2011 Research Study

Insights Into Financial Teams

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Executive Summary

Executive Summary It takes more than simply a team to meet the needs and wants of today’s affluent investor; it takes an “elite team.” Our research continues to tell us that the majority of financial advisors who claim to be part of a team are not much different, if at all, than advisors who are working alone. Affluent investor expectations and skepticism have placed financial advisors, whether they are on a team or solo, under much more scrutiny. They are demanding a financial professional who is not only capable of overseeing the multidimensional aspects of their family’s financial affairs, but who is also passionate about their work. You will discover as you read through this report that financial advisors on elite teams are much more likely to be “very satisfied” with their careers as opposed to advisors on teams in general. In fact, according to our respondents, financial advisors on non-elite teams are less satisfied than solo advisors. Going under the assumption that an advisor who is “very satisfied” with his or her career is also passionate about their work, this bodes well for working with the affluent. It is important to understand that today’s elite financial teams, regardless of their roots (wirehouse, insurance, accounting, etc.), have all made the necessary adjustments to excel in attracting and developing loyal affluent clients. Bringing together a group of financial advisors into an elite financial team designed to attract, service, and develop loyalty with these affluent clients is no simple task. It takes the right people, the right processes, and a commitment to continual improvement. Elite teams are relentless in making adjustments. The Oechsli Institute’s Insights into Financial Teams re-

port is a continuation of one of the most in-depth studies of teams in the financial services industry. The Oechsli Institute has conducted surveys of affluent investors, financial advisors, and teams cyclically since 1991.

Highlights The majority of financial advisors are sole practitioners. • 54 percent of financial advisors are not currently associated with a team. Of this group of solo financial advisors, only 31 percent expressed interest in either joining or forming a team within the next 12 months. There are similar numbers of vertical and horizontal teams. • 43.2 percent of our team respondents say they are part of a horizontal team with two or more equal partners. 46.2 percent report that they are a vertical team where everyone reports to the team leader. Today’s financial teams are nearly evenly divided between Independent and Wirehouse broker dealers. • 31 percent of our respondents are affiliated with an Independent broker dealer, whereas 29.5 percent are working with a Wirehouse. 13.9 percent are with Regional Firms and 11.7 percent RIAs An area that all teams need to pay more attention to is developing a strategy for working with the children (nextgeneration) of their current clients. • 57 percent of the elite teams are currently working a strategy for the next-generation, as compared to 43 percent of teams in general. Career satisfaction of financial advisors has improved; whether or not they are part of a team has no significant influence. However, being part of an elite team has a major impact on career satisfaction. • 40 percent of financial advisors on teams indicated they were very satisfied with their ca-

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Executive Summary reers as opposed to 61 percent of advisors on elite teams and 43 percent of solo advisors. What separates these elite teams from all the rest? This is the fourth in a series of team research projects the Oechsli Institute has conducted in an effort to remain current in answering this question. In this study, advisors were questioned to determine their performance in: 1. Developing client loyalty. 2. Acquiring new affluent clients. 3. Progressing through the stages of team development: Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, originated by Dr. Bruce Tuckman of Ohio State University.

Elite Team Model

In analyzing all of our research on teams, we were able to create a model representing Elite Financial Teams comprised of five components that is illustrated on this page. What we have discovered, with a touch of irony, is that because this financial crisis has put the spotlight on financial advisors it has served to validate our elite team model. Not only has it become the financial team standard over the past four years, it has enabled those teams who have embraced the model to further distance themselves from the field. Our objective is to create a prototype for teams that are interested in improving. We recognize that not all teams will be capable of achieving elite status, but it is our belief that every team is capable of raising their game. As you will discover as you read through this report, most if not all of the findings fit neatly within these five components of our team model.

