Micro Advisor Model vs. Macro Advisor Model

Being a financial advisor means focusing on the big picture and the fine details.

…All at the same time.

Here at Consolidated Planning, we know that you can’t (and shouldn’t) be everything to everyone. Knowing that, we’ve designed our plethora of resources to help you focus on building what’s best for your clients.

What’s best for your clients is integrated and coordinated financial planning advice. While how you get there is up to you, this article will help you better understand the difference between a micro and macro advising model, and how you and your clients may benefit, all to build a balanced financial advising practice up to your standards and expectations.

 

What Is Micro Financial Advice?

 

Picture your client at the center of a circle. All around them are various lines correlating to their financial planning outlook – Accountant, Attorney, Mortgage Broker, Banker, Insurance Agent, Investment Advisor, Financial Advisor and probably several more.

As a micro financial advisor, offering micro financial advice, you are just one of those lines. Say, insurance or investment advisor.

While an insurance or investment advisor may be the best career path for you, you are offering specialized advice in a very specialized area. And while specialized is great, these lines rarely cross as a micro advisor offering micro financial advice.

Lines that rarely cross mean two things for your career:

• You limit the streams of revenue coming to your practice
• You are offering advice that is independent of the other necessary experts

And if one thing is true of financial planning – it’s that a client’s financial picture isn’t made up of one single factor but rather a multitude of factors.

Sure, these factors might be accounted for but are they in agreement with each other?

 

What Is Macro Financial Advice?

 

This is where macro financial advice comes in. According to Investopedia, a macro environment refers to the set of conditions that exist in the economy as a whole, rather than in a particular sector. Therefore, macro financial advice seeks to address things on a large scale, or as a whole.

Now, we’re not saying a macro financial advisor can be all things to everyone…but YOU CAN work towards building a true financial planning practice as a macro financial advisor. True financial planning addresses the left side (investments) and right side(insurance) of the balance sheet, amongst other areas that relate directly to a client’s balance sheet.

For the areas of experience that are outside of your wheelhouse, YOU CAN (and frankly, it’s necessary) to know all the right people to make your work as a financial advisor more meaningful and impactful.

These are your Centers Of Influence (COI’s).

Cultivating your COI’s will help you further provide a network for your clients. Building strong COI’s will allow you to leverage existing relationships for the benefit of your client as well as the ease and coordination in your practice. Your COI’s may include:

• Certified Public Accountant
• Attorney 
• Banker
• Mortgage Broker

Macro financial advising focuses on ensuring that even if you’re not your client’s one advisor, that all the client’s “micro-advisors” are in tune with one another’s recommendations. While each micro-advisor is good in their own right, the macro-advising model approach helps provide coordinated recommendations for a more strategic and aligned financial planning outlook. From advisor to advisor. 

Now, it’s important to note that not every client will desire having one trusted advisor or even be aware of what they’re missing by not integrating and coordinating all areas of their financial life.

But, why wouldn’t they?

 

 

What’s In It For Your Clients

 

Humans are creatures of habit. Yes, even you, in one regard or another.

For clients and prospects who are blissfully unaware of what they AREN’T getting with their financial advisor, or lack thereof, it’s up to you to help educate them.

This is where doing what’s in the best interest of your client will always make for happy clients and ultimately, a thriving practice.

Advisors at Consolidated Planning start with a protection first, but not protection only, philosophy. This planning philosophy means taking the time to have meaningful conversations where qualitative and quantitative data are collected.

The purpose here is to fully know and understand where your client or prospect stands today and where they wish to stand in their ideal future. By doing so, you can help address what’s working, where there are gaps, and where there are opportunities. And that is how you begin acting as a symphony conductor for your client.

Integrated and coordinated advice that makes sense across all lines.

 

Build A Balanced Financial Advising Practice

 

Finding firms that are able and willing to act as one advisor for their client is far less commonplace. Macro financial advice seeks to address both sides of the balance sheet – the left side (investments) and the right side (insurance).

Now you might be wondering, “Can I build a thriving practice as a micro advisor?” Of course you can.

But, a macro advisor model helps you:

• Establish strong and enduring client-advisor relationships
• Build more streams of revenue
• Scale your practice

Those all sound like pretty great things, don’t they?

Reach out to our team to learn more about four factors that matter in your practice building at Consolidated Planning.

 

 

2023-160379 Exp. 8/2025