No Result
View All Result
SUBMIT YOUR ARTICLES
  • Login
Thursday, October 30, 2025
TheAdviserMagazine.com
  • Home
  • Financial Planning
    • Financial Planning
    • Personal Finance
  • Market Research
    • Business
    • Investing
    • Money
    • Economy
    • Markets
    • Stocks
    • Trading
  • 401k Plans
  • College
  • IRS & Taxes
  • Estate Plans
  • Social Security
  • Medicare
  • Legal
  • Home
  • Financial Planning
    • Financial Planning
    • Personal Finance
  • Market Research
    • Business
    • Investing
    • Money
    • Economy
    • Markets
    • Stocks
    • Trading
  • 401k Plans
  • College
  • IRS & Taxes
  • Estate Plans
  • Social Security
  • Medicare
  • Legal
No Result
View All Result
TheAdviserMagazine.com
No Result
View All Result
Home Financial Planning

5 tips for virtual financial advisors

by TheAdviserMagazine
5 months ago
in Financial Planning
Reading Time: 6 mins read
A A
5 tips for virtual financial advisors
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LInkedIn



Zoom calls and screen sharing may feel like the norm for many financial advisors these days, but the rise of virtual advising is still a relatively new development in the world of wealth management. 

Before the pandemic, just 13% of clients met with their advisors virtually, according to research from YCharts. By 2024, that figure increased by nearly threefold, with 38% of clients saying they meet with their advisors virtually.

The COVID-19 pandemic may be the catalyst that ignited that trend, but advisors say the shift to virtual practice is here to stay.

Even with the rapid growth of virtual advising over the last five years, the industry is still at an early “inflection point” in the journey toward digital practices, said Aaron Cirksena, founder and CEO of MDRN Capital in Annapolis, Maryland.

READ MORE: In a virtual world, advisors need to curate their digital personas

“We wanted to get ahead of it, because I saw [the change] back in 2023 when I made the full shift [to a virtual firm] and I said, ‘I’m just doing away with office space,'” Cirksena said. “The whole reason was because … I asked my in-person clients who lived five minutes from my office if they wanted to come back in and meet with me in person, and 80% of them said, ‘No, we’ll just keep doing Zoom meetings. It’s easy.'”

That preference for virtual meetings is especially strong among wealthier clients. Asked about how they would prefer to meet with their advisor, 43% of clients with more than $500,000 under management said they prefer virtual meetings, according to YCharts research.

“The wealthier people, the ones we typically deal with, they value their time over everything,” Cirksena said. “They don’t care where the best person is. They don’t care about meeting or shaking hands with the best. They just want somebody that they view as being the best, most knowledgeable in any job that they’re going to hire somebody for, and they want to make sure that they are getting to spend their time as efficiently as possible.”

Advisors say that getting started in a virtual firm can be relatively simple compared to a brick-and-mortar operation. But simply operating a digital firm is different from excelling in it. For advisors looking to kick their digital practice into the next gear, here are five things to know about operating a successful virtual firm.

Find your niche (but don’t overthink it)

Serving a niche clientele can benefit most advisors, whether or not they’re virtual. But when a virtual advisor finds themselves competing with other advisors from across the country, differentiating themselves through a niche specialization is vital.

Still, advisors who have been successful in the virtual advising world say going hyper-specific isn’t always necessary.

“I kind of feel like I did a pseudo niche,” said Autumn Knutson, founder of digital-native firm Styled Wealth. “I work with impact-driven individuals. And sometimes people say, ‘Well, what is that?’ A lot of times, people have an understanding of what that is. That understanding varies, I will admit, but most people have their own understanding of what that is. And if that resonates with someone, then we may be a very good psychographic fit.”

READ MORE: The rewards financial advisors find working with niche clients

For virtual advisors like Knutson, working in a niche isn’t just for marketing purposes, it’s also a way to ensure her firm is attracting clients it wants to work with.

