Since opening its doors over 40 years ago, Axtella has focused on elevating experiences for both their clients and their financial professionals. As a network of firms that includes two member FINRA/SIPC broker-dealers, Sigma Financial Corporation and Parkland Securities, LLC, and Sigma Planning Corporation, a registered investment advisor (RIA), Axtella offers a robust team of in-house specialists to help strengthen and transform financial professionals’ practices.
Those teams range from compliance and marketing support to an entire department devoted to wealth planning, led by Valerie Johnson, CFP®, AIF.® Johnson believes that every Axtella financial professional should also offer comprehensive wealth planning services — if they aren’t already.
A Team That Goes the Extra Mile
For roughly a decade, Johnson and her team have worked with professionals to help them understand the size and scope of incorporating wealth planning services into their existing service models. The team is comprised of a wide range of specialists and licensed professionals, dedicated to providing Axtella professionals with extra support when they’re looking to go the extra mile for their clients.
Johnson herself was an educator prior to working in the financial industry, which informs her discussions with Axtella professionals.
“I think a lot of financial professionals believe they are just investment managers,” Johnson explained. But she points out that most professionals naturally incorporate financial planning aspects into their day-to-day duties — so there’s no reason they can’t claim the “wealth planner” title more formally.
For example, when professionals decide how to allocate investments, they are also impacting their clients’ tax consequences, estate planning options, or gifting considerations.
“I am hoping to help Axtella professionals realize a different approach to their current workflow and help ensure that they’re doing the best they can for the client,” Johnson added.
'Financial Planning Does Have Value'
Johnson and her team also work with financial professionals to effectively communicate and demonstrate the value they deliver to their clients. “You pay for something that has value, and financial planning does have value,” Johnson elaborated.
One of the department’s most effective resources is Axtella’s Endeavor program, a financial planning masterclass designed to help financial professionals evolve their client service approach, elevate their client relationships, and empower them to confidently make the shift to true financial planning — driving growth for their practice and lasting impact for their clients. The Endeavor Program has helped previous participants open the door to new growth, averaging a 37% increase in year-over-year GDC (growth is not guaranteed).
Participants gather best practices including how professionals communicate changes in compensation for their time and expertise. Johnson points out that there’s a missed opportunity for professionals to demonstrate the depth of their services to their clients, especially if clients are hiring extra personnel to tackle separate financial duties that an Axtella professional can already offer.
The Endeavor program is just one tool Axtella’s wealth planning team can use to show professionals how their peers craft their narratives, and to assist them while independently developing their own language to adopt with clients.
“It’s wonderful to see the growth that financial professionals are experiencing through this program and the comfort level that they’re achieving,” Johnson said. “At the end of the day, they are doing what’s best for the client, and that warms my heart.”
Take the Plunge
Johnson has long been an advocate for the value of financial planning services, and she encourages financial professionals to take the plunge, noting that in addition to the Endeavor program, Axtella’s wealth planning department will draw on its deep bench of knowledge to support their efforts with advice and software innovations to help strengthen those client relationships.
“I would love for every single financial professional to be a comprehensive financial planner,” she added. “I tell our professionals that I know they have the skills, they just need to take the time to implement it. That’s what the Axtella Wealth Planning team is here for — to help assist however we can.”
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