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Executive Summary

Working Through the Financial Team Stages If you are involved in a financial team, the stages of development outlined in Dr. Tuckman’s model may be familiar to you. Every team goes through this progression, albeit some faster than others, with some never reaching the norming stage, much less the performing stage. You may also have noticed that just because advisors were successful as individuals, it doesn’t mean they will be successful in a team environment. The process of becoming an elite financial team requires reaching the Performing stage of development, but this is not an exclusive requirement, as you will notice that 40% reported being in the Performing stage, while only 17% achieved the level of “elite” status as this included receiving high marks regarding client loyalty and client acquisition.

and direction of their Team Leader as they once were. However, high performance still eludes them, and if the team fails to move to the next level in a timely manner, they are likely to fall back into the Storming Stage.

Performing Stage (40% of survey respondents reported being in this stage of which 17% were elite) Team members work together to achieve goals, strengthen relationships, and support each other’s efforts. Team members are able to work equally well individually, in small groups, and as a team. Their Team Leader essentially delegates, coordinates, and participates with the team. Elite status is reached when specific results for affluent client acquisition and client retention are achieved.

Forming Stage (14% of survey respondents reported being in this stage) At this beginning stage of development there is both excitement and anxiety. People are cautiously optimistic. Individual roles and responsibilities are unclear, and team members are often guarded in their interactions. Team members are totally dependent on their leader for guidance.

*Elite Teams - 17% (this is a subset of Performing)

Storming Stage (10% of survey respondents reported being in this stage) Team members frequently begin challenging each other and strained relations emerge. Members struggle through their differences and decisions do not come easily. The Team Leader’s responsibility is to resolve the conflict and focus the team’s efforts. No matter how successful a team becomes, every team must pass through this stage. The secret is to pass through it quickly.

Norming Stage (35% of survey respondents reported being in this stage) Team members learn to work in harmony. Individual roles and responsibilities become clear and are accepted. Team members work hard to reach consensus when making decisions. Commitment and unity are strong, and team members are not as dependent on the guidance

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Executive Summary

Survey Methodology This Insights into Financial Teams research project was fielded in July 2011. There were 755 respon-dents with a variety of backgrounds, industry experience and levels of success. The data collection was done through an online survey. Basic univariate results are presented directly. When statements of significance are made, they are based on the re¬sult of common statistical methods for the type of survey data and reflect the use of a 5% margin of error as a standard for measuring significance.

Elite Status For the purposes of this report, we have defined “elite teams” as those who have acquired 5 or more new affluent clients ($1 million plus) over the past 12 months per advisor, lost four or fewer clients over the past year, and have reported to be in the performing stage of development. We’ve used the $1MM+ investable asset threshold Because our affluent research tells us that clients with $1 million or more investable assets want a “go-to” financial coordinator to oversee all of their family’s financial needs (investments, protection, planning, banking, etc.). Our findings apply to wirehouse advisors, independent advisors, insurance agents, and other professionals targeting this type of affluent client. Throughout this report you will see how these measurements separate both teams and solo advisors in numerous other factors.

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General Findings

General Findings Head to Head Comparison Elite team advisors are doing a much better job than solo advisors and team advisors in general in retaining clients and bringing in new affluent clients. It is obvious that this statistically significant gap is the result of a collaborative focused effort. It is also interesting to note the difference between these groups of advisors (solo, team, elite team) regarding career satisfaction. The fact that 61% of elite team advisors reported being “very satisfied” with their career versus 40% of team advisors and 43% of solo advisors is significant. It seems that when advisors put forth the effort to be part of a unit that performs at a much higher level, career satisfaction increases as a result. It’s been our experience that advisors on elite teams tend to have more balance in their lives. They enjoy their profession, are able to mix business with pleasure, make time for their family, take care of their health, and remain involved in outside interests.

Average New Assets Past 12 Months It appears that advisors on elite teams are doing a much better job of marketing their services to affluent investors, bringing in nearly three times the assets of solo advisors and over twice that of advisors on the general population of teams. This gap would be even larger if we had pulled out the elite team numbers from the general population of advisors and teams. Advisors on elite teams have a clearly defined ideal client profile which serves as the focal point for their marketing efforts. To that end, they are disciplined around maintaining their minimum new client standards for service provided and revenue generated. Many advisors fall into two traps; they don’t have an ideal profile client, so they can’t focus their marketing effort, and they don’t have new client standards (minimum requirements), so they take on clients they shouldn’t.

