Many advisors pursue a career in financial planning because they love the planning process—
sitting down with clients, exploring their financial situation, and customizing a plan to fit their
unique lives.

In fact, when asked what they loved most about their job, over half of the financial advisors
surveyed said it was “having the ability and opportunity to help people and provide service,”
according to a survey from FlexShares.

But unfortunately, as a result of their success, many advisors wind up working themselves out of
the planning process as they are forced to manage their own RIA and supporting team. Often,
this happens because of a desire to maintain independence and autonomy, but it results in
getting bogged down by RIA compliance and cybersecurity concerns, not to mention the
challenges of managing employees.

If you’ve become an RIA owner and find yourself stuck there, it’s time to consider your options
for getting back to what you love—advising clients. Here are three steps to help financial
advisors return to their true passion of providing advice and serving their clients.

Step 1: Imagine your ideal role.

The first step in the process is to imagine your ideal role.
Take a step back, and ask yourself: “What does my ideal workday look like?” For some, it will
be meeting with clients on certain days of the week and preparing for meetings on others. Or,
you may decide that you enjoy getting out in the community, networking, and prospecting as
you seek to grow your AUM by another $100 million. Alternatively, some advisors may choose
to employ a surge meeting strategy—bunching client meetings during specific times to boost
productivity.

Whatever the case, this is an opportunity to reimagine and redesign your ideal role as a
financial advisor.

Of course, your dream role may not happen immediately, but it’s important to get a clear vision
of what you want it to be. Remember, just like your clients need to get clear about their financial
goals to build a plan to achieve them, you must get clear about your ideal role to build a plan to
achieve it.

Step 2: Document your current role.

Next, you’ll need to document your current role.

This is important for two reasons. First, it will help you determine what needs to change to reach
your ideal role. Second, it will serve as a list of tasks you can delegate or outsource to achieve
your ideal role.

Fortunately, as a successful financial advisor, you are thorough and precise.
Use that precision as you document everything you currently do—no matter how small or trivial
a task may seem. For example, if you conduct quarterly performance reviews with your
employees, document that task. If you have to review your compliance documents annually,
write that down. Remember, by listing out every task you do, you can begin to identify what is
standing between you and your ideal role and what you need to delegate or outsource to get
there.

Step 3: Find the right partner.

Once you’ve documented your current role and identified what you want to focus on going
forward, it’s time to start looking for the right partner who’ll understand your vision and help you
grow.

Fortunately, there are a couple of different routes you can take. First, you can choose to hire or
delegate to your existing team. If the tasks you need to offload are minimal and your support
team can handle all of them, you may be able to simply delegate your undesired tasks to your
existing team. Alternatively, you may decide to hire someone to take your place as the owner.
For many, this means searching for a CEO or executive-level leader who can wear many hats
within your firm.

But, it can be challenging to find someone who is the right fit for your RIA—someone who can
take on the responsibilities you no longer wish to handle but still do a great job managing the
business.

As a result, many RIA owners turn to the option of affiliating with an existing RIA, such as
Winthrop Wealth.

This can be a powerful option for firm owners who want to outsource cybersecurity, compliance,
operations, investments, and more and get back to what they love—meeting with clients and
giving financial advice. While some platforms are more robust than others in supporting the
growth of your practice, most RIA networks will have a number of models you can choose from,
allowing you to pick the one that’s best for you, your clients, and your firm.

Ultimately, no matter the route you choose, it will take some strategic planning and work to
successfully transition out of your current role. But with some due diligence and focus, you can
ensure that your transition to the next phase of your business is a success. And with some luck,
you’ll have much more time to do the things that matter most to you.