By Colin Higgins, CEO of Summitry
We had just celebrated our 20th anniversary as a firm. I, along with the other leaders of Summitry, a $3 billion RIA based in the San Francisco Bay area, had begun to engage with potential partners that would enable Summitry to scale and support us in providing our clients with a truly comprehensive suite of wealth management services for generations to come. Our primary goal was to find a partner that would allow us to remain independent and retain our brand identity, while building upon our success over the past 20 years. Ultimately, we chose to partner with Aspen Standard Wealth because of their commitment to being a permanent partner for successful RIAs like us and to invest in our future. Now that a year has passed, we are incredibly glad we did. However, for that partnership to be successful, we first needed to ensure our clients were on board and shared our enthusiasm for what was to come.
That’s easier said than done, as many of our clients have been with Summitry for years, if not decades. They needed convincing, as one should when your wealth and legacy are on the line. So, we took this responsibility seriously and acted upon the following steps to communicate with our clients to ensure they were not only appropriately informed, but more importantly excited about what was in it for them.
It all starts with your internal team
Before communicating with any clients, no matter how important they are, make sure your internal team understands your plans, particularly the reasons behind your desire to partner with another firm. The first call a client will make after being informed of a pending transaction will likely to be to their advisor. It’s essential to ensure that advisor or client service staff member can clearly and compellingly communicate why the pending union will benefit everyone involved, especially clients.
Another key lesson learned is to introduce the leadership of the acquiring firm as soon as possible for a meet and greet with your team. Relationships are key in this business, no more so than when two firms are coming together. Start that relationship off on the right foot by bringing the teams together for some meaningful trust building, alignment and bonding time.
Take the time for one-to-one conversations
Yes, it will take a lot of your valuable time, but I can’t stress enough the importance of having as many one-on-one conversations with your clients as possible to explain why you are choosing to partner with another firm, and how they will ultimately benefit. Your clients will undoubtedly have questions and will want confirmation that the advisors they work with and the client experience they’ve grown accustomed to will not change. Reassure them of that (assuming true) but also get them excited by detailing the additional services and resources they will have access to.
Reinforce your firm’s long-term vision
It’s easy for clients to get caught up in the “what” and “how” of the transaction and lose sight of the “why.” It’s crucial to remind clients of your firm’s long-term vision. Emphasize that the new partnership is not an endpoint, but rather a step forward in your ability to deliver on your mission for generations to come. Reiterate the core values that built the client relationship in the first place and show how those values are not changing, but instead are being reinforced with new resources, talent, and capabilities. By keeping the focus on purpose rather than process, your clients will better be able to see the continuity in your commitment to them.
Be transparent on fees
It should come as no surprise that many clients will want to know the impact of a new firm owner on their fees. Whether or not your fee structure will evolve or stay the same after an acquisition or merger, transparency is key. Be up front and as clear as possible with your clients about how fees will be structured and if that may differ from the current arrangement.
In the end, the success of any new partnership comes down to trust, the same trust that has been built over years, even decades, of guiding clients on their financial journeys. By communicating with honesty, empathy, and clarity, RIA leaders can help ensure that clients not only understand the reasons behind a transaction, but also feel confident in the firm’s continued commitment to their goals. At Summitry, our experience reaffirmed that transparency and genuine dialogue are key to strengthening client relationships. When clients understand that change is driven by a desire to serve them how they want to be served for many years to come, they don’t just stay with you; they grow with you.
