KPI Dashboard Boosts Advisor Productivity by 35% at Legacy Bridge

KPI Dashboard Boosts Advisor Productivity by 35% at Legacy Bridge

Executive Summary

Legacy Bridge Advisors, a growing RIA firm, struggled with a lack of real-time visibility into advisor performance, hindering their ability to identify areas for improvement and strategically allocate resources. Golden Door Asset developed a customized KPI dashboard, integrating data from their CRM and portfolio management systems. The implementation of this dashboard resulted in a 35% increase in advisor productivity within the first quarter, leading to significant revenue growth and enhanced operational efficiency for Legacy Bridge.

The Challenge

Legacy Bridge Advisors managed over $750 million in AUM across 15 advisors. While the firm was experiencing overall growth, leadership noticed significant disparities in individual advisor performance. Their existing reporting processes were manual, relying on monthly spreadsheets compiled from disparate systems. This delayed access to crucial data, making it difficult to proactively address underperformance and capitalize on opportunities.

Specifically, Legacy Bridge faced the following challenges:

• Lack of Real-Time Visibility: Advisors lacked a clear, real-time view of their performance metrics. Tracking client acquisition, AUM growth, and client meeting frequency required manual data aggregation, which was time-consuming and prone to errors. The data was often outdated by the time it was reviewed, hindering timely decision-making.
• Inefficient Performance Reviews: Monthly performance reviews were unproductive, often devolving into debates about data accuracy and interpretation. It was difficult to identify specific areas for improvement or track progress towards goals due to the lack of a single, reliable source of truth.
• Difficulty in Identifying Top Performers: Without a clear view of key performance indicators, it was challenging to identify top-performing advisors and understand the strategies driving their success. This limited the firm's ability to replicate best practices across the organization.
• Missed Revenue Opportunities: The inability to track client engagement and identify potential cross-selling opportunities resulted in missed revenue. For instance, data showed that advisors who conducted at least 10 client reviews per month generated an average of $25,000 more in annual revenue per client than those who conducted fewer reviews.
• High Administrative Overhead: Compiling and analyzing data for reporting consumed significant administrative resources, costing the firm approximately $15,000 per month in employee time. The lack of automation hindered scalability and efficiency. They estimated this was costing them $180,000 a year.

These challenges collectively hindered Legacy Bridge's ability to optimize advisor performance, maximize revenue potential, and scale their operations effectively. They suspected that inefficiencies were costing them up to 10% of potential revenue annually.

The Approach

Golden Door Asset collaborated closely with Legacy Bridge to develop a customized KPI dashboard that addressed their specific challenges and business objectives. The approach involved the following key steps:

1. Needs Assessment: Golden Door Asset conducted a thorough assessment of Legacy Bridge's existing systems, data sources, and reporting processes. This involved interviews with advisors, managers, and IT staff to understand their needs and pain points.
2. KPI Definition: Based on the needs assessment, Golden Door Asset worked with Legacy Bridge to define a set of key performance indicators (KPIs) that aligned with their strategic goals. These KPIs included:
   • Client Acquisition Rate: Number of new clients acquired per month/quarter.
   • AUM Growth: Percentage increase in AUM per advisor.
   • Client Retention Rate: Percentage of clients retained over a specific period.
   • Client Meeting Frequency: Number of client meetings conducted per month.
   • Cross-Selling Ratio: Percentage of clients who have purchased multiple products or services.
   • Revenue per Advisor: Total revenue generated per advisor.
   • Average Portfolio Size: Average AUM per client.
3. Data Integration: Golden Door Asset integrated data from Legacy Bridge's CRM (Salesforce) and portfolio management system (Black Diamond) using APIs. This ensured that the dashboard received real-time, accurate data.
4. Dashboard Design: Golden Door Asset designed an intuitive and visually appealing dashboard using Tableau. The dashboard included interactive charts, graphs, and tables that allowed advisors and managers to easily track performance against targets.
5. Training and Support: Golden Door Asset provided comprehensive training to Legacy Bridge's advisors and managers on how to use the KPI dashboard effectively. Ongoing support was also provided to address any questions or issues.
6. Iterative Improvement: Following the initial launch, Golden Door Asset worked with Legacy Bridge to continuously refine the dashboard based on user feedback and evolving business needs. This involved adding new KPIs, adjusting data visualizations, and improving the overall user experience. The dashboard was designed to be agile and adaptable.

Golden Door Asset also helped Legacy Bridge establish a formal process for reviewing and acting on the insights generated by the KPI dashboard. This included setting clear performance targets, providing regular feedback to advisors, and implementing performance improvement plans for those who were not meeting expectations.

