" Referrals are not‘ wrong’, but on their own, they’ re not enough."
Growing … like it’ s 2005
For all the talk of transformation, a lot of growth strategies still look very familiar.
Referrals continue to dominate client acquisition, and while valuable, they’ re not something you can easily scale- they are unpredictable and relationship-dependent.
Firms need to build client acquisition strategies that sit alongside referrals. Referrals are not‘ wrong’, but on their own, they’ re not enough.
Across the industry there is growing recognition that firms need to move beyond opportunistic growth towards building repeatable, measurable acquisition engines.
It ' s a topic that is increasingly dominating boardroom conversations- and one that will feature prominently at this year ' s Festival of Finance.
Growth is being constrained by capacity
Recent Owen James research shows that firms rate their own productivity at just 6.2 out of 10 – a 15 % decline on last year. The clearest evidence of why lies in how advisers spend their time.
On average, just 34 % of the working week is spent with clients, with the remainder absorbed by administration, compliance and internal processes.
With the average adviser now around 47 years old, making better use of existing capacity has become critical. Firms consistently identify productivity as one of their biggest operational challenges, while adviser capacity remains one of the greatest barriers to sustainable growth.
Consumer Duty has added to that pressure. While firms broadly support its objectives, many say the challenge
" Evidencing good outcomes is becoming one of the biggest drains on adviser capacity."
now lies less in understanding the regulation than in evidencing it. Producing meaningful MI, demonstrating fair value and evidencing good client outcomes have become significant operational demands, often layered onto existing processes rather than replacing them.
Ultimately, firms can ' t expect to grow if advisers spend two-thirds of their time away from clients. Until productivity and compliance become part of a more streamlined operating model, capacity will remain the industry ' s biggest constraint.
14 | The Adviser Online