Advisor Business Plan

What is the business model for financial planner retainer services?

The Retainer Model is the ideal way to successfully structure your financial planning business. The industry has been reluctant to let go of the AUM model, an old-faithful that until recently was seen as the eternal standard. The reality is, an AUM model is simply not profitable when it comes to younger clients. It doesn’t take an expert to see that an asset management structure is redundant when it comes to servicing those without assets. While some Gen X and Y clients may have a large net worth, the most common story is that their assets will not be liquid in a way that will allow you to manage them profitably.

By instituting the Retainer Model, where pricing structures are based on the client paying a monthly fee, you are speaking directly to a market that has income to spend on financial planning but does not necessarily possess the traditional asset set of their parents’ generation. The greatest advantage of this is that you can set up a relationship with younger clients from early on in their professional lives, allowing you to grow with them financially. In the past, financial planning was thrown in as a bonus to asset management. With this model, financial planning becomes a standalone service that can be the core of your business. At last, you will be compensated for what is essentially the baseline of your work as an advisor—financial planning.  Read more about the financial advisor value proposition for retainers.