If you want to really connect with next-generation clients, or you want to build a pipeline of future affluent clients, that means creating an efficient, profitable way to serve less affluent clients now and grow with them.

The monthly retainer or subscription fee model for clients is a very different, unique business model in and of itself. Being able to go to clients and say, “Wouldn’t it be nice if you could work with a financial planner in the same way that you would any other coach or trainer, where they simply charge you an on-going fee from your credit card or

I charge a one-time onboarding fee of $1,500 which covers the first 2 months of service. I then charge an annual retainer (billed monthly or quarterly). The annual retainer is $2,400 for a single person and $3,600 for a married couple. My fees for investment management are 0.75% on the first $1M and 0.5% afterward.

Advisors must absolutely believe that the value of the financial planning they provide is worth what that client is going to pay for it. Here’s the good news: financial advisors who provide comprehensive financial planning services for $100 to $200 per month give clients thousands of dollars of value in exchange.

We suggest checking out these books and blogs to help flush out your knowledge around financial planning for the next generation and the monthly retainer model: Nerd’s Eye View (https://www.kitces.com) XYPN’s Advisor Blog (http://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/ advisor/blog) Behavior Gap (http://www.behaviorgap.com) So You Want to Be a Financial Planner

Younger clients are dealing with issues like student loans, cash flow, debt management, buying houses, having babies, getting married, getting divorced, starting businesses – all things that Baby Boomer and retired clients generally don’t deal with (and certainly not all at once). Don’t work with next generation clients just because you think

AdvicePay, a payment processing company created specifically to help financial advisors running the monthly retainer model, offers a solution that is easy to use and compliant. Read more about AdvicePay in the next section of this chapter.

This becomes a question of “how do you actually build a viable, sustainable, profitable fee-for-service model to serve younger clients that sees them as profitable today and not just in the distant future?” The answer? Implementing the monthly retainer model, or said another way, doing financial planning for a monthly subscription fee. Next

But beyond being a strategy for long-term growth and success, serving younger clients provides you with a huge opportunity for growth right now. Financial planning for next-generation clients is such an untapped marketplace! Because Gen X and Gen Y clients have the income but not the wealth or assets to buy a lot of traditional financial planning