Fram’s Wealth Management Practice works with clients across the UK. From family offices, private banks, and DFMs, to SME financial advisers, we’ve been fortunate enough to have a ringside seat in watching some of the most innovative wealth managers grow. Growth isn’t easy, if you’re able to generate new clients, if things really take off, the challenge is ensuring that high standards of client service don’t slip. After all, one of the cornerstones of boutiques is their first-class client service. As your firm grows, it’s imperative that this differentiator isn’t lost.

As firms transition and grow into larger enterprises, and more people are brought in, we sometimes see individuals who are reluctant to give up certain aspects of their role. Another scenario we see is the “everything hire”. Short of budget, or long on ambition, firms try and hire someone to simultaneously cover two or three functions. Now we’re not saying it sometimes isn’t possible to find people who can wear a couple of hats, but finding that person, having choice over the cultural fit of that individual, and their ability to undertake multiple roles well, is debateable. In most situations, firms end up waiting forever for their “everything hire” and the business continues to drown under issues as they wait.

Today I want to make the argument for defining key functions within the wealth management and having specialist and narrow roles. Each team focusing on a distinct aspect of the wealth management process. More of a meticulously crafted assembly line, which improves efficiency, enhances client outcomes, and maintains a competitive edge in the market. Picture a manufacturing facility where every worker is assigned a specific task, whether assembling components, conducting quality assessments, or packaging the final product. In wealth management, specialised teams operate in a similar vein, with each member contributing their expertise to collectively deliver outstanding service.

The obvious functions within the wealth manager are:

Sales & Marketing, who are charged with promoting the firm’s services and attracting new clients. Through targeted marketing campaigns and strategic sales initiatives, these teams drive growth and fortify the firm's reputation within the market. In smaller firms, understandably client acquisition falls to front office teams (investment managers and planners). Within larger firms, front office teams should be winning clients through referrals and attending events, but the real engine of growth should be smart marketing. This frees up front office professionals to focus on the next step.

Relationship management and advice, the more time front office professionals spend delivering advice and managing relationships, the better the client outcomes. Target leads from sales & marketing reduce their “wasted” hours on prospecting which of course in turn maximises their capacity to manage clients. Happy clients lead to more referrals this virtuous circle continues.

A first-class paraplanning service and admin team is essential to the operation of any successful wealth manager. We feel firms would be surprised how often poor quality paraplanning (long lag times for reports coming back to advisers or reports full of mistakes), are cited as reasons for advisers looking for a new role. The same can be said for a poor quality, or clunky, client onboarding process. Making sure that these teams have well documented processes for service delivery and standard operating procedures for client care are key. Also, the clearer the processes, the easier it is to integrate new hires.

Strong infrastructure such as compliance, training & competence, and finance are all there to safeguard the business and to equip colleagues to excel in their roles. These functions need to strike the balance between being business enablers, who seek to build strong relationships with the wider business, while providing robust safeguards for the business.

Far too often, we see a mishmashing of the above roles where one person can be responsible for aspects of many of these tasks without ever mastering any of them. One overlooked benefit of a separation of functions, is the clear career paths it can give employees and the opportunity for them to build valuable specialised knowledge. However, what it also does, is to make hiring easier for the firm. It’s often easier to find someone with a skillset, rather than every skillset. It’s easier to train and integrate new hires, and clients benefit from experts working on their behalf at every step of the wealth management process.

Wealth management is rapidly changing, and many firms are thriving. It’s a sector full of entrepreneurs, but each step in the growth journey needs to be carefully considered to ensure that the highest standards are maintained and growth doesn’t become a painful exercise.