Top 9 Reasons Advisors Should Outsource to a TAMP
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics data, as of May 2021, there were over 260,000 financial advisors in the US. And that number was projected to rise over the coming decade.
In a field of that size, advisors must be intentional and strategic in how they stay competitive and continue to grow their business. Throw in rapidly evolving technology platforms and increasing regulatory pressures, and advisors find themselves searching for more than a singular provider — they want a multi-faceted partnership to help them succeed.
Enter the TAMP — Turnkey Asset Management Platform. Partnering with a TAMP can save advisors time, resources, and money by being able to outsource investment management and other key functions, like technology, compliance, and other back-office processes.
For advisors looking to grow, or even those considering succession planning, we’ve compiled the top nine benefits you get by partnering with a TAMP.
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1. Offer better choices for clients.
A TAMP can give access to a wider range of investment solutions and strategies for you to serve more of your clients’ needs. A partner with the right capabilities will enable you to offer clients and prospects the advantages of institutional investment management, specialized strategies, and alternative investment options.
2. Set yourself apart from the competition.
With the range of solutions and resources of a TAMP at your disposal, you’ll be better positioned to develop a niche for yourself. You may now have access to more sophisticated institutional strategies, or tax-managed and other specialized portfolios that will enable you to focus your business on attracting and retaining certain types of clients. For example, attracting and retaining high-net-worth clients often requires having access to specialized services and expanded asset classes more readily accessible through a TAMP.
3. Be a financial advisor — not a portfolio manager.
Your clients likely rely on you to help them plan for the future — whether it’s saving for retirement, paying for education, planning their estate or charitable giving. Whatever their goals are, you help them articulate and reach them.
Partnering with a TAMP can help free you from day-to-day investment monitoring and management, giving you the time and capacity to focus on serving the needs of your clients. You can shift the day-to-day portfolio management responsibilities to a team of investment specialists, giving you the ability to sit on the same side of the table with your client.
4. Get backed by a team of experts.
When you partner with a TAMP, you’re getting access to teams of specialists in the areas of due diligence, asset allocation, and investment monitoring and rebalancing and as such, increasing your credibility and value.
In a 2021 survey done by Orion, 90% of investors agree that financial advisors should leverage external experts to help with research, strategy, investment planning and management.¹ Having a team of third-party experts behind you may give your clients an added feeling of security knowing that you’re helping them develop a financial plan and choosing experts to manage the investments for that plan. Partnering with a TAMP may help you remain in a position to provide unbiased, objective advice when it comes to your clients’ portfolios.
5. Tap into the latest technology.
As an advisor, you can choose to build and implement your own tech stack, hire someone to oversee your tech for you, or outsource it by partnering with a TAMP.
When you use a TAMP, you can leverage their tech to streamline your processes such as opening new accounts, performance reporting, recordkeeping and other functions, as well as creating better communications with clients through digital tools.
An added benefit to this ability to streamline and automate your processes is that it puts you and your business in a better position for when you’re ready to begin succession planning.
6. Position your business for what’s next.
One of the most obvious reasons to partner with a TAMP is the time it can save you. When you outsource investment management and tech, plus automate and streamline your operational processes, you’ll have more time to focus on other things, such as your growth strategy, pursuing referrals and building your business.
According to Kitces, the average independent financial advisor only spends about 9 hours a week on business development.² By freeing up several additional hours a week working with a TAMP, you can devote more hours doing the things that have the most impact on your business and your growth.
7. Make more money.
TAMPs have costs associated with them but even so, data indicates that outsourcing with a TAMP can help an advisory firm increase their profitability. A recent study of over 8,000 advisors over a 10-year period showed that those who outsourced added approximately $14.5 million in assets annually over those who didn’t. That same survey found that those who outsourced added an average of 14 new clients each year, while non-outsourcers added only four.³
8. Be a source of joy.
When advisors have more time to spend cultivating client relationships, everyone wins. Leveraging a TAMP can help you optimize your time to focus on building deeper, more meaningful relationships with clients through more in-depth understanding of their goals and objectives, more open and frequent communications, and more personalized service. Clients who feel seen and understood by their advisor are much more likely to stay with that advisor.
9. Do more of what you love.
When your business is more balanced, you can be more productive and use your time to make the most impact with your clients and your business. It’s probably why you became a financial advisor in the first place.
A more efficient business can alleviate some of the stress of having to wear so many hats and allocate time that you don’t have to solving problems or doing operational tasks. With less stress and more time back in your life, you’ll experience a better quality of life and more fulfillment in your career.
One study from Fidelity found that advisors and firms who outsourced their investment management with a TAMP, did so for the purpose of increasing their value-add to clients. As a result, they used the time it saved them to focus more on diversifying their offerings and strengthening relationships with their clients.⁴
Partnering with a TAMP might not be the right answer for every advisory firm, but there are many benefits to consider. Learn more about how Orion can help you optimize your business and build more meaningful relationships with clients.
Orion Portfolio Solutions, LLC, an Orion Company, is a registered investment advisor.
¹Source: Orion proprietary research conducted during Q32021.
⁴Source: “3 Reasons Why You Should Consider a TAMP” TradingFront.com, January 2020
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