Leadership Could Be The Future Of Financial Services

SAN ANTONIO -- The numbers don’t lie. The financial services industry continues to lose registered firms each year. In 2017, that decline was a loss of more than 5,000 firms, according to FINRA’s 2017 Industry Snapshot Report.

In 2022, it is projected that there will be a shortage of financial advisors – nearly 200,000 short, as reported by Cerulli Associates. Combined with the average age of financial advisors being in the mid-fifties and the industry has a lot keeping it up at night.

All of these looming hurdles aren’t keeping Mark Bonnett, partner and senior vice president with Master Agency, North Star Resource Group, awake. In fact, Bonnett knows how to fix it.

Leadership Is For Everyone

In his session, The Genus of the “AND”: Success thru the Dual Responsibility of Personal Practice and Leadership, Bonnett speaks about using leadership to save the industry, a message both NAIFA and GAMA International have gotten behind.

“I think as of late what is happening is the industry associations are feeling the pressure from carriers and from the public and from economics that we have to do things differently and we have to collaborate and work more closely together,” Bonnett said. “Otherwise, we’re not going to have a profession to lobby for.”

Using leadership as an accountability tool makes the industry all the better, he said.

“A lot of people believe that you have to have a title or be a managing partner to be a leader, and that’s just not the case.”

Bonnett, the past president of GAMA International, said there are three ways professionals can be leaders:

1. Building Others - What can we do to help others get into financial services?
2. Building Yourself - What can we do to build ourselves and our own practices?
3. Building The Business – What can we do to build financial services?

Leadership As A Catalyst For Change

Bonnett knows change isn’t easy, but he’s convinced it’s the only way to weather the storm.

“If folks want to continue to survive, or not just survive but truly thrive in the profession, that outside-the-box thinking and doing things differently and that collaboration is going to be more important than it ever has been before,” Bonnett said.

When Bonnett presents his ideas to industry professionals, he’s always presented with two responses – those who embrace change and those who don’t.

“Individuals that have been doing it the same way for a long period of time and are trying to ride this out certainly do not want to rock the ship,” he said.

For professionals with 10 or fewer years between them and retirement, this can be the case, and it can be difficult to change their thinking.

“Help people understand why they got into the profession to begin with,” Bonnett said. He believes the passion for the job will bring individuals out of short-sighted thinking.

“Most of us within this profession aren’t here just to collect a paycheck,” Bonnett said. “It’s really about the impact we’ve been able to make on our communities, individuals and in helping propel the profession forward. When you remind people of why they’re actually in this profession and our responsibility to pay it forward, it shouldn’t stop just because you’re going to be out of the limelight.”

At a time when getting new blood is difficult, getting young advisors not only in the door, but sticking around is paramount to the success of the industry.

Current financial professionals should be stepping up to mentor newcomers, he said, giving them the best chance for success and longevity in the industry by being a leader.

Millennials in the industry are eager for change, Bonnett said. “They see the writing on the wall."

While millennials in the industry are excited for the possibilities, Bonnett said older company executives tend to hamper progress.

In the face of differing philosophies on how the industry should proceed, Bonnett said, “We’re trying to be slow and respectful and understand that there’s a lot of moving pieces here, but we’re all trying to go to the same end result.”

AdvisorNews Managing Editor Cassie Miller may be reached at [email protected]. Cassie has an extensive background in magazine writing, editing and design. Follow her on Twitter @ANCassieM.

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