"It's not you, it's us."
We recently got a call from someone on the receiving end of a "Dear John" letter from her Big Name Wealth Management Firm. Why was the firm breaking up with her, you ask? She was a few million short of their new $10 million minimum.
It would be shocking if it weren't becoming so commonplace. In an era of rising demand for financial advice combined with fee compression due to innovations in the financial and technology crossover space (commonly referred to as "fintech" and often relying on artificial intelligence), many of the wealth management advisors at Big Name Firms--who have to share a sizable portion of their revenues with a parent company--are limiting their book of business to "ultra high net worth" clients who typically have $5 million or more available to invest. It may make good business sense, but unfortunately it leaves a lot of investors feeling abandoned and eager for personalized advice beyond what they can get from a robo-advisor.
We share this not to pile blame on the Big Names, but as a reminder that as more asset managers continue to increase the minimum amount of assets they require in order to do business, there are local advisors--such as those at Oklahoma Financial Center--who are happy to work with you with no minimum requirement. Instead of focusing on what you're bringing to us, we determine how we can best add value given your unique situation and goals.