One year into a quiet program that has already been used by more than 600 advisors who custody with it, Schwab Advisor Services announced Tuesday that it is expanding its Insight to Action practice management program to additional locations and additional topics.
The free program, says Nick Georgis (left), vice president of SAS, has attracted advisory firms of all sizes with varying levels of complexity, with “most of the firms going through the program at $200 million plus” in assets under management. In addition to the topics listed below, Georgis says Schwab is looking at adding workshop focuses on strategic marketing and growth and another “around firm productivity from business operations.” Schwab’s most recent benchmarking study found that while many advisors say they want to achieve growth, most have not charted out the specific steps to achieve that growth.
Based on all-day workshops in various cities across the country—there have been 19 such workshops conducted on a regional basis so far, and Georgis says Schwab plans 30 events next year—participating firms must prepare ahead of time for the “immersive” gathering, and depending on their strategic plans and goals, Schwab consultants will follow up with the firms to ensure accountability and implementation, with Georgis noting that it’s in that phase where customization of their plans occurs.
The expanded curriculum for the workshops addresses one of the three main topics:
- Mastering Strategic Planning
- Managing Client Profitability
- Transition on Your Terms
A fourth workshop focuses on how advisors can better levarege their technology tools, with best practices presented on using CRM programs, for example, with the ultimate goal for advisors to outline a technology action plan for their firms.
The succession planning workshop, Georgis says, is designed to help an advisor write an actual succession plan, starting with how to value an advisor’s practice, to allow advisors to “transition on their own terms” with follow-up support from Schwab for up to three months.