Thank you for another amazing year! We saw a nice rebound in the markets this year, and a lot has happened that we’re proud to share with you, starting with our remarkable growth. From January through November 30, our firm assets under management grew by over $74 million dollars, an increase of more than 17%. We know we could never have achieved this kind of success without your support and loyalty, and that’s something we don’t take for granted. As a firm, our commitment is to do the hard work necessary to earn your loyalty each and every year.
Let’s look at some of the cool things we did in 2023.
Client Service – Striving for Platinum
Welcome to all of our new clients this year, including those who come to us through the Tom Walsh Practice, which joined our firm in 2023. Getting to know and build relationships with clients is one of our favorite things and this year’s new crew have been exceptionally enthusiastic, making them a real pleasure to work with.
Customer service is our top priority so earlier this year we sent out a client survey to learn how we’re doing. Here are a few highlights that are based on our March 2023 client survey*:
- Over 97% of MFG clients agree that their advisor response to their calls and emails in a timely manner.
- Over 95% of MFG clients agree that their Marshall Financial Group advisor is trustworthy and honest.
- Over 90% of MFG clients agree that their financial advisor meets or exceeds their expectations.
These results are good and I’m proud of them, but I wouldn’t say I’m satisfied. My baseline is 100% across the board. That’s what we strive for and constantly work to achieve. When it comes to client service, I believe the bar can always be raised higher and there is always room for improvement.
Building the Very Best Team
If I was to rank the things I like best about my job, a close second to clients would be my MFG colleagues. As our firm has grown, meeting the needs of our current and new clients is essential, so expanding our team has been a major theme in 2023. This is a big deal because it’s not enough to simply add staff; we need to bring on the right people, exceptional individuals who will embrace our culture and commitment to client service. For that reason, my colleagues and I put a lot of time and energy into this process. We want to choose team members – and we want prospective team members to choose us – based on MFG’s core values and value proposition. We look for people who are accountable, positive, organized, responsive, and depending on their specific job – ready to help clients make smart choices that will move them towards their goals.
We are very excited about our four new team members and believe they all exceed these expectations. We applied the same criteria when we contracted with an outsourced-chief marketing officer, as well as a business consulting firm. In both cases, these partnerships help to strengthen and support our core values.
We can’t control the market, but we can do our best to provide the highest caliber team members to work on behalf of our clients. We think these values translate into the best possible client experience as well as work environment.
Technology – Keeping Our Edge
As technology advances, our firm is committed to using the most effective tools available to deliver the best possible results for our clients. We are currently in the process of adding several technologies to our existing portfolio. One of these enhancements will provide better tools to help clients with estate planning, and another provides even better risk portfolio evaluation. A recent upgrade to MFG’s client relationship management software improves our efficiency so we can respond more quickly to the needs of our clients.
We strengthened our data analytics capabilities, allowing us to be more proactive in flagging account activity that might lead to problems for clients down the road. Technology has also improved our investment research capabilities, which have never been faster or better. We ultimately rely on our investment team to make decisions but getting information quickly positions us to make more efficient evaluations.
Looking Ahead – Creating a Smooth Path to Transition Wealth
It’s no secret that long term investors, who are usually more mature clients, have larger portfolios – because they’ve had more time to grow them. MFG’s average client age is 62 years old, and clients over 70 represent over 40% of our assets under management. That’s a meaningful number of our clients, so in 2024, we want to better support these clients by encouraging them to include their beneficiaries in the estate planning conversation. This has been standard practice at MFG, but going forward we want to put more energy behind the effort, and for good reason. As financial advisors, we’ve seen first-hand how much smoother transitions can be when beneficiaries have been part of the conversation beforehand, compared to situations where beneficiaries are out of the loop. For those families, it can be overwhelming. We want to help our clients and their loved ones avoid those situations. With a little time and planning, we can help the whole family get on the same page, making life easier for beneficiaries and ensuring our clients’ wishes are honored.
Thanks to Our Clients
As the founder of Marshall Financial Group, I am proud and humbled by what the business has become. We strive to be best in class in all that we do and deliver the best possible client experience. In 2005, I started this business in what became my first daughter’s bedroom, and today, MFG has clients in 36 states across the country. It’s been an unbelievable journey and I owe all thanks to my valued clients, team members, and partners.
We wish you and your loved ones a festive holiday season and a new year filled with happiness, health, and success. Thank you again for choosing us to be your financial planners.
*The MFG Survey was sent to all current clients in March 2023, the survey was fair and balanced and included choices for client’s to be candid with their responses. The results that are posted are of those clients that responded to the survey, not all that were given the opportunity to complete the survey did so. The shared survey results are no guarantee of future services or investment outcomes and do not ensure that a client or prospective client will experience the same or similar level of results.