According to Deloitte, this demographic will soon affirm their status as the new drivers of consumption moving forward.

Do you have a NextGen strategy?

Veteran financial advisors should think of having a NextGen financial advisor (millennial) on their team who can connect with the children (NextGen) of their affluent clients and develop working relationships with the next generation of CPAs, attorneys and other young professionals.

This is an all-encompassing term for technology in the financial services industry; money transfers, smartphone transactions, online banking, self-directed consumer investing and much more. These financial activities will continue to expand into consumer-oriented services.

Are you current with technology that’s available?

If you haven’t already, you should be proactive about making certain your clients are aware of, and if interested, know how to use the technology available to them. Delegating a team member the task of teaching clients how to best use this technology is a good value-add that offers protection from fintech disruption.

You also want to know which fintech services, if any, your clients are currently using that are outside your purview.

Millennials have grown up in a digital world. You have web aggregators, social media, direct sellers, greater connectivity, digital communication, digital branding, and more—all competing for the services you’ve been providing.

You should consider knighting someone (millennial) on your team to be responsible for all of your team’s digital marketing. This covers the gamut of online branding, Facebook advertising, content videos, blogs, managing connections, tracking your competition, etc. This role is often handled by the same person who’s managing your NextGen and fintech initiatives.

This is one of the greatest, if not the greatest, risk factor facing the financial services industry. And your clients are hearing about it constantly.

How are you protecting your clients?

A great value-add is to conduct a handful of lunch-n-learn workshops for clients and centers of influence on cybersecurity. 

Financial advisors must be able to understand and address their client’s needs, wants and fears of today, and be prepared to continually address them in the future. Disruption will be ongoing. This is probably the most important indicator of a financial advisor’s future; using Andy Grove’s projections—rising to new heights or signaling the beginning of the end.

Do you really know how your clients feel—what they’re thinking?

Make certain that you “emotionally connect” with both the husband and wife of your top-tier clients. This is the best protection from the ongoing disruptions in your world of financial services.