More millennials are turning to financial advisors as they get an early start on planning their financial future, providing opportunities for advisors to expand their client base.
The number of millennials working with financial advisors and professionals jumped from 50 percent in 2016 to 75 percent by 2020, according to the Nationwide Retirement Institute’s Advisory Authority Study released earlier this year. The survey also found that 81 percent of millennial investors have created retirement and investment plans to ensure they do not outlive their savings.
Most of the clients at Kairos Private Wealth are high-worth-individuals who are semi-retired or nearing retirement age, according to Taylor A. Bauerle, president of the fee-only financial planning firm in Lake Mary, Florida. However, his firm is increasingly serving millennials, who now comprise one-third of the U.S. population.
“Outside of my regular client base, I like to work with my peers, the 30- to 40-year-olds,” said 31-year-old Bauerle. “They may not have a couple hundred thousand dollars in a brokerage account, but they do have a good income and they want to make the right choices. My goal is to catch those people early and help them make the right decisions on home financing, credit, and debt. I'm excited about hopefully grooming some really great client relationships that will be with me for decades to come.”
Client services plays a major role in serving those customers at Kairos, a boutique firm with some 100 client families and $100 million in assets under management. Most people want a relationship with an advisor who knows them well and talks to them on the phone.
“When someone calls, the phone is going to be picked up within the first two rings, and it's going to be a human being that works in the office on the other end of the phone,” he explained. “In most instances, that person is able to take care of whatever the client needs.”
First and foremost, Bauerle said, Kairos is a planning-focused firm. When new clients come on board, the engagement begins with a comprehensive 13-step financial plan.
“We don’t just plug numbers into a guide, print out reports, and hand it to you,” he explained. “We have a 30- to 50-page customized book. We gather extensive data about every client and every aspect of their life that affects their financial future.”
The firm uses that information to create a yearbook for each client. Updated information is gathered annually from each family or individual. Then the yearbook is updated with new data, revised projection assumptions, and potential new strategies.
“Financial planning and investment advice is not just about money management,” Bauerle added. “Anybody can manage money these days; any app can do it. But that’s not where people have questions or run into issues. It's all the ancillary things: insurance, estate planning, and other considerations that make a true financial plan.”
Bauerle also suggested advisors need to have broader conversations with millennials and those nearing retirement about the many ways finances affect every aspect of your life.
“If you can get a handle on those things, put them down on paper, and identify the risks,” he added, “you can really head off problems before you run into them down the road.”
For more information on Kairos Private Wealth, visit: kairosprivatewealth.com
