Last week, Financial Planning published a thought-provoking article featuring commentary from Citi’s Head of Wealth, Andy Sieg, at the BofA Securities Financial Services Conference. Mr. Sieg emphasized the importance of organic growth for Citi Private Bank, specifically within the ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) space. The strategy targets net new asset growth from existing client relationships, a sector with around $1 trillion in assets under management, alongside $5 trillion in untapped opportunities from assets held away by these clients. Imagine you were given the chance to increase your AUM fivefold through current relationships alone—how would you seize that opportunity?
Organic growth is the lifeblood of any financial services practice. Generally speaking, there are three primary ways to grow a business organically: by providing more services to existing clients, attracting new clients, or offering new products and services. In Red Rock’s view, the most effective and efficient path to organic growth is by focusing on expanding services for your current client base. Studies consistently show that acquiring new clients costs five to seven times more than expanding relationships with existing ones. As financial advisors, you're undoubtedly familiar with the substantial effort, time, and resources required to bring in new clients. While broadening your product or service portfolio can also drive growth, it often demands new skills, talent, technology, and resources—with no guarantee that your clients or prospects will even want these expanded offerings.
Think of expanding existing client relationships as the foundation of your business growth. The McKinsey Growth Pyramid offers an excellent visual representation of the value in securing the highest possible share of wallet from your current clients.
But the real question is: How do you capitalize on the opportunity to become the primary or sole financial advisor for each of your current clients? Red Rock believes that consolidating all of your clients’ financial needs with you hinges on five key elements of relationship management:
Establish a Primacy Mindset
The goal here is to position yourself as the primary advisor for as many of your clients as possible. The American Psychological Association defines a primary relationship as one that commands the most time, energy, and priority, often involving high levels of intimacy, attraction, and commitment. While this definition traditionally applies to personal relationships, it can offer valuable insights into how to strengthen and replicate your top client relationships. Intimacy means knowing your clients better than they know themselves. Attraction refers to working with people you enjoy and trust. Commitment involves mutual accountability in helping clients achieve their financial goals.
Know Your Data
How much of your client base has consolidated their financial assets and issues with you? A good starting point is to assess the ratio of assets under management versus assets held elsewhere for each client. This helps you gauge how well you’re achieving primacy and identify opportunities to capture those "held away" assets. Next, examine which clients have an actively managed financial plan with you (more on this in element 4).
Communicate the Risk of Too Many Advisors
According to the Capgemini World Wealth Report, the average number of advisors for high-net-worth individuals is decreasing, but still hovers around two. Clients often seek multiple advisors for diversification, yet they tend to overlook how this fragmentation can result in misaligned advice, ultimately hurting their financial goals. It’s vital to convey the risks of conflicting advice and the potential harm it can cause to their wealth strategy. To solidify your position as the primary advisor, you must become the final decision-maker on all financial matters, even if you don’t manage all of the client’s assets. Being the most trusted advisor means ensuring alignment between the advice from accountants, attorneys, and other financial professionals while retaining ultimate responsibility for the client’s wealth strategy.
Control the Financial Plan
The level of trust your clients place in you is often reflected in who controls their financial plan. In situations with multiple advisors, the one who manages the plan typically holds the most influence. Red Rock believes that comprehensive wealth management cannot be delivered effectively without an active, dynamic financial plan. Begin by identifying clients who don’t have a plan with you or who have one with another advisor. Offering planning services—whether as a starting point or as a second opinion—can create a path for deeper engagement.
Never-Ending Discovery
While controlling the financial plan is critical, it's equally important to recognize that a financial plan is a living document. Your clients’ situations—personal, financial, and health-related—are always evolving. Ongoing discovery is key. Every client interaction should aim to uncover new developments or changes, and it’s essential that their financial plan reflects these adjustments. Red Rock strongly encourages advisors to make this continuous discovery process a central part of client relationships, ensuring the financial plan remains relevant and aligned with their evolving needs.
Mastering the art of relationship primacy is the fundamental driver of organic growth, both in 2025 and beyond. By securing higher levels of primacy, you can focus your time and energy on the clients you enjoy working with most, while positioning yourself as their most trusted advisor. This leads to deeper, more meaningful financial planning and ultimately drives asset and revenue growth. A solid foundation of client relationships will propel you up the growth pyramid faster and with fewer disruptions to your business.
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