Bob Oros: 2 Challenges Advisors Must Address Now

Despite the strength of the RIA sector, there are a few things that advisors should be doing now that many of them are not, according to Bob Oros, CEO and chairman of Hightower Advisors.

Some advisors and firms are only focused on the present and are setting themselves up for two potential major challenges down the road: serving new generations of investors and, later, passing their firms on to new leadership, he says.

Oros joined Hightower four years ago and, during that time, he has “transformed its business and culture, accelerated acquisitions, expanded services for advisors and achieved consistently strong organic growth,” according to the firm.

What has helped him is his more than 25 years of strategic and operational experience, with a track record of successfully recruiting, retaining and supporting advisors. He previously served as CEO of HD Vest, was executive vice president and head of the RIA segment at Fidelity Clearing and Custody, and held leadership roles at LPL Financial and Charles Schwab.

Via email, we asked Oros a few questions about what advisors should be doing today that they aren’t, what industry trend or competitive issue is most affecting his firm and its advisors, and more.

What are advisors at your firm not doing today that they should be doing (and want to do) for clients?

Bob Oros: Each of the 132 advisory firms in Hightower’s community have different specialties, serve different types of clients from high-net-worth to ultra-high-net worth or niche and fall into various AUM ranges.

Despite these differences, these firms and their advisors share a common aspiration: To grow and build strong client relationships. To help them succeed, Hightower creates and develops services they can choose to use on behalf of clients. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach.

For example, value-added services such as the Hightower National Trust Company enables firms to build stronger ties with clients by offering corporate and administrative personal trust services in-house. For firms seeking portfolio management support, they can access expert advice and fund offerings through our Investment Solutions Group.

And our Well-th and Well-being initiative helps provide resources for advisors to share with clients dealing with aging parents, mental health issues and more.

As for what all advisors should be doing more of today, there are two areas all firms need to be considering: How they serve the next generation of wealth and succession planning.

What industry trend/competitive issue is most affecting your firm and its advisors? What about your firm’s business growth/business building is working and what’s not?

Between an aging advisor population and the fact that one in four advisors who are expected to transition their business within the next 10 years are unsure of their succession plan, the industry certainly faces a challenge here.

There are proactive steps a firm can take to support the longevity of a business and ensure clients will continue to be served after the partner or founder retires. First, prioritize identifying and training successors. Second, play a role in your communities to ignite interest in the field. How is your firm addressing this trend?