In January 2009, I conducted a practice management survey of IMCA members. The results of that survey were published in a paper I wrote called, From Pain to Gain: How To Capitalize On the Opportunity of A Lifetime, which appeared in the Spring 2009 issue of the IMCA Monitor. This slide presentation summarizes the results. You can access the article at http://www.stevesaenz.com/from-pain-to-gain-how-to-capitalize-on-a-once-in-a-lifetime-opportunity.html

1. IMCA 2009
Practice Management Survey
How to Capitalize On A
Once-In-A-Lifetime Opportunity
Stephen A. Saenz
IMCA 2009 Practice Management Survey, Designed Administered by Steve Saenz | SteveSaenz.com

2. Advisor Sentiment
Question 1
To what extent do you agree
with the following statements?

3. I am surprised at the magnitude of dislocation we have seen in the financial markets
35%
30% 29%
25%
20%
20% 19%
15%
12%
10%
5% 5%
5% 4%
2% 2% 2%
0%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
STRONGLY DISAGREE STRONGLY AGREE

4. I am surprised at the magnitude of dislocation we have seen in the financial services industry
30%
27%
25%
22%
20%
20%
15%
10%
8%
7%
6%
5% 4% 4%
1% 1%
0%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
STRONGLY DISAGREE STRONGLY AGREE

5. Recent events have caused my clients to lose confidence in me
40%
36%
35%
30%
25%
23%
20%
15%
12%
10%
7%
6%
5% 4% 4% 4%
2%
1%
0%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
STRONGLY DISAGREE STRONGLY AGREE

6. Recent events have caused my clients to lose confidence in my firm
25%
23%
20%
15%
12%
11%
10% 10%
10%
8%
7%
6% 6% 6%
5%
0%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
STRONGLY DISAGREE STRONGLY AGREE

7. Recent events have led me to question if the principles
of modern portfolio theory and capital market assumptions still hold true
20%
19%
18%
18%
17%
16%
14%
12%
10% 10%
10%
8%
8%
6%
6%
5% 5%
4%
4%
2%
0%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
STRONGLY DISAGREE STRONGLY AGREE

8. Going forward, the financial markets will be better off
as a result of going through this period of dislocation
20%
19% 19%
18%
18%
16%
15%
14%
12%
10%
8%
8%
6%
5% 5%
4% 4%
4%
2%
2%
0%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
STRONGLY DISAGREE STRONGLY AGREE

9. Going forward, the financial services industry will be better off
as a result of going through this period of dislocation
18%
16%
16%
14% 14%
14%
12%
12%
10% 10%
10%
8%
7%
6% 6%
6%
5%
4%
2%
0%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
STRONGLY DISAGREE STRONGLY AGREE

10. When it comes to the financial markets, I am very optimistic about 2009
30%
25% 24%
20%
15%
15% 14%
13%
12%
10%
10%
6%
5% 4%
2%
0%
0%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
STRONGLY DISAGREE STRONGLY AGREE

11. Recent events have presented me with a significant opportunity to grow my business
25%
23%
20%
19%
18%
15%
14%
10%
8%
6%
5%
5%
2% 2%
1%
0%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
STRONGLY DISAGREE STRONGLY AGREE

12. I am confident that I know how to capitalize on that opportunity
25%
23%
20%
18%
15%
14%
13%
11%
10%
8%
5%
5%
4%
2%
1%
0%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
STRONGLY DISAGREE STRONGLY AGREE

13. Recent Challenges
Question 2
How challenging have the following
issues been for you during
the past six months?

14. Helping my clients deal with declining portfolio values
25%
23%
20%
19% 19%
17%
15%
14%
10%
5%
4% 4%
0% 0% 0%
0%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
LEAST CHALLENGING MOST CHALLENGING

15. Preventing my clients from abandoning their investment plans
25%
21%
20%
15% 15%
15%
13%
12%
11%
10%
5%
5%
4%
2%
0%
0%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
LEAST CHALLENGING MOST CHALLENGING