“I want everyone … to find a good fit, but that fit is not always me,” she said. “And so I’ve tried to niche and be very intentional for people to know who I am, what I’m going to provide, what the experience is like.”

A good tech stack is vital

Virtual advisors can often forgo traditional costs like commuting and office space, but one place they spare no expense is their tech stacks.

“Tech is what I spend the most money on,” Knutson said. “I care very much that it’s well-fitting to the experience that I want, to the efficiencies I care about.”

READ MORE: Ask an advisor: What AI tools are financial advisors using right now?

Tech is far from exclusive to virtual firms, but the capabilities the two kinds of firms need can necessitate different software, advisors say. CRM and custodian options that work well for a local firm may not translate well to a virtual practice. Cirksena, who used BNY Pershing as a local advisor, made the switch to Altruist after going virtual.

“Altruist has worked very, very well for a fully virtual advisor. Their platform is excellent,” he said. “It’s all digital account opening and everything.”

“There’s nothing that we can’t do virtually … that somebody can do in person,” Cirksena said. “You just have to think about what you would do in every aspect of the job if you were in person. And then you need to think about, ‘Does that need to change in some small way, doing things virtually?'”

Market with more than ads

Marketing on a national level is no small task for virtual advisors. At MDRN Capital, which had roughly $150 million in AUM in 2024, Cirksena said they spend close to $500,000 a month on marketing.

“We know what our client acquisition costs are, so we know that those are profitable dollars for us to spend,” Cirksena said. “But it’s different when you’re marketing on a national scale. You’re not competing with the Edward Jones office that’s down the street, or the local independent guy who’s down the street. You’re competing against Fidelity. You’re competing against Fisher Investments, Creative Planning, Vanguard, Mariner Wealth — like those are the ones you’re competing against, essentially.”

Marketing on platforms like Facebook and Google can become a major expense for many virtual advisors, but competing on a national scale also requires that advisors do more than simply buy ads. Creating finfluencer-esque content that provides value to viewers can be an effective way to accomplish that, advisors say.

READ MORE: Fiduciary standard drives client trust in advisors: Cerulli research

“If you put out good content and you don’t ask for anything in return … people will find it,” Cirksena said. “And when they eventually are at the stage that they’re looking to work with an advisor, if they’re open to working with somebody nationally, who’s the first person they’re going to think of calling? They’re going to think of the person that they’ve seen or heard who added value to them, and who didn’t ask for anything in return for the value that they gave them.”

Alongside sharing things like educational content, advisors say authenticity is key to marketing in a saturated market.

Tim Witham, founder of Balanced Life Planning in Villa Hills, Kentucky, said that even a simple video on his homepage has helped clients connect with him.

“They’re like, ‘We loved what you had to say. You were very laid-back,'” Witham said. “It wasn’t a perfect video. It’s kind of weird, clients actually appreciate that you’re human, and it’s not like super edited.”

Knutson followed a similar style when writing the copy for her website.

“I spent a lot of time … on the copy of my website, making sure it’s my voice and not just something that looks pretty,” Knutson said. “I’ve gotten numerous times people say, ‘Oh, I met you and you sound like your website,’ because it’s my voice, it’s my words, it’s my heart, and that’s my storefront.”

Put on your listening ears

Beyond the technical work of financial planning, advisors say that connecting with clients on a personal level is essential to creating strong relationships. Virtual advisors don’t have the benefit of sitting across a table from a client or going out to lunch with them, but advisors like Knutson say that deep, intentional listening can go a long way toward closing that gap.

For Knutson, she creates that connection by “naming curiosities” in conversations with her clients, asking questions like “What was that pause about? Can you bring me into what was going on in your head?”

READ MORE: Do clients trust you? Depends on who they — and you — are

Even simple things — like looking into the camera properly on a video call or communicating promptly — can make a big difference in creating a sense of trust with a client, Knutson said.