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General Findings Average New Clients Past 12 Months Although financial advisors on elite teams brought in fewer total new clients, the clients they brought in have significantly more assets than the new clients of solo advisors or advisors on the general population of teams (see previous graph on total new assets). Regardless, advisors in all of these groups, including those on elite teams, should work to bring in more new affluent clients.

Career Satisfaction The disparity in career satisfaction between advisors on elite teams (61% very satisfied ) and the rest of the field (43% and 40%) raises the question; are they “very satisfied” because they are elite or are they elite because they love what they do? Most likely the answer is somewhere in the middle, these financial advisors on elite teams love what they do, are committed to excellence, and have become an elite team as a result. Clients Lost Last 12 Months It’s not a surprise that elite teams are leading the field in client loyalty, but the size of the lead should get everyone’s attention. 71% of elite team advisors lost zero clients last year versus 37% of solo advisors and 26% of teams in general. With solo advisors outperforming the general population of teams in a significant way, it appears that advisors on teams, unless the teams are elite, aren’t servicing their clients as well as solo advisors.

We also found it interesting that the career satisfaction of solo advisors had a meaningful improvement from 2009 to 2011 (29.6% to 43% reporting “very satisfied”) while career satisfaction of the general team population remained basically the same (41.6% in 2009 and 40% in 2011). It is also worth noting that solo advisors are currently more satisfied with their careers than advisors on teams, while advisors on elite teams lead the field by a wide margin.

In today’s environment affluent client loyalty is becoming increasingly more important. Our affluent research highlights the fact that word-of-mouth influence has a major influence on affluent decision making and that the reputation of an advisor (or team) is one of the key factors in their selection process. All of which points to the fact that the figures in the chart below should not be viewed in isolation as they are linked to affluent client acquisition.

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General Findings Providing Financial Organization Our affluent investor research continues to highlight the fact that today’s affluent want their financial advisor to organize all of their financial documents. While elite teams were significantly more likely to provide this service (52% versus 34% of team advisors in general and 32% of solo advisors), more advisors should be incorporating document organization into their wealth advisory process.

at the head of the class, the rest of the advisors are not far behind. At this stage the issue becomes the quality of the financial planning being performed.

Action Steps • Team leader must communicate to the team the importance of strengthening the loyalty of every affluent client (relationship management) as well as the connection to acquiring new clients (relationship marketing). If this isn’t clear, a team meeting should be held on this topic. The idea is to incorporate this into the team’s business plan and annual goals. • Develop two service models; one for top clients (platinum) and another for good profitable clients (gold). Make certain every team member is aware of the classification of each client and service model. • Assign each affluent client to a relationship manager (advisor) and a back-up. This creates structure for strengthening loyalty.

Providing Formal Financial Planning This is an area where the majority of advisors have been holding steady since 2009 when 85% of teams and 70%of solo advisors responded that they provided financial planning for their clients. Although elite teams still are

• Review the following 16 criteria (from our affluent research) that the affluent are looking for in a “goto” financial coordinator and make certain your team is excelling in each. >16 Criteria • Financial advisors on the team must develop the habit of sourcing names (identifying prospects) within each affluent client’s centers-of-influence. This is relationship marketing. • The team’s marketing efforts should mirror the core-marketing activities identified in our 2011 marketing research as having the most impact in acquiring new $1 million plus clients; strategic networking (social and civic), introductions, intimate client events, and developing referral alliance partners. This combines relationship management with relationship marketing.

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• Team leader should take the lead role in executing the core marketing activities and assign specific client acquisition goals, complete with daily action plans, for each advisor on the team. • Team leader must hold every team member accountable for performing the actions agreed upon; inspecting what is expected. • Career satisfaction will improve throughout the team by adopting this action plan and tailoring it to your team’s needs.