16. Deciding what changes to make in my clients’ portfolios
18%
16%
16%
14%
13% 13%
12%
12%
11%
10%
10%
8%
8%
7%
6%
6%
4%
2%
2%
0%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
LEAST CHALLENGING MOST CHALLENGING

17. Getting my clients to act on my investment recommendations
16%
15%
14%
14%
13% 13%
12%
11%
10%
8%
8%
7% 7%
6%
5%
4%
2%
2%
0%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
LEAST CHALLENGING MOST CHALLENGING

18. Making sense of the underlying factors that led to recent events
18%
17%
16%
15%
14%
12%
11%
10% 10% 10%
10%
8%
8%
7% 7%
6%
5%
4%
2%
0%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
LEAST CHALLENGING MOST CHALLENGING

19. Explaining to clients the underlying factors that led to recent events
18%
17%
16%
14% 14%
14%
13%
12%
10%
10%
8% 8%
8%
6%
6%
5%
4%
4%
2%
0%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
LEAST CHALLENGING MOST CHALLENGING

20. Dealing with “headline risk” (bad news about your firm or the industry)
30%
25% 24%
20%
15%
11% 11% 11%
10% 10%
10%
8%
7%
6%
5%
2%
0%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
LEAST CHALLENGING MOST CHALLENGING

21. Managing my own stress
20%
18%
18%
16%
15%
14%
14%
12%
12%
10% 10%
10%
8%
7% 7%
6%
4%
4%
2%
2%
0%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
LEAST CHALLENGING MOST CHALLENGING

22. Helping my team members deal with stress
14%
13%
12% 12% 12%
12%
11%
10%
8% 8%
8%
7% 7%
6%
4%
2%
2%
0%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
LEAST CHALLENGING MOST CHALLENGING

23. Dealing with the financial impact on my personal wealth
20%
18%
18%
16%
15%
14%
12% 12%
12%
11% 11%
10%
8%
8%
6%
5%
4% 4%
4%
2%
0%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
LEAST CHALLENGING MOST CHALLENGING

24. Maintaining a positive attitude
20%
19%
18%
16%
14%
13% 13%
12%
11%
10% 10%
10%
8%
8%
7%
6%
6%
4%
2%
2%
0%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
LEAST CHALLENGING MOST CHALLENGING

25. Helping my team maintain a positive attitude
18%
16%
16%
14%
12% 12%
12%
11% 11% 11%
10%
10%
8%
7%
6%
5%
4%
2%
0%
0%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
LEAST CHALLENGING MOST CHALLENGING

26. Future Priorities
Question 3
Looking ahead to calendar year 2009,
how important are the following
objectives to your business?

27. Significantly increasing net new assets
50%
46%
45%
40%
35%
30%
25%
20% 19%
15%
12%
10%
8%
6%
5%
5%
1% 1%
0% 0%
0%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
LEAST IMPORTANT MOST IMPORTANT

28. Rebuilding client confidence in the markets
35%
31%
30%
25%
20%
17% 17%
15%
12%
10%
10%
8%
5% 4%
1%
0% 0%
0%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
LEAST IMPORTANT MOST IMPORTANT

29. Rebuilding my own confidence in the markets
18%
17%
16%
14%
13% 13%
12%
12%
11%
10%
8%
8%
7% 7%
6%
6%
5%
4%
2%
0%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
LEAST IMPORTANT MOST IMPORTANT

30. Making adjustments to my investment philosophy
18%
17%
16%
14%
13% 13%
12%
11% 11%
10%
8% 8%
8%
7%
6%
5% 5%
4%
2%
0%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
LEAST IMPORTANT MOST IMPORTANT

31. Making adjustments to my investment process
16%
15%
14%
13%
12%
12%
11%
10% 10%
10%
8%
8%
7% 7%
6%
5%
4%
2%
0%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
LEAST IMPORTANT MOST IMPORTANT

32. Rebuilding my clients’ wealth
40%
37%
35%
30%
25%
20%
18%
17%
15%
15%
10%
5% 5%
5%
1% 1%
0% 0%
0%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
LEAST IMPORTANT MOST IMPORTANT

33. Rebuilding my personal wealth
30%
25%
25%
20%
17%
15%
13%
11%
10%
10%
8%
7%
5% 4%
2% 2%
0%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
LEAST IMPORTANT MOST IMPORTANT

34. Fully adopting the wealth management business model
16%
15%
14%
13%
12%
12%
11% 11%
10%
8%
7%
6% 6% 6%
6%
5%
4%
2%
0%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
LEAST IMPORTANT MOST IMPORTANT

35. Bringing on a new partner(s)
40%
36%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
12%
11%
10%
10%
7%
6%
5% 5%
5%
2%
0%
0%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
LEAST IMPORTANT MOST IMPORTANT

36. Hiring additional staff
40%
37%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
12%
10%
7% 7% 7%
6% 6%
5%
5% 4%
2%
0%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
LEAST IMPORTANT MOST IMPORTANT

37. For 2009, what is your
#1 business goal?
7%
6%
Increase assets/revenues/new clients
8%
Maintain/Retain/Stregthen Client Relationship
46% Change business model/strategies/process
11% Strengthen Team/Marketing/Partners
Counset clients/Restore confidence
Education
22%

38. For 2009, what is the greatest
challenges you face in your
6%
6%
business?
30% Client confidence / Stability of firm
8%
Economic / Political expectations in the market
New business/Gathering new assets/loss of assets
Lack resources/firm limits/team changes/time mgmt
13%
Own fear/uncertainty in mkts/firm
Staying with business model/process
Client communication/marketing
15% 23%

39. What question would you like
to have answered in future
5%
3%
surveys?
8%
Business Model/Practices/Theories/Firms
34%
Economy/Effects of Meltdown
9%
Regulatory Envir/Industry Future/Corp Goverence
IMCA
Maintainging/Growing Business
Client's Looking for
18%
Personal confidence/stress
23%

40. Future Plans
Question 7
How likely are you to take
the following actions in
calendar year 2009?
STRONGLY DISAGREE STRONGLY AGREE

41. Sell my investment advisory practice
90%
82%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10% 8% 7%
0% 1% 0% 0% 1% 0% 0%
0%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
LEAST LIKELY MOST LIKELY

42. Buy an investment advisory practice
60%
56%
50%
40%
30%
20%
11%
10%
10%
6% 6%
5% 5%
1%
0% 0%
0%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
LEAST LIKELY MOST LIKELY

43. Go out on my own
70%
60% 59%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
10% 9%
7%
6%
4% 4%
2%
0% 0%
0%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
LEAST LIKELY MOST LIKELY

44. Change firms
60%
55%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
10%
6% 6%
5% 5% 5%
4%
2% 2%
0%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
LEAST LIKELY MOST LIKELY

45. Change careers
90%
80% 77%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
11%
10%
6%
4%
2%
0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
0%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
LEAST LIKELY MOST LIKELY

46. Retire
100%
89%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
6%
2% 1% 1% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
0%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
LEAST LIKELY MOST LIKELY

47. Which of the following BEST
describes the channel you
6%
currently work in?
12%
Bank Brokerage
Bank Trust Department
Independent Broker-Dealer
46%
14% Independent RIA
Insurance Broker-Dealer
Regional Brokerage Firm
Wirehouse (incl merged or acquired)
14%
6%
1%

48. How long have you been a
financial advisor?
4% 5%
11%
16%
Less than 5 years
6 – 10 years
11 – 15 years
16 – 20 years
25% 21 – 25 years
14%
26 – 30 years
More than 30 years
25%

49. Which of the following BEST
0% describes what you do for
6%
clients?
20%
Financial Planning
Investment Advisory
Investment Management Consulting
Wealth Management Consulting
56% Run a Family Office
18%