Technical Implementation

The KPI dashboard was built using Tableau, a powerful data visualization tool known for its ease of use and ability to handle large datasets. The implementation involved the following technical steps:

1. API Integration: Golden Door Asset developed custom APIs to connect Tableau to Legacy Bridge's Salesforce CRM and Black Diamond portfolio management system. These APIs extracted relevant data fields, such as client demographics, portfolio holdings, transaction history, and client interactions.
2. Data Transformation: The extracted data was transformed and cleansed to ensure accuracy and consistency. This involved standardizing data formats, resolving data discrepancies, and removing duplicate records. Python scripts were used for data cleaning and transformation.
3. Data Modeling: A data model was created in Tableau to define the relationships between different data tables and enable complex calculations. For example, the data model linked client information from Salesforce to portfolio holdings from Black Diamond to calculate AUM growth and revenue per client.
4. KPI Calculation: The KPIs were calculated using Tableau's built-in functions and formulas. For example, client acquisition rate was calculated by dividing the number of new clients acquired in a given period by the total number of clients at the beginning of the period. AUM growth was calculated using the following formula: (Ending AUM - Beginning AUM + Net Deposits) / Beginning AUM.
5. Dashboard Design: The dashboard was designed with a user-friendly interface that allowed advisors and managers to easily access and interpret the data. The dashboard included interactive charts, graphs, and tables that could be filtered by advisor, team, and time period. Data visualization best practices were utilized to ensure information was easy to understand at a glance. The dashboard provided drill-down capabilities to allow users to explore the underlying data in more detail.
6. Security and Access Control: Robust security measures were implemented to protect sensitive client data. Access to the dashboard was restricted to authorized users based on their roles and responsibilities. Data encryption and multi-factor authentication were used to further enhance security.
7. Automated Reporting: The dashboard was configured to generate automated reports on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. These reports were delivered to advisors and managers via email, providing them with a timely and convenient way to track their performance.

The entire process was completed within 6 weeks, from initial assessment to dashboard launch. Regular backups were scheduled, and a disaster recovery plan was put in place.

Results & ROI

The implementation of the KPI dashboard at Legacy Bridge resulted in significant improvements in advisor productivity, revenue, and operational efficiency.

• Advisor Productivity Increased by 35%: In the first quarter after launching the KPI dashboard, advisor productivity increased by 35%. This was measured by the average revenue generated per advisor, which increased from $450,000 to $607,500.
• Client Acquisition Rate Increased by 20%: The ability to track client acquisition efforts in real-time enabled advisors to identify and focus on the most effective lead generation strategies. As a result, the client acquisition rate increased by 20%.
• AUM Growth Accelerated by 15%: The KPI dashboard helped advisors identify opportunities to increase AUM by cross-selling products and services to existing clients. This led to a 15% acceleration in AUM growth.
• Client Retention Rate Improved by 5%: By tracking client engagement and proactively addressing client needs, advisors were able to improve client retention rate by 5%. This resulted in a significant reduction in client churn and increased lifetime value.
• Administrative Overhead Reduced by 50%: The automation of reporting processes reduced administrative overhead by 50%, freeing up valuable time for staff to focus on more strategic initiatives. This saved Legacy Bridge approximately $7,500 per month, or $90,000 annually.
• Improved Performance Reviews: The KPI dashboard provided a single, reliable source of truth for performance data, leading to more productive and data-driven performance reviews. This fostered a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.
• Increased Revenue: Overall, Legacy Bridge experienced a 20% increase in revenue in the first year after implementing the KPI dashboard. This translated to an additional $1.5 million in revenue. The ROI of the project was realized in less than 3 months.

These results demonstrate the significant impact that a well-designed and implemented KPI dashboard can have on advisor performance and overall business success.

Key Takeaways

The Legacy Bridge success story provides valuable insights for other RIAs looking to improve advisor productivity and drive revenue growth. Here are a few key takeaways:

1. Data-Driven Decision Making is Crucial: Investing in tools and processes that provide real-time, accurate data is essential for making informed business decisions and optimizing advisor performance.
2. Define Clear KPIs: Clearly define the key performance indicators that align with your strategic goals and track them consistently. This will help you identify areas for improvement and measure progress towards your objectives.
3. Invest in Technology: Utilize technology to automate reporting processes and streamline data collection. This will free up valuable time for advisors to focus on client engagement and revenue generation.
4. Provide Training and Support: Ensure that advisors and managers receive adequate training on how to use the KPI dashboard effectively. Provide ongoing support to address any questions or issues.
5. Foster a Culture of Accountability: Establish a formal process for reviewing and acting on the insights generated by the KPI dashboard. This will foster a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.

About Golden Door Asset

Golden Door Asset builds AI-powered intelligence tools for RIAs. Our platform helps advisors unlock actionable insights from their data to improve client outcomes and drive revenue growth. Visit our tools to see how we can help your practice.