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Team Findings

Team Findings Currently on a Team Teams are playing a significant role in the world of financial services. However, the majority (55%) of advisors are currently not working on a team. With very little difference between solo advisors and the general population of teams in key metrics such as career satisfaction, new affluent clients acquired and client loyalty, advisors should be careful in making the decision to either join or form a team. That said, financial advisors on elite teams excel in all of the key metrics.

Stage of Team Development 40% of our respondents self-assessed their team to be in the performing stage of development, up from 31% in 2009. However, when other key metrics (new affluent clients / assets and client retention) are included, only 16.8% qualified as elite, almost identical to the 17% who qualified in our 2009 research.

Structure of Team It is interesting to note that there is little difference between the vertical and horizontal models in the general population of teams. Whereas, there is a major disparity in elite teams between the vertical (59%) and horizontal (32%) models. With team leadership such a critical performance factor in elite teams, it appears that horizontal teams may be challenged around the leadership issue.

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Team Findings Tenure with Team It is interesting to note that 40% of financial advisors responded that they have been working with their current teams six years or more and 40% claim to be in the performing stage of team development. Coincidence or not, it makes sense that the longer a financial advisor is on a team, the better he or she is able to work with the other members on the team. Still, all advisors should be working hard at collaboration and goal focus, which should accelerate their team reaching the performing stage. Also, it’s worth recalling that the performing stage of team development is only a baseline requirement for elite status, additional metrics are required. Role on Team Most of our respondents were senior financial advisors, with 59% identifying themselves as the team leader. With team leader being such a critical component of an elite team, B/Ds should consider creating training programs focused specifically on developing effective team leaders. This type of training would likely have an major impact on both improving the performance of teams in general, and in developing more elite teams.

Primary Reasons for Joining / Forming a Team When we collapse “positioning / branding” and “synergy for growth” we found that the majority of financial advisors (77% elite, 55% general) have either joined or formed teams in an attempt to accelerate their growth. However, with only 16.8% of the teams currently achieving elite status it is apparent that these expectations are not being met for many advisors. It is highly probable that this is a contributing factor for most advisors on teams having lower levels of career satisfaction than solo advisors.

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Team Findings Roles & Responsibilities With Your Team The big surprise here was that only 77% of elite teams claimed to have clearly defined roles and responsibiliteis amongst their team members. We would have thought that figure would have been higher, although this could be explained by the fact (2011 financial advisor research) that elite advisors strive for excellence and tend to be more self-critical than the average advisor. Regardless, there is a large gap between elite teams and the rest of the field when it comes to team members having clearly defined roles and responsibilities. Over half of the teams have either a loose structure or possess no definition of roles and responsibilities. In essence, many teams appear to be winging it. This is an area that all teams would benefit from improving.

Frequency of Structured Team Meetings It appears that all teams are beginning to meet on a more consistent basis. With 55% of teams meeting either weekly or bi-weekly and 68% of elite teams meeting within this structure, team meetings are becoming more of a standard fare. However, only 55% of elite teams and 47% of the general population of teams meet on a weekly basis. This is an area that could be easily improved, as weekly team meetings are important for communication, focus, and accountability amongst team members. However team leaders could probably benefit from some training on how to conduct an effective team meeting.

Performing Extremely Well in Critical Team Functions This chart illustrates how well teams perform in these important areas and it is quite telling. In each of these critical areas elite teams are outperforming the general team population with statistical signifigance. This should come as no surprise but it is refelctive of the overall commitment of the financial advisors on elite teams versus advisors on teams in general. A team that is able to perform well in all of the above team functions more than likely has an effective team leader.

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Team Findings Conduct Team Offsites Hosting a team offsite means taking the team out of the office for a period of time (afternoon, day or multiple days) to discuss team goals, strategies and action items for the coming period. In a sense, they are an extension of the structured weekly team meetings, just in a different environment with a broader agenda. Off-sites have yet to become common practice, even amongst elite teams. As more elite teams conduct either quartely or annual offsite meetings or retreats, they will become more common among the general team population. Much like holding weekly team meetings, the key is for teams to be able to conduct effective team offsites.

