Advisors ranked their responses on a scale of 1-5, with 1 representing the least amount of time and 5 representing the most. Responses for each activity were then averaged for the purposes of presentation. At a high level, we note how consistent the responses are in comparison to last year’s survey results. In examination of the specific activities, we observe that client meetings/service and portfolio management remain, as one would expect, the activities on which advisors spend the most time, with average scores of 3.9 and 3.5, respectively. Client acquisition, research, and business strategy are also high priority activities for RIAs, registering responses in the 2.9 – 3.3 range and are reflective of the need to focus on the key drivers of success for an advisory practice in competitive marketplace. Taken together, the most time-consuming activities are also consistent with the top objectives displayed in Figure 1. Other activities that require a meaningful amount of time include education, marketing, and administration. Overall, these results are very consistent with services offered and outsourced functions displayed in Figures 3 and 5, and demonstrate RIAs have a keen focus on the core areas of their business while they limit the amount of time they spend on secondary activities such as back-office operations and human resources.
Next Part 8 of 9: Average Advisors' Written Plans and Procedures
