Schwab Institutional Referral Workshops Help Independent Investment Advisors Grow Their Businesses
September 08 2005 - 3:00PM
PR Newswire (US)
Workshops Teach Strategies for Mining Client Base SAN FRANCISCO,
Sept. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Schwab Institutional, a leading
provider of custodial, operational and trading support for
independent fee-based investment advisors, has launched a series of
new workshops to enhance advisors' skills in generating referrals.
Schwab Institutional research has found that the top advisory firms
develop approximately one-third of their new business through
referrals from existing clients and that 90 percent of independent
investment advisors' clients are willing to refer their advisor to
friends or relatives. Recognizing that many advisors do not
incorporate proactive referral strategies into their marketing
efforts, Schwab Institutional has hosted more than two dozen
"hands-on" referral workshops over the past few months as part of
its Business Consulting Services program. In total, more than 300
advisors have attended the workshops, which are led by Bjorn
Millom, founder of the Millom Group and an expert in referral
development strategies. During the sessions, advisors learn
techniques to help access the goodwill they've developed with
clients and to make asking for referrals a regular part of doing
business. "Most clients would be happy to refer their advisor to
any number of qualified investors, but they often don't think of
it," says Tim Welsh, director of Business Consulting Services for
Schwab Institutional. "Our workshops help advisors educate their
clients as to who they can help and when, so that when clients come
upon a friend, family member or colleague with an immediate,
substantial investment need, they will think to recommend their
advisor." During each workshop, attendees learn a high-integrity,
comfortable approach for initiating referral conversations. The
attendees then call a few trusted friends or clients and put their
new skills to use. "Typically, each advisor will end up with 15-20
names from just a phone call or two, which can result in three or
four new clients," says Millom. "With a little skill, insight and
practice, I believe that advisors who have their clients' best
interests at heart will generate as many qualified referrals as
their practice can handle. By ensuring that the client is
completely comfortable with the whole notion of referrals, a
well-conceived approach should generate immediate and future
referrals." Schwab Institutional's referral workshops are part of a
suite of Business Consulting Services designed to help advisors
build and manage a successful practice. Other services include
strategic planning, organizational design, succession planning,
compliance and regulatory information, and wealth management
products and tools. About Schwab Institutional Schwab
Institutional, a division of Charles Schwab & Co. Inc., is a
leading provider of custodial, operational and trading support for
independent fee-based investment advisors. Client assets custodied
with Schwab Institutional increased 18 percent to $365 billion
between June 30, 2004 and June 30, 2005. These assets, managed by
the approximately 5,000 independent advisor firms Schwab
Institutional serves, represent approximately one-third of total
customer assets custodied with The Charles Schwab Corporation as of
June 30, 2005. About Charles Schwab The Charles Schwab Corporation
(NYSE / Nasdaq: SCH), through its operating subsidiaries, provides
securities brokerage and financial services to individual investors
and the independent investment advisors who work with them. With
over 7 million individual investor accounts and more than $1
trillion in client assets, The Charles Schwab Corporation is one of
the nation's largest financial services firms. Its subsidiary
Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (member SIPC) provides a complete
range of investment services and products, including an extensive
selection of mutual funds; financial planning and investment
advice; retirement plans; referrals to independent fee-based
investment advisors; and custodial, operational and trading support
for independent fee-based investment advisors through its Schwab
Institutional division. Its subsidiary Charles Schwab Bank (member
FDIC) provides banking and mortgage services and products.
Brokerage products and services are offered by Charles Schwab &
Co. Brokerage products are not FDIC insured, offer no Bank
guarantee and may lose value. The corporation's other operating
subsidiaries include U.S. Trust Corporation (member FDIC) and
CyberTrader(R), Inc. (member SIPC) .These companies' Web sites can
be reached at http://www.schwab.com/, http://www.schwabbank.com/,
http://www.ustrust.com/, and http://www.cybertrader.com/.
(0905-01725) IMPACT 2005 Schwab Institutional hosts the independent
advisor industry's flagship conference -- IMPACT 2005, Sep. 25-28
at the Washington State Convention & Trade Center in Seattle.
This year's conference is titled "Smart. Faster. Further: Winning
Strategies to Manage Your Business to Success." DATASOURCE: Charles
Schwab CONTACT: Lindsay Tiles of Charles Schwab, +1-415-667-3997 or
; or Tyler Bradford of Makovsky & Co., +1-212-508-9637 or , for
Charles Schwab Web site: http://www.schwab.com/
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