Strategy for Acquiring the Children of Clients Elite teams are doing a better job at working a strategy for acquiring the children of their top clients (generation planning) with 61% employing some type of strategy as opposed to 37% of the general population of teams. This is an area that every team should re-visit and it’s a perfect role for a younger advisor as there will be less chance of a generational communication gap. Younger advisors on teams, elite or not, should get more involved in the process of developing a professional working relationship with the children of the team’s more affluent clients. Team Succession Planning This is an area that all teams should address. Who is going to retire and when? Who is going to take over the lead role(s)? What will the ongoing structure of the team look like? Will the team need additional personnel to handle the work load? Will the team be sold? And the questions go on and on. With the demographics of our respondents telling us that 44% of advisors are 50 years or older and 11% are over 60, the topic of succession planning must be addressed. With only 21% of elite teams claiming to have a written succession plan in place with someone groomed to take over versus 17% of the general team population, there is work to be done by all teams. www.oechsli.com | ©2011 The Oechsli Institute. All Rights Reserved. | For Broker/Dealer Use Only - Not For Use With The Public.

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Team Findings Process for Explaining Fees Full disclousure of fees is a big issue in the eyes of today’s affluent investor. It seems as if most of our respondents believe they are doing a farily good job in explaining fees to new clients, but doing a poor job of explaining fees during annual review meetings. Because of the skepticism that today’s affluent investor holds towards the financial services industry, and the complex fee strucuture associated with financial products and services, advisors should address at every annual reivew.

• Team leader should meet with each team member and discuss the exercise of writing out their role and areas of responsibility. • Team leader should conduct a meeting with team to discuss the critical team functions graphed on page 10 of this report. Get input from all team members with the objective being to excel in all functions. • Hold structured weekly team meetings with an agenda. • Conduct quarterly one to three hour off-sites to review both team and individual performance. • Conduct an annual retreat, one or two days, to review the year, establish goals for the upcoming year, review individual performance, and for team building. • Regardless of age, develop a succession plan for the team. This is your business! • Team leader must assign affluent client generational planning (acquiring the children of clients) to a team member, preferably a younger advisor.

Action Steps • If you are in a horizontal structure, select a team leader, even if this is a year by year handoff. The majority of elite teams are vertical because the team leadership is more easily defined and usually filled by the senior advisor. • If your team has not currently reached elite status, work through the “forming checklist” document as a team.

> Team Forming Checklist

• Ask each team member describe their role and specific day-to-day areas of responsibility in writing.

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Solo Advisor Findings

Solo Advisor Findings Prior Experience Working on a Team Slightly over two-thirds of solo advisors have had no personal experience working on a team, while approximately one-third have been part of a team at some point during their career. Regardless of whether or not an advisor has had experience working on a team, any solo advisor considering forming or joining a team should review this report carefully.

Reason for Not Currently Teaming Finding the right teammate(s) is the most critical ingredient for a financial advisor to be able to form as a team, work through the stages of team development and become an elite team. Advisors who enjoy working as a solo practioner and who are interested in attracting, servicing, and developing more loyal affluent clients should consider working towards a virtual team, using experts in their community and within their B/D, to service their clients. Also, just because the industry tends to define a team as having more than one financial advisor, a solo advisor with one or more support personnel can function very effectively as a team in the vertical model. Some solo advisors have formed what is known as “viritual teams” by aligning themselves with other industry

experts who are called in on an “as needed basis” to assist in providing financial solutions for their affluent clients.

Current Administrative Support The majority of solo financial advisors are sharing an assistant with one or more advisors, while 23% don’t even have an assistant. These advisors are likely to find themselves challenged in trying to meet the expectations of today’s affluent investor and simultaneously market their services. Solo advisors must work closely with whatever level of assistance they currently have and work towards creating a one-on-one relationship with a personal assistant.

