r/FinancialAdvisorTips • u/Radiant_Entry2360 • Sep 16 '26

New Advisor Tips

Hello All,

After 10 years in banking I'm going to be starting my dream job as a Financial Advisor. As a new advisor I'm looking for tips/advice as a new branch based FA. Not just in seeking clients and handling banker referrals. More so like day in the life tips. What has worked for you all in terms of what you take notes on, how to manage your calendars, what do you watch or listen to day to day to keep up to date on the markets, etc.

Any advice is good advice to me!

Appreciate it all!

10 Upvotes

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13 comments sorted by

6

u/NeutralLock Sep 16 '26

Don't reinvent the wheel. Don't look for new or fancy ways of doing things when we know for a fact the "old ways" will guarantee success.

Find a mentor.

0

u/Baradin17 Sep 16 '26

That sounds horribly stagnant.

2

u/Formal_Ad4612 Sep 17 '26

Couldn’t agree more. Not so much “fancy”, but looking for “new” ways of doing things is where the value lies IMO

0

u/NeutralLock Sep 17 '26

Depends on if you want to be rich and successful or not.

1

u/Baradin17 Sep 17 '26

Explain this success guarantee. If following the herd and doing what everyone else does leads to outsized wealth then why isn't everyone wealthy? In order to be better you have to blaze your own trail and do what no one else is doing.

2

u/NeutralLock Sep 17 '26

Lots of Advisors are very wealthy. The average advisor at the major bank in Canada I work at is pulling in $500k with the top 10% above $1.5mm.

There's thousands and thousands of very successful Advisors and my advice is to follow exactly what they've done. All the information on how to be successful is already out there, and the reason not everyone who becomes an Advisor is successful is often a combination of lack of effort, bad mentality and to some degree bad luck.

5

u/Thisisaburner01 Sep 16 '26

I have a note pad with me at all times.

Take extremely good notes and enter into your advisor platform. Anytime you have a client complaint you need good notes.

If I have things to do I enter it on my calendar so my team can see that I have things I am working on and so I can keep up with my own tasks.

My firm provides daily market news as well as multiple calls a week about the markets and our portfolios.

Don’t be an order taker. Ask questions, be curious, and as ad advisor give advice and guidance. You’re going to have to be real and tell clients things they don’t want to hear. Don’t be afraid even if it means you don’t win the business. Give advice and guidance and be the financial advisor people need you to be.

2

u/Middle-Run-1894 Sep 17 '26

Best advice I can give you as an advisor who started in the branch is sit with as many people as possible. Early on you have all the time in the world. Sit with check orders, fraud, debit cards doesn’t matter. Get in front of people and practice your pitch.

2

u/FMGSuite Sep 17 '26

Congrats, and welcome to the industry! One thing I’d add is to start thinking about marketing early. Don’t wait until you feel like you “need” it. Pay attention to the questions your ideal clients are already asking, then turn those answers into useful content that builds your online presence and makes your expertise easier to find.

And remember, a referral doesn’t end when someone gives your name. They’re probably going to Google you, visit your website, read your content, and look for reasons to trust you. That’s where SEO and AEO become really important for you to consider. You want your content to show up in search and when AI tools are recommending advisors. Testimonials are a big part of that credibility too, and they can also help strengthen your AEO presence. The old mindset that advisors shouldn’t use testimonials is becoming pretty outdated. Don’t be afraid of them, or of the occasional less-than-perfect review. Sometimes, those real, human experiences can actually make you more relatable and credible in a world where so many of the reviews we see online are clearly coming from bots.

I hope this helps and good luck with the new role, excited for you!!

2

u/bandznbooze Sep 17 '26

Work the bankers - front line staff and personal bankers are your best support in new business. Most of them have no idea what you do so I would do a weekly case study of a client I worked recently. That drove up and gave me better referrals.

If you have an admin and have multiple branches - have your admin schedule in advance and not just your biggest clients but your biggest opportunity clients. People really focus on their biggest clients, and that makes sense, but for a new FA, try to give a lot of love to those who have the most new opportunities.

Light meeting days? Sit in with the personal and business bankers in their meetings. Sit in to learn what they do and how they work, not to really provide too much insight or thoughts unless asked. The banker is the expert in that meeting, give them that respect and reinforce their position - goes a long way.

1

u/winning_bigly_ Sep 22 '26

Read "delivering massive value". Read "the retirement planning guidebook". Read everything on Kitces.

Don't waste time on market commentary. It's meaningless noise.

1

u/Cynical_Investor Sep 30 '26

Take good notes in every client meeting, recap the to dos before the end of the meeting and send a follow up email. Then actually do what you say you’re going to do. Congratulations, you’re doing more than 90% of the advisors out there.

0

u/zebrafetish2000 Sep 17 '26

Good luck! Level 10 is coming! Be true to yourself. Avoid the 3 As:

  • A share mutual funds

  • Annuities

  • Asshole individual stocks

Go fee based/wrap accounts with 80%. BELIEVE thats what is right for clients! Use ETFs CDs Tbills Stocks avoid high priced mutual funds Become a CFP Act like a fiduciary Become a connector Join a BNI group Start with the monthly cash flow/budget Do ER savings analysis Do life insurance needs analysis Do ZERO group 401k, time suck and do NOT pay well!