Where Firms Miss Young Planners: Leadership, Technology, and the Reboot Advisors Need
- Jay Coulter, CFP®, CIMA®
- Feb 6
- 2 min read
Practical lessons on recruiting, training, and keeping early-career advisors—how internships, AI literacy, and intentional leadership build resilient practices.
Where Firms Miss Young Planners: Leadership, Technology, and the Reboot Advisors Need
Where Firms Miss Young Planners: Leadership, Technology, and the Reboot Advisors Need
Talking with Nathan Harness at Texas A&M clarified something simple: the hiring problem isn’t job boards—it’s strategy. Firms that win will treat talent as a product: plan internships, teach judgment around AI, hire for grit, and make mentorship non-negotiable.
Key Themes
University-to-firm talent pipeline and experiential learning
Internships and externships as culture-fit assessments
AI and advisor-first technology as productivity enhancers
Emotional intelligence, grit, and sales/value-proposition skills
Leadership and mentorship as retention levers
Lead With Internships
Treat internships as long interviews. Plan a year ahead, give students measurable projects, and use the summer to evaluate cultural fit. Done right, many top students get hired before graduation—low-cost recruiting that actually works.
AI Is an Amplifier — Teach Judgment
AI opens scale, but it’s not a replacement for judgment. Let juniors pilot agents, but require mentor review. Teach them to ask, “When is this wrong?” Firms that pair human oversight with automation will be faster and safer.
Hire for Grit and EQ
Credentials are table stakes. Prioritize perseverance, empathy, and the ability to convert advice into action. Use interview assignments and onboarding reps to surface follow-through and client-centered behavior.
Make Operational Excellence a Recruiting Asset
Young advisors want autonomy plus a platform. Streamline workflows, automate compliance checks, and offer clear paths to independence and equity. Operational rigor lets advisors spend time where they add the most value.
Mentorship Is Non-Negotiable
Senior advisors should leave the industry having passed on wisdom. Mentorship recharges senior staff and secures succession. Make mentoring an explicit leadership responsibility and measure it.
Practical Checklist
Run externship days for early exposure.
Define internship deliverables a year in advance.
Pilot AI workflows with mandatory mentor validation.
Build repeated, supervised client reps into onboarding.
Make mentoring a measurable KPI.
If you want the next generation to stay, give them purpose, reps, and leaders who teach why the work matters. Do that, and you’ll not only solve hiring—you’ll build a practice that lasts.
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