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Solo Advisor Findings Plan to Join/Form Team in Next 12 Months Solo advisors planning on either joing or forming a team should do so with great care. The primary objective should be to develop into an elite team. The reality is that 83% of teams are performing no better than solo advisors. The fact that today’s solo advisors have greater career satisfacftion than advisors on the general population of teams highlights the importance of approaching the teaming concept very cautiously.

Action Steps • If you are considering forming or joining a team, work through the “forming checklist.”

>Team Forming Checklist

• Whether you are sharing an assistant or have a one-on-one relationship, consider your current support staff to be your vertical team. Within this context, you should work through the same action steps that have been outlined for teams in this report. Apply what is appropriate. • Source outside experts that can provide specific areas of expertise for your clients. • Work to develop a working relationship with a select corps of these outside experts in a manner that they can function as your “virtual team.” • Commit to executing the core marketing activities outlined in the earlier action steps for teams.

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Demographics

Demographics Gender Men continue to dominate the world of financial services, but there are currently less female advisors on teams (2011) than we reported in our 2009 team research report (18% of team advisors were female). However, the male / female ratio amongst advisors on teams in general is similar to that of the advisor population in general; well over 80% are male.

Age Two-thirds of advisors on teams are in what is considered their prime years for productivity (ages 40 through 59). This should be an indicator that, with the proper coaching, many teams are capable of performing at higher levels, and more are capable of attaining elite status. With only 4% of advisors on teams under the age of 30 and 19% between 30 and 39, teams don’t appear to be properly staffed either for succession planning within the team or generation planning for their clients.

Length of Service The majority of financial advisors on teams are experienced, with 68% reporting to have 10 or more years of experience. When looking at both age and length of service, one could conclude that approximately 10% of advisors on teams are getting close to retirement and these advisors started in the early 1980s and went along for wild bull market ride from 1982 to 2000. During the first decade of 21st century many were asking “What do I do?” Now many veterans are in the mode of “I hate my job, when can I afford to retire?”

Type of Broker Dealer Our respondents are fairly evenly distrubuted between the wirehouse and independent channels. When you collapse regional firms with wirehouses and RIAs with independents, both groupings own a 43% share of today’s wealth management teams. However, the Independent channel has grown from 29% in 2009 to 31% today while the bank channel has gone from 15% in 2009 to 9%.

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Demographics Assets Under Management Elite teams are control far more assets than the general population of teams and solo advisors. What is of interest is the similarity between solo advisors and advisors on the general population of teams in terms of in assets under management in the $50 to $100 million range. When comparing the production of teams with the production of solo advisors, it’s important to remember that our respondents are averaging 2.5 advisors per team; elite and general team population. That said, a much larger proportion of the higher production numbers come from advisors on teams. Advisors on elite teams lead the field by a wide margin.

Total Clients If our respondents are any indication, both solo advisors and teams are working with less clients than advisors on elite teams. This is a positive trend if it is a strategic bandwidth maneuver to provide the higher level of service being demanded by today’s affluent investor. However, it might also be a result of solo advisors and advisors on the general population of teams not having the level of client loyalty and the success in acquiring new clients as their elite team counterparts.

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Conclusion

Conclusion

been swimming naked.”

This report should serve as a wake-up call for the retail arm of the financial services industry; B/Ds, insurance companies, and financial advisors alike. The gap between elite financial teams and the field is alarming. The number of financial advisors who are “somewhat satisfied” with their careers speaks volumes for the challenges they are encountering in attracting, servicing, and develop loyal affluent clients. The days of a financial advisor being rather casual about his or her career and earning a six figure income are numbered. All advisors wanting to meet the expectations of today’s affluent must be prepared to work at modeling elite financial teams.

