are competing – with autonomy, profit-sharing, and education, to name a few,” said Dunne. “At the end of the day, if you aren’t investing in your top young talent, someone else will.”

Eight in-person interview sessions were conducted with 31 financial advisors in total in June 2015 for the study.