How to Drum Up New Client Assets as a Financial Advisor

Increasing assets under management (AUM) is a goal many advisors share, and it’s one that can help fuel long-term growth. Top-performing RIAs added a median $49.2 million in assets from new clients and $16.9 million in assets from existing clients in 2024, according to Schwab’s 2025 RIA Benchmarking Study.¹ However, there’s no magic bullet for growing a book of business and increasing AUM, whether you’re a new advisor or you’ve been serving clients for decades. What you need instead are smart strategies for raising your visibility, building credibility and prospecting more efficiently.

Ready to grow your client base? SmartAsset AMP can help you simplify advisor marketing.

1. Focus on Business Development

Business development is anything you do regularly to grow your business. Examples of activities that fall under the business development umbrella include:

• Staying connected with people in your professional network, and actively adding new connections.
• Creating spheres of influence with CPAs, estate planning attorneys, insurance agents and other individuals who may be able to generate referrals for your business.
• Collaborating or forging strategic partnerships with other financial professionals or influencers who may lend you their platform to gain exposure for your business.
• Attending and participating in networking events or financial advisor conferences, both online and offline.

Consider where you can fit business development activities into your daily schedule. It only takes a few minutes to send an email to someone in your network. You can offer an update on your business and let them know that you’re actively looking for new clients, in case they have someone they’d like to refer to you.

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Pure Financial Advisors

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Pure Financial Advisors reports $1B in new AUM from SmartAsset investor referrals.

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2. Tap Your Existing Clients

If you don’t have any clients yet, then you’ll need to apply some of the other strategies offered here first. But if you do have clients, consider what you could do to increase your AUM organically.

That might include:

• Expanding the range of services you offer or bundling complementary services to add value for your clients.
• Offering a complimentary portfolio review to clients who have assets held away. This could open the door to a conversation about bringing those assets under your management.
• Strategically asking clients for referrals, or taking steps to improve client user experience and engagement. This could encourage them to refer friends and family to your business.

Expanding offerings is how many top RIAs remain competitive, according to Schwab’s RIA Benchmarking Study. Among firms polled, 95% offer financial planning services, while 86% assist clients with charitable planning. Eighty-five percent offer tax planning services, and other key service areas include estate planning, family education and lifestyle management. 

You can also use a generational approach to bring more assets under your management. For instance, say your client base consists mainly of 50-somethings. They may have adult children who could benefit from your services and advice. You could attempt to bridge the gap by letting your clients know that you’d be happy to offer a free consultation if their children are looking for an advisor to work with.

An estimated $124 trillion is expected to change hands through 2048, according to the same Schwab report. Approximately $105 trillion of that will go to heirs while the remainder is projected to go to charitable causes. The great wealth transfer presents a ripe opportunity for advisors at every stage of growth to capture a share of assets held within the family structure. 

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3. Grow Locally

Your quest for how to drum up new assets may start in your own backyard.

What does that mean? It’s a combination of two things: getting involved in your community and increasing your visibility online in local searches. Being an active participant in your community helps people who are looking for an advisor in their area online connect a face with a name.

Here are some ideas for increasing your local footprint:

• Sponsor a youth sports league.
• Participate in or donate to community fundraising events.
• Volunteer with local organizations that focus on financial education, or serve individuals in your target niche.
• Host or participate in community events, such as seminars or workshops, which are designed to attract your target audience.
• Set up a Google Business profile.

If you don’t have a financial advisor website for your business, you may be missing opportunities to connect. If you do have a website, consider auditing it to assess how easy it is to navigate and its overall searchability. Utilizing search engine optimization (SEO) techniques can bring your firm to the top of the results when a prospective client searches for terms like “financial advisor near me.”

Additionally, consider how you can optimize your site for lead generation. For example, the Schwab Benchmarking report found that 55% of advisors create content that’s designed for a specific buyer persona. Fifty-three percent include a lead capture form prominently on the site, while 51% utilize social media sharing buttons to encourage engagement. 

If you have limited time to spend on these types of activities, consider which ones are likely to yield the best return on investment based on what kind of clients you hope to attract. You may also think about outsourcing website development to an IT expert, or purchasing pre-made website templates to create an eye-catching design in less time. 

4. Buy a Book of Business

Buying a book of business can be a shortcut to drumming up assets, since you’re gaining access to an existing client base. Assuming that you’re able to retain most of those clients once the purchase is complete, that could increase your AUM overnight.