With 66% of our respondents in their prime (40 to 59 yrs) for performing at higher levels, we remain convinced that the majority of teams can significantly improve their overall performance by using our elite team model as a road map. Yet, we don’t envision many that will be willing to make the commitment required to achieve elite status. Sadly, this is likely to continue the downward trend of career satisfaction for non-elite advisors and teams while continuing to widen the elite team gap. Because of the expectations of today’s affluent, coupled with the skepticism fueled by the financial crisis, more financial teams need to be working towards achieving elite status.

It is our suspicion that elite financial teams will continue to distance themselves from the field in terms of attracting, servicing, and developing loyal affluent clients. As elite teams continue to improve, they will find themselves with less competition. If this trend continues, the general population advisors, team or solo, will find themselves working with lower income and less profitable clients. With 17% of the general team population qualifying as elite in this study, elite teams have held steady throughout the most severe financial crisis of our lifetime (17% qualified as elite in 2007). During the same period, teams in general not only fell further behind these elite teams, but in a number of measurements they also trail solo advisors. It would be wise for all teams to use our elite team model as a prototype to work towards. These turbulent times have exposed many teams who have been attempting to position themselves as a financial team when really they were merely a loose confederation of financial advisors attempting to market themselves as a financial team. These teams have been exposed in the fashion of one of Warren Buffet’s classic sayings; “Only when the tide goes out do you see who’s www.oechsli.com | ©2011 The Oechsli Institute. All Rights Reserved. | For Broker/Dealer Use Only - Not For Use With The Public.

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About The Oechsli Institute

About The Oechsli Institute Founded in 1978, The Oechsli Institute is research based-coaching organization specializing in affluent sales and marketing that combines the academic with practical application. For over three decades they have conducted ongoing studies on both the affluent and their decision making patterns, and distribution forces and their marketing and sales tactics. Through these parallel studies The Oechsli Institute has found itself in a unique position; being able to field test the empirical data uncovered, with hands-on application through their coaching of sales and marketing professionals. Much of their work focuses on the financial industry where they have researched wealth management teams, financial advisors, managers, wholesalers, and support personnel. From this work, The Oechsli Institute has been able to create models, templates, of both elite wealth management teams and elite advisors that have become industry standards. All of their training, workshops and coaching is based on these elite models developed through their research. The goal is to help advisors and teams improve their sales and marketing efforts, modernize their service models – all while strengthening the loyalty of their affluent clients. Their training programs and financial advisor coaching have been embraced by the biggest players in the financial services industry and beyond. Because of the practical nature of their research, The Oechsli Institute has conducted numerous proprietary studies for major organizations designed to help increase the sales of their distribution forces. In addition to the ongoing research and coaching services, led by Matt Oechsli, The Oechsli Institute has a team of professional speakers who have been delivering over 200 keynote speeches and workshops for years. Research Based: This is what sets The Oechsli Institute apart from other research firms; their coaching and workshops enable them to apply their findings in the real world. Their research has become the foundation of every program; speaking about what the affluent want, and how the elite professionals are able to meet their expectations. Action Oriented: Whether it’s personal coaching, training the trainers, or Rainmaker Retreats, every program and coaching session conducted by The Oechsli Institute is driven by the principle, “activity drives the dream”. Why? Too many people get side-lined by preparation. The Oechsli Institute gets everyone learning through experience. Because everything is based on current research, The Oechsli Institute is able identify right sales and marketing actions, and make certain they are performed the right way. Much of their coaching is involves mastering the art of selling to the affluent - skill development. Street Tested: Because their research is ongoing and all their field work is action oriented, The Oechsli Institute is able to test every facet of their findings to ensure their methods are working in the current environment. Every tactic we promote has been proven successful by many hard-working professionals.

Contributors Matt Oechsli, MBA President, The Oechsli Institute [email protected]

Kevin Nichols, MBA Director of Marketing, The Oechsli Institute [email protected]

John Eatman, PhD Lead Statistician, The Oechsli Institute

David Childs, CFP® Project Manager, The Oechsli Institute [email protected]

Stephen Boswell, MBA Director of Research, The Oechsli Institute [email protected]

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