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Making the process repeatable
Flourish Cash was not a solution that Halbert Hargrove wanted to offer only select clients, believing it had the potential to benefit all clients. “We didn't want Flourish Cash to just sit on a shelf and wait for people to find out about it years later,” said Spinelli. “We put it on every client agenda when we first rolled it out and talked with all our clients about it as a potential solution.” In addition to the initial introduction, the firm made it standard to formally review cash holdings and needs twice a year. The creation of a repeatable process has become central to Halbert Hargrove’s success in rolling Flourish Cash across their client base.
Halbert Hargrove also streamlined the process of sending invitations, which often takes place during client meetings or phone calls. “It's not a to-do item that gets pushed out a week because you know it takes a while or requires some long paperwork process,” explained Gilley. “It allows advisors to help clients get started quickly and effectively, which has been a powerful thing.” Halbert Hargrove heavily prioritizes streamlined, tech-enabled client experiences, and Flourish Cash fit squarely in their wheelhouse.
The ability to pre-fill applications has made Flourish Cash even easier for advisors to implement and more seamless for clients. Advisors are not only able to give clients access to the program, but can also kickstart the process for them. The advisor can take part of the account-opening process off the client’s plate, highlighting their central role in bringing the solution to their clients.
As one of the platform administrators, Gilley leads the charge to communicate information about Flourish Cash on a regular basis. “We have a weekly all-hands meeting and, when there are rate updates or new features, I'll put Flourish Cash on the agenda to make sure that everyone is aware of the change.” The current rate environment has put a spotlight on Flourish Cash and consistent communication has further helped to keep it top of mind across the firm and emphasizes it as a solution for all clients.
Delivering premium customer service is a cornerstone of the Halbert Hargrove experience and needed to be central to the cash solution they offered clients. “On an operational level, we're very focused on delivering a good client experience whenever we implement something. Flourish has been key to this,” said Gilley. “There are other solutions we could have worked with, but you can't necessarily do those on the clients’ behalf. Maybe they offer slightly higher rates, but it's going to take the client five times more effort to open an account. Partnering with Flourish was critical because we can help clients with the process and have visibility into what they're doing.” The streamlined process ensured that advisors knew how to best bring Flourish Cash to clients. Honing in on how to present it in client conversations became the next part of the process.
Understanding the value for clients
One of the keys to Halbert Hargrove’s widespread adoption of Flourish has been getting advisors to understand how the solution benefits clients of all sizes. While rates and liquidity are often the driving factor for client adoption, additional FDIC coverage through its Program Banks – beyond what clients can get at a standard bank – has recently increased in importance.Ω Spinelli said, “Flourish is an incredibly safe, highly liquid option. Where we’re at today, clients are often seeing Flourish Cash pay higher rates than short-term bonds, all with increased FDIC insurance protection.”
As part of the process, advisors at Halbert Hargrove encourage clients to test out Flourish Cash and see if they like it. “Being able to tell clients from experience that it only takes five minutes and that we can start the process for them is really helpful,” explained Gilley. “It’s very important to be able to offer a frictionless solution to a process that they're used to being very painful.” The simplicity of the platform, compared to other client-led solutions, is central to conversation with clients.
The integration with Halbert Hargrove’s tech stack has enabled increased visibility and has saved the advisor’s time because they can access data more easily and a further boost to the client experience. “It's been extremely beneficial for clients,” said Cummings. “Flourish is tightly integrated with what we do and we haven't had any technical issues: it works, is reliable, and the platform has been constantly improving.” Flourish Cash has given Halbert Hargrove more visibility of client cash and more insight of the financial lives of their clients.
The visibility that advisors have gained of client cash holdings has helped with the development of financial plans. “Flourish gave us a good excuse to start talking about cash. One of the benefits was that we unearthed assets that we didn't know about,” said Cummings. In addition, being able to offer Flourish Cash as a solution helped bolster the advisor-client relationship. “From a fiduciary perspective, our clients knew we weren't making the pitch just to increase our fees because we don't charge on what's at Flourish Cash. We view it as a value add to the Halbert Hargrove relationship,” said Cummings.
In addition to strengthening the relationship, providing clients with a solution to manage their cash also helps protect against competitors, “To maintain competitiveness, we sometimes have to do things without a direct fee attached. If a client comes to us, we want to be that solution provider, we don't want to tell them to go somewhere else,” said Spinelli. “It's a cultural component of our firm. We just want to do right by the client.”
The advisor’s firsthand experience with the platform comes back into play when making the pitch to clients. “The only way you can represent something accurately to clients is to have experienced it yourself. In the case of Flourish, it was solid from the get-go and seemed a total no-brainer,” said Cummings. “It makes it that much easier when introducing it to a client, to explain how it works, explain the user experience, and make the client comfortable with your recommendation.”
