THE WEALTH BUSINESS – PART ONE

September 11, 2024Posted inUncategorized, Wealth Management
Last week, our forum season started with the CFO group. One topic that was of interest to all was the wealth business. It’s a fee-income business with outstanding customer loyalty (average attrition is only 5%, and many enjoy a 2-3% attrition). It is subject to market vagaries, which is unfortunate, but overall, it can be very attractive. Unfortunately, the business has a few major problems: ·                     Most strong wealth advisors are poor salespeople, so organic growth…

A Reminder: What Customers Really Want – The Definition of Top-Notch Service

June 19, 2024Posted inOperations, Uncategorized
Customer Experience has become a term of art in our business, as well as in many others. Banks have whole departments and senior executives dedicated to perfecting that experience from inception, the first time a prospect contacts the bank through any channel, until the relationship's conclusion, hopefully, many years later. Banks have spent billions of dollars on Customer Experience, largely on technology, in an effort to reduce friction points and make all bank interactions easier.…

20 Teachings from 20 Years

March 29, 2024Posted inNewsletters, Uncategorized
The top 20 things learned from Amitabh Bhargava when writing the Bank Brief over the past 20 years have resulted in some our most favorite sayings. 1. Management teams really matter. I contend one could have gone to our 2007 Global Financial Services Conference, ahead of the financial crisis, and seen the top 20 U.S. banks present. If I had gone long the 10 best presentations (based on company positioning, strategy, poise) and short the worst 10, I…