Research is key, however: You want to ensure that you’re buying a book of business that aligns with your target niche and paying a fair price for it. If you’re unsure how to value a book of business, that’s a good place to start.

As far as how to find a book of business for sale goes, there are a few options:

• Talk to people in your network to see if they or anyone they know is interested in selling a book of business.
• Use networking events as an opportunity to make new connections with advisors who may be preparing to exit the industry.
• Check online listing marketplaces to find advisors who are selling their books.

Consider working with a business broker to find a book for sale that aligns with your needs.

Is buying a book of business a worthwhile investment? It ultimately depends on quality, cost and how many of those clients you expect to retain. You may consider alternatives, such as a merger or hiring advisors who bring an active client list with them. Between 2019 and 2024, 19% of firms polled by Schwab acquired new clients (and AUM) through mergers and acquisitions, while 23% brought on one or more advisors with an existing book of business. 

5. Work With an Advisor Marketing Platform

Digital marketing is one of the best ways to attract clients to your business. A typical marketing plan may include:

• Social media
• Email marketing
• SEO, if you have a website
• Content marketing
• Digital advertising

All of those things can help you connect with prospective clients, but your efforts may be hit or miss if you don’t have a fully fleshed-out strategy. Working with an advisor marketing service like SmartAsset AMP can help you streamline your marketing efforts and connect with leads.

This is a little different from buying leads outright, as you tell the marketing platform what kind of clients you want to attract and get matched up with prospects that align with your profile. That ensures that you’re getting quality leads, whereas buying them can sometimes be a mixed bag.

6. Outsource

Outsourcing tasks that are time-consuming or not essential to growth can free up time to focus on activities that move your business forward. Those include new client acquisition, and enhancing relationships with existing clients to drive more referrals. 

What do top advisors outsource most often? Here are the numbers, according to Schwab:

• 38% of firms outsource more than half of compliance activities
• 23% outsource more than half of marketing activities
• 24% outsource some level of portfolio design and construction
• 22% outsource some elements of portfolio management and administration

Reviewing your daily routine and identifying tasks that are high-effort but low-return can help you narrow down which ones it makes the most sense to outsource. As you explore RIA outsourcing solutions, consider the range of services offered, the level of support provided and the cost you’ll pay. 

7. Prioritize the Client Experience

Satisfied clients are more likely to remain your clients for the long-term, and that loyalty can also translate to more referrals for your business. Some of the most effective ways to improve client experience include:

• Digitizing the onboarding process to save time
• Offering a secure client portal that allows the investors you work with to stay connected to their money, 24/7
• Responding promptly to client communications, and contacting them on a regular basis
• Segmenting your client list to deliver content and messaging that’s tailored to their unique needs and goals
• Developing an organizational culture that emphasizes the importance of client experience
• Utilizing tech tools, like AI note-takers or AI agents, to facilitate smoother operations so you can stay focused on client needs

Among firms with more than $250 million in AUM, 71% prioritize collecting client feedback to help improve user experience, according to Schwab. If you’re unsure what your clients need from you, asking them to complete an experience survey could yield powerful insight into how you can better meet their expectations. 

Bottom Line

What’s the best way to drum up new client assets? It’s a combination of things, but it starts with being confident, having a clearly defined brand statement and vision, and knowing what kind of clients will benefit most from your services. The more targeted you are in your approach to marketing and client acquisition, the better your results are likely to be.

Tips for Growing Your Advisory Business

• Finding new clients is one of the biggest challenges advisors face, whether you’re just starting out or you’ve been in business for years. Developing an online ground game is a good place to start your marketing efforts, as investors increasingly rely on search engines to find financial advice. Working with an advisor marketing platform can help you supercharge your digital marketing efforts. SmartAsset AMP uses a holistic approach to help you connect with leads. Schedule a demo to learn how you can leverage it to build out your client base.
• If you’re having trouble getting your footing as a newer advisor, consider whether you can find a mentor to work with. A financial advisor mentor who’s willing to share their knowledge and expertise with you can be invaluable for growing your business. Look at your existing network to see if you already know someone who may be willing to act as a mentor. Financial advisor conferences and networking events can also be opportunities to connect with more experienced advisors who may be interested in a mentoring role. And if you’re an established advisor with a solid track record, consider how you could steer a younger advisor along the path to success. 

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