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A hiring mistake can be very costly for any organization. It can consume the owner’s time, frustrate existing employees, and disrupt client service. Many problems begin before any job postings are made. Fortunately, firms can prevent them by making the hiring process more deliberate. Here are seven common mistakes and practical ways to avoid them. 1. Hiring before defining the actual job “We need another planner” is not a job description. Does your firm need someone to prepare plans, ...
A new hire’s first day should be more than an administrative necessity. It should be the start of a new and exciting chapter in their life and career! Plus, it is the firm’s first opportunity to confirm that the employee made the right decision in selecting your organization. Firms devote considerable time to attracting, interviewing, and selecting candidates. Unfortunately, some firms then welcome their new hire with an unfinished office, no workstation or login access, a stack of forms, ...
It is cliché, but interviewing really is a two-way street. Many hiring firms walk into an interview believing their only responsibility is to evaluate the candidate. They ask questions, take notes, and determine whether the applicant is qualified for the role, which is very one-sided. As the market for experienced talent continues to tighten, expect job seekers to be interviewing with many other firms in addition to yours. They are evaluating your opportunity just as carefully as you are ...
Every year, a predictable hiring pattern unfolds across the financial planning profession. You made it through tax season and the spring surge, then summer sneaks up and flies by because clients don't want to meet, and you take a vacation. Sound familiar? Once summer is over, school starts, and clients want to start meeting again, you realize the workload from before summer was already stretching your team. So now you plan to launch a search for a new associate planner… precisely when ...
The financial planning profession attracts people who want to help others. This is why candidates seeking client-facing roles regularly cite getting involved in the client meetings as one of their top career priorities. However, some firms are hesitant to involve newer and less experienced planners with their clients… which is understandable in the spirit of wanting to protect revenue in the near term (what if the new planner loses the client!?), but can lead to recruiting, development and ...
When you are starting your career in financial planning, the common instinct is to be a versatile professional. You want to prove you can help anyone with a heartbeat and a brokerage account. There is immense value in being a generalist early on; it allows you to build a broad base of knowledge and understand the vast landscape of the industry. You might think that staying broad makes you more employable, after all, it keeps every door open. In 2026, the industry has room for both the ...
For many firm owners, hiring feels like a series of isolated, high-stakes events. A role opens, resumes trickle in, interviews happen, and eventually, hopefully, the right person is found. Then the cycle pauses until the next need arises. However, the most successful firms don’t treat hiring as an event. They treat it as an ongoing system that can start to compound. Similar to how AUM grows faster with consistency and reinvestment, so will your team if you build the right infrastructure ...
For many firm owners, hiring a new financial planner feels harder than ever. The common explanation is that there simply “aren’t enough candidates.” But in many cases, the issue is not supply, as there are many candidates trying to enter the profession as the number of CFP educational programs continues to rise, plus many more candidates in play that are seeking to leave PE-backed firms. Instead, the hard reality is that sometimes the issue is simply that there aren't many out there who want ...
In all parts of life, failing is part of learning and growing. In an effort to prevent mistakes, though, some owners closely guard client communication, restrict responsibility, and proactively intervene before anything “bad” happens. While well-intentioned, this approach slows development dramatically. New planners become observers instead of decision-makers. They gain theoretical understanding but lack practical confidence. The fastest way to build a competent, confident new planner is to ...
Most RIA firm owners we talk to genuinely want to develop their newer planners. They talk about mentorship, career paths, and “growing the next generation.” Yet many of those same firms unknowingly create a ceiling that new planners can’t break through—no matter how motivated or capable they are. The Hidden Bottleneck in Growing RIAs In the early years of a new business, owner involvement in everything makes sense. You’re the rainmaker, the lead advisor, the investment decision-maker, and ...
“Gratitude is the greatest of virtues and the parent of all the others.” Cicero Our relationships with people in our lives matter the most, but are often the most neglected. When was the last time you expressed your gratitude to someone? It may come naturally for you in terms of your clients, such as sending end-of-year thank-you letters to go out to all of your clients, expressing how grateful you are for them and how you wouldn’t have the business you have if it weren’t for them, ...
For many firm owners, the first hire is a milestone that signals real growth, the moment your firm isn’t reliant on you to do everything. It’s also one of the riskiest inflection points in your entrepreneurial journey. The right first employee can multiply your impact, deepen client relationships, and free you to focus on business development. The wrong one can add cost, complexity, and frustration. Here’s how owners can approach this critical step with clarity and confidence. 1. ...
