Recap
FCS Philadelphia kicked off the new year at host sponsor Hartford Funds’ offices for a panel discussion featuring leading financial marketers from the Philly area, discussing their 2024 outlook for marketing to financial advisors.
On stage were Byron Newby, SVP, Head of Content at Hartford Funds, Bernadette Bridy, Managing Director, Head of Marketing at FS Investments and Nicole Beauregard, Principal, Private Wealth Marketing at Hamilton Lane. The session was moderate by Kimberly Beck, Head of Client Marketing Strategy at Janney Montgomery Scott.
Here are a few of the highlights of the discussion:
- The Advisor Mindset Headed into 2024: Advisors are coming off of a bad year. But for the first time in a long time, it’s starting to feel like cash is coming off the sidelines and healthy debates about the markets are taking place. It’s up to providers to educate advisors – and to help them educate their clients – on where to invest as cash begins to move.
- Election Year Opportunities: Advisors are also facing an election year. Panelists discussed how they were helping advisors through webinars, podcasts and articles to understand the history of elections and the markets, and serving content to advisors that they could use with their clients to ease election year nerves.
- Tactics Headed into 2024: Panelists discussed the tactics they were leaning into in 2024. Examples included elevator ads targeted to key target firm office spaces and utilizing new and emerging LinkedIn ad formats – specifically document posts, which were seen as particularly effective in driving advisor engagement.
- Breaking Through in Email: Email remains the most popular – yet cluttered – channel for advisors. Panelists discussed the power of strong, relevant content to break through with advisors in the channel. Examples included timing emails to be highly relevant to advisors based on various market scenarios, emailing advisors timely content they could use with clients, utilizing text-based email formats and deploying engaging nurture streams based on advisors’ interests.
- Wholesaler Engagement: Discussion emerged around how to stay engaged with wholesalers throughout the year. One panelist discussed periodic meetings with the sales force that included interviewing every wholesaler in order to hear their wants and needs for the year. This served to deepen the relationship and alignment with sales.
- The Growing Use of AI: Panelists had begun using AI to generate scale and efficiencies. One example included using AI to version content for Hearsay posts in order to create more variety among wholesaler LinkedIn content. Another panelist had begun using Lumen5 to dynamically generate video using AI. There was also discussion around the narrative surrounding AI internally – it’s essential for marketing leaders to describe AI as a tool and not a replacement for team members’ jobs.
- Metrics: Discussion surrounding metrics emphasized the need to create a narrative for leadership around how marketing truly impacts business – not marketing-centric metrics like click-through rates. This was essential for leadership to be able to see the true value of marketing and how it contributed to the business.
Reported by Phil Edelstein, FCS Philadelphia President
FCS Philadelphia opens the new year with a breakfast event on Thursday, January 18, featuring a panel discussion on Advisor Marketing.
- What really works when it comes to advisor marketing? At this event, we’ll hear from some of the leading advisor marketing experts in the greater Philadelphia area to learn what works, what doesn’t, and where their focus is for 2024.
Our panel includes:
- Nicole Beauregard, Principal, Private Wealth Marketing, Hamilton Lane
- Bernadette Bridy, Managing Director, Head of Marketing, FS Investments
- Byron Newby, SVP, Head of Content, Hartford Funds
The conversation will be moderated by Kimberly Beck, Head of Client Marketing Strategy, Janney Montgomery Scott.
Join us at the Wayne, Pennsylvania, headquarters of Hartford Funds for this event — a great opportunity to start 2024 with fresh ideas, new relationships, and the quality experience you can expect from the FCS!
To commemorate this event, the FCS will donate $1,000 to Philadelphia Financial Scholars, whose program includes curriculum and professional development for daily in-school financial literacy education, after-school entrepreneurship enrichment powered by corporate and university volunteers, and a university-hosted summer business accelerator.
Sponsor packages are available for this event. Please contact FCS CEO Kevin Windorf.
NOTE TO GUESTS: Upon arrival at Chesterbrook Corporate Center, follow signs to Hartford Funds. There is a dedicated parking lot. Please have photo ID for checking in at the front desk.