Creating that trust over virtual calls can be more difficult with older clients. But Cirksena said that age isn’t as big a barrier as it’s often made out to be when talking about advising clients virtually.

“Is there going to be a small percentage of people who are over 75 years old, who wouldn’t want to open a Zoom meeting? Maybe. But everybody now, between the ages of 55 and 70 even, 90-plus percent of them are totally comfortable with opening a Zoom meeting,” Cirksena said.

Utilize asynchronous communication

Advisors are often thinking about what they can do to make their virtual practice mirror a local one, but digital-first advising also provides the opportunity to advise clients in ways that local planners rarely utilize.

Knutson and Witham both use forms of asynchronous communication with their clients as a way of differentiating their firms.

READ MORE: Compliance teams have their 👀 on emojis

For busy clients, Witham said he will record a video of himself reviewing a client’s financial plan and send it to them, so they can watch it in their own time. After watching the video, Witham and the client can have a more efficient call that saves the client time.

“I live my target niche. I am my demographic, which I think helps me a lot. I’ve got three kids — two are going to be in high school, and one’s on the way. So like, my evenings are insane,” Witham said. “Having to think about, ‘Hey, I gotta meet with a financial planner to go over my plan,’ can be really freaking hard to try to find the time to do that.”



Source link

Tags: advisorsfinancialTipsvirtual
ShareTweetShare
Previous Post

Defining IT’s Role In A Seismic Shift

Next Post

Qualcomm Collaborates with UAE-based Telecom Company e& to Develop 5G, AI Technologies

Related Posts

edit post
How to keep your AI use from violating industry rules

How to keep your AI use from violating industry rules

by TheAdviserMagazine
October 29, 2025
0

Advisors using AI could take a big step toward regulatory compliance if they began every query proposed to ChatGPT or...

edit post
Inside the New AmEx Centurion Lounge in SLC

Inside the New AmEx Centurion Lounge in SLC

by TheAdviserMagazine
October 29, 2025
0

American Express just opened a new Centurion Lounge at Salt Lake City International Airport on Oct. 28, 2025. Located in...

edit post
AI investment risks beg for diversification

AI investment risks beg for diversification

by TheAdviserMagazine
October 29, 2025
0

The largest stocks' artificial intelligence correlation and concentration are fueling the risk that the technology firms investing in chips and...

edit post
UBS reports .6B outflows amid advisor exits

UBS reports $8.6B outflows amid advisor exits

by TheAdviserMagazine
October 29, 2025
0

UBS' Americas wealth management arm saw an $8.6 billion exodus of client assets in the third quarter, a stark reversal...

edit post
Top Sale Items You Can Donate to Your Local Food Bank

Top Sale Items You Can Donate to Your Local Food Bank

by TheAdviserMagazine
October 29, 2025
0

With food prices rising everywhere, it can feel harder than ever to give back — but helping your local food...

edit post
Oasis CEO uses AI to create financial plans, stock analyses

Oasis CEO uses AI to create financial plans, stock analyses

by TheAdviserMagazine
October 29, 2025
0

Oasis Group CEO John O'Connell had just used AI to run an analysis meant to help hypothetical clients decide if...

Next Post
edit post
Qualcomm Collaborates with UAE-based Telecom Company e& to Develop 5G, AI Technologies

Qualcomm Collaborates with UAE-based Telecom Company e& to Develop 5G, AI Technologies

edit post
Unlocking strategic investment opportunities in a key Eurasian economy

Unlocking strategic investment opportunities in a key Eurasian economy

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
edit post
77-year-old popular furniture retailer closes store locations

77-year-old popular furniture retailer closes store locations

October 18, 2025
edit post
Pennsylvania House of Representatives Rejects Update to Child Custody Laws

Pennsylvania House of Representatives Rejects Update to Child Custody Laws

October 7, 2025
edit post
What to Do When a Loved One Dies in North Carolina

What to Do When a Loved One Dies in North Carolina

October 8, 2025
edit post
Another Violent Outburst – Democrats Inciting Civil Unrest

Another Violent Outburst – Democrats Inciting Civil Unrest

October 24, 2025
edit post
Probate vs. Non-Probate Assets: What’s the Difference?

