The Cash Opportunity for Advisors:

How to start the cash conversation with clients


April 20, 2023

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

 

The Cash Opportunity for Advisors continues. After taking a look at what held-away cash is, why clients hold it, and the benefits of a cash management solution, this article takes a tactical approach to rolling out the solution to clients. We walk you through why it should be a topic of discussion with each and every client, and how to have the conversation with current, new, and prospective clients on a recurring basis. 

Why every client needs a cash solution

Industry research has shown that clients hold a significant portion of their assets in cash – often much more than advisors recommend, or even know about. Advisors who embrace this fact can offer their clients actionable steps to improve their financial well-being while bringing new assets into their orbit.

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However, cash solutions are not just for the exceptional client holding an exceptional amount of cash in their checking account. “Often, when we tell advisors about Flourish Cash,1 they respond, ‘This will be perfect for my clients who hold a lot of cash’”, said Flourish President Ben Cruikshank. “But it’s not just for one client. Every single client has cash in a checking or savings account and might be excited to earn more, whether they have $100 or $100,000.” With the national savings account average at 0.37% APY,2 every single client may benefit from a more profitable place to put cash reserves that they want to remain liquid.

The most successful advisors bring up cash with every client on a regular basis – all it takes is a few simple questions. Based on success stories from advisors, here is a plan for how to get started.

Starting the conversation: Existing clients

Many advisors haven’t checked in on client cash holdings since the initial planning conversation at the start of the advisory relationship. Go beyond the clients that you assume hold a lot of cash. Even clients with small amounts of cash are often excited to have a high-interest option, while other clients may have far more cash than you think. 

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Instead of an ad hoc approach, successful advisors typically make a plan of bringing up cash with every client during regularly scheduled quarterly meetings. It’s easy to start the conversation with a few basic questions:

  • How much cash are you holding?
  • Why are you holding cash?
  • Where are you holding cash?
  • Do you know the rate you are earning?

“RIAs that use Flourish Cash typically present it as a solution that’s exclusively available to the clients of independent advisors,” said Cruikshank. They describe the benefits: it allows clients to earn a competitive rate, retain liquidity, and benefit from increased FDIC insurance through our Program Banks.3 Additionally, it’s an option that’s integrated with the firm, allowing advisors to offer more holistic advice.

Finally, most advisors share a branded factsheet and let them know that they will be receiving an invitation soon. “It’s something that we bring up with every client to make them aware. It’s a standing agenda item and it shows that we’re on top of things,” said Erica Bouchard, Wealth Advisor at Buckingham Strategic Wealth. "It’s nice to be able to offer something new when you’re meeting with a client. We’re always striving to show clients the value that we’re adding.”


Starting the conversation: New and prospective clients

For clients who are new to your firm, advisors have the opportunity to add more value at the start of the relationship. “Working with a new advisory firm starts out with inspirational, fun conversations. Then it’s a month of paperwork, questionnaires, and process before clients really start to benefit,” said Cruikshank. Presenting clients with a new tool that shows returns quickly can help ease clients through the introductory phase. Flourish Cash makes it simple to set up standing instructions with your custodian, yielding operational efficiencies. 

For prospects, it’s a rare opportunity to deliver value before an advisory agreement has been signed. Flourish Cash gives advisors a reason to call down the list of prospects they may have been courting for years. Advisors can ask prospective clients similar questions to what they’d ask current and new clients, diving deeper into the emotional side to understand if they are fearful, if they are hesitant to enter the market, or if there are other considerations preventing them from taking action. 

Even better, when a prospective client signs up with Flourish, your firm will stay top of mind as they see your firm’s name and logo across the website, emails, and print materials. 

Making it actionable and recurring

Finances are emotionally charged and cash is no exception. Recognize that some clients might be embarrassed about the amount of cash that they’re holding. Conveying excitement about an exclusive new solution can be an effective way to open the conversation without putting clients on the spot. 

