The Fact: Forty per cent of financial advisors are in some form of partnership, either with a junior advisor or other senior advisors.

The Implications: As advisors increase the size of their practices and begin to target more sophisticated clients, the argument for partnerships becomes clear. While many advisors will opt to operate as “sole proprietors”, as 57% do today, we expect to see three types of partnership emerge. We will see more junior advisors who manage a portion of a book, an increase in the number of senior advisors with different but complimentary technical expertise and an increase in the number of multi-professional firms. In the case of the latter, a senior advisor manages the business and other advisors manage the client relationships.

The Idea: You can assess whether a partnership is right for you by looking at your goals for the future, your personality and your clients. Among the key questions you need to ask are the following. Can I reach my goals with current resources? Am I comfortable sharing client relationships? Who is my ideal client and what are his or her needs in terms of products and services? Finally, am I able to efficiently deliver on this range of services on my own? You may not need a junior or partner now, but this assessment is an important part of the business planning process to help you shape your practice now and in the future.

The Next Step: The Business Success Kit provides you with the tips, tools and templates that you’ll need to enhance practice productivity and profitability. It’s the most practical and comprehensive guidebook available for financial advisors. For more information, visit www.AdvocisStore.ca and click on the Business Success Kit.