Probate vs. Non-Probate Assets: What’s the Difference?

October 17, 2025
edit post
California Attorney Pleads Guilty For Role In 2M Ponzi Scheme

California Attorney Pleads Guilty For Role In $912M Ponzi Scheme

October 15, 2025
edit post
TAQA to sell 250MW lignite power plant to India’s MEIL Energy

TAQA to sell 250MW lignite power plant to India’s MEIL Energy

0
edit post
High Dividend 50: Cross Timbers Royalty Trust

High Dividend 50: Cross Timbers Royalty Trust

0
edit post
By All Means, Elect Mamdani and Watch His Socialist Laboratory at Work

By All Means, Elect Mamdani and Watch His Socialist Laboratory at Work

0
edit post
US to reduce tariffs on China to 47%

US to reduce tariffs on China to 47%

0
edit post
Groww IPO: Top 5 early investors to pocket Rs 4,340 crore, set for up to 5,135% windfall as fintech unicorn readies for listing

Groww IPO: Top 5 early investors to pocket Rs 4,340 crore, set for up to 5,135% windfall as fintech unicorn readies for listing

0
edit post
The Best New Skills to Learn to Future-Proof Your Career

The Best New Skills to Learn to Future-Proof Your Career

0
edit post
TAQA to sell 250MW lignite power plant to India’s MEIL Energy

TAQA to sell 250MW lignite power plant to India’s MEIL Energy

October 30, 2025
edit post
By All Means, Elect Mamdani and Watch His Socialist Laboratory at Work

By All Means, Elect Mamdani and Watch His Socialist Laboratory at Work

October 30, 2025
edit post
The Best New Skills to Learn to Future-Proof Your Career

The Best New Skills to Learn to Future-Proof Your Career

October 30, 2025
edit post
How Millions of Retirees Get Honest Answers to Medicare Questions — for Free

How Millions of Retirees Get Honest Answers to Medicare Questions — for Free

October 30, 2025
edit post
High Dividend 50: Cross Timbers Royalty Trust

High Dividend 50: Cross Timbers Royalty Trust

October 30, 2025
edit post
Trinity Industries GAAP EPS of alt=

Trinity Industries GAAP EPS of $0.38, revenue of $454M (NYSE:TRN)

October 30, 2025
The Adviser Magazine

The first and only national digital and print magazine that connects individuals, families, and businesses to Fee-Only financial advisers, accountants, attorneys and college guidance counselors.

CATEGORIES

  • 401k Plans
  • Business
  • College
  • Cryptocurrency
  • Economy
  • Estate Plans
  • Financial Planning
  • Investing
  • IRS & Taxes
  • Legal
  • Market Analysis
  • Markets
  • Medicare
  • Money
  • Personal Finance
  • Social Security
  • Startups
  • Stock Market
  • Trading

LATEST UPDATES

  • TAQA to sell 250MW lignite power plant to India’s MEIL Energy
  • By All Means, Elect Mamdani and Watch His Socialist Laboratory at Work
  • The Best New Skills to Learn to Future-Proof Your Career
  • Our Great Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use, Legal Notices & Disclosures
  • Contact us
  • About Us

© Copyright 2024 All Rights Reserved
See articles for original source and related links to external sites.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Financial Planning
    • Financial Planning
    • Personal Finance
  • Market Research
    • Business
    • Investing
    • Money
    • Economy
    • Markets
    • Stocks
    • Trading
  • 401k Plans
  • College
  • IRS & Taxes
  • Estate Plans
  • Social Security
  • Medicare
  • Legal

© Copyright 2024 All Rights Reserved
See articles for original source and related links to external sites.