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Firms that are successful with offering clients a cash solution make it an actionable and recurring topic of conversation with each and every client. These advisors welcome the opportunity to support clients in even more aspects of their financial life. “Go beyond the clients you know hold cash. Planning and growth-oriented firms ensure that every client is in a good place, whether at Flourish or somewhere else,” said Cruikshank. "Particularly given recent events in the banking industry, this is an opportunity to bring cash into the conversation and make sure every client is happy.”

 

About Flourish

Flourish builds technology that empowers financial advisors, improves financial lives and retirement outcomes, and delivers new and innovative investment options to advisors. Today, the Flourish platform is used by more than 550 wealth management firms representing more than $1.5 trillion in assets under management. Flourish is wholly-owned by MassMutual. For more information, visit www.flourish.com.

 

Interested in learning more about Flourish Cash?


Flourish is an online platform through which investors can access financial services and products. The services and products offered through Flourish are provided by different entities and are subject to different terms, investor protections and risks. Flourish Cash is offered by Flourish Financial LLC, a registered broker-dealer and FINRA member. Flourish Financial LLC is not a bank. Check the background of Flourish Financial LLC and its personnel on FINRA's BrokerCheck. Flourish Crypto is offered by Paxos Trust Company, LLC (Paxos), a New York limited purpose trust company regulated by the New York Department of Financial Services that provides cryptocurrency custody and execution services for the Flourish Crypto accounts, and Flourish Digital Assets LLC (Flourish Digital Assets), which is registered in New York as a commodity broker-dealer and provides website and other technology services and support for Flourish Crypto accounts. Flourish Financial LLC and Flourish Digital Assets LLC are affiliates, but are not affiliates of Paxos. Please review the Legal section of our website, and the disclosures provided with each Flourish service or product, for further information regarding each service and product. © 2023 Flourish. All rights reserved.

1 A Flourish Cash account is a brokerage account offered by Flourish Financial LLC. Flourish Financial LLC is not a bank. The cash balance in a Flourish Cash account will be swept from the brokerage account to deposit account(s) at one or more third-party banks that have agreed to accept deposits from customers of Flourish Financial LLC (Program Banks). The accounts at Program Banks will pay a variable rate of interest. 

2 Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, National Deposit Rates: Savings [SNDR], retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis; https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/SNDR, 03/12/2023.

3 The cash balance in a Flourish Cash account that is swept to one or more Program Banks is eligible for FDIC insurance, subject to FDIC rules, including FDIC aggregate insurance coverage limits. FDIC insurance will not be provided until the funds arrive at the Program Bank. There are currently at least 4 Program Banks available to accept deposits for institutional Flourish Cash accounts (accounts for corporations, partnerships and other legal entities) and at least 5 Program Banks available to accept deposits for personal Flourish Cash accounts (individual, joint and revocable trust accounts), and we are not obligated to allocate customer funds across more than this number of Program Banks if there is a greater number of banks in the program. Customers are generally eligible for FDIC insurance coverage of $250,000 per customer, per Program Bank, for each account ownership category. Thus, institutional customers are eligible for up to $1,000,000 of FDIC insurance and personal customers are eligible for (i) up to $1,250,000 of FDIC insurance for either (A) an individual account or (B) an account for a revocable living trust in which one person is the only grantor, trustee and beneficiary of the trust ("Individual Revocable Trust Account") and (ii) up to $2,500,000 of FDIC insurance for either (A) a joint account with two owners or (B) an account for a revocable living trust in which the same two persons are each the only grantors, trustees and beneficiaries of the trust ("Joint Revocable Trust Account"). The total FDIC coverage for a two-person household is calculated assuming that each household member has an individual account and that both household members share a joint account. If the number of Program Banks decreases for a customer (either because a Program Bank is no longer participating in Flourish Cash, because a customer's cash is not eligible to be swept to a Program Bank based on criteria set by the Program Bank (which will be disclosed at account opening), or because a customer opts out of having their cash swept to a particular Program Bank), the amount of FDIC insurance for which the customer would be eligible through Flourish Cash would be lower. Typically, all of a customer's deposits at a Program Bank in the same ownership category (including deposits held outside Flourish Cash or held through multiple Flourish Cash accounts with the same ownership category) count toward the FDIC insurance limit for deposits at that