After more than two decades of working with the financial intermediary channel, Mark Parry, head of strategic and technical sales at BMO GAM, knows a thing or two about how it works. Knocking on the doors of wealth managers and financial advisers with an offer based purely on the product and trying to differentiate themselves in a world of similar offers – inevitably – has proven difficult. So Mark decided to change the conversation to a more consultative value-added service approach that proved to be very engaging for the audience.
“After talking to many middlemen, it became clear that what was required was the value-added part,” he says. Essentially, asset managers and advisers are less interested in the virtues of asset managers’ products and more in their own challenges: how to implement regulatory changes, discover and integrate new clients, adapt to the changing consumer behaviors and opinions, maximizing planning opportunities and understanding what their peers are doing to give themselves an edge.
As a result, Mark, with the support of others at BMO GAM, decided to change this conversation. Rob Thorpe, UK Distribution Manager and European Intermediary at BMO GAM, said: “We planned to position ourselves as a trusted business partner rather than a product sales organization, focusing on ’emphasis on value-added service’. The approach developed by BMO GAM is BMO Adviser Edge. Adviser Edge is made up of a series of bespoke events and workshops supported by a website that provides educational and ambitious content, earning a structured CPD, to intermediaries.
There are three main threads to the content. First, ‘Practice Management’ examines areas such as regulation and key considerations for running an effective middle-man business, as well as a segment with dedicated learning resources for the marketing and influencing skills needed to find, win. and manage clients. Second, the central area of “financial planning” examines highly relevant topics such as trusts, taxation, and pre- and post-retirement planning. Third, the “investment area” contains information on topics such as volatility and transaction costs, as well as hot topics such as ESG integration and tools to use with clients.
While Adviser Edge is a sales initiative, it was realized early on that staffing should be different. And that’s how. The team is small – only three, including Mark himself – but they have a strong set of qualifications and skills, with staff from IMC, ESG Investing, CFA, Chartered Financial Planner and Fellow of PFS, MBTI and NLP certification (Neuro-Linguistic Programming – a methodology for understanding how people think and express themselves). Not to mention the years of actual practice experience – this is really content led by peers, by counselors, for counselors.
Content is delivered both through the website and a series of tailor-made events and workshops, with the website providing a benchmark for the more focused learning provided by the events. How did Adviser Edge go with real advisors? When the invitation to the event program went out in January last year, more than 700 delegates booked in a matter of weeks. “We got huge traction right away,” Parry said. When the pandemic hit, the program moved seamlessly online, with a typical audience of over 100 and some events reaching three times that number. Events will come face-to-face in the fourth quarter.
For Parry, moving the conversation from product to service has been a powerful success. “We have more new supporters coming in,” says Parry. “People we have never worked with. We were able to reach out to them and build relationships and relationships.” And Adviser Edge isn’t slowing down. New content modules are arriving to support the existing 110 and nearly 50 hours of structured CPD. This includes life stage financial planning and even how advisors can use LinkedIn to their advantage. “We are delighted with the reception he has received and know that he is meeting the demand,” says Parry.
To learn more about BMO Adviser Edge and to view upcoming events, click here.
Disclaimer:
Views and opinions have been expressed by BMO Global Asset Management and should not be construed as a recommendation or solicitation to buy or sell any stock or any product that may be mentioned.
© 2021 BMO Global Asset Management. Financial promotions are issued for marketing and information purposes; in the UK by BMO Asset Management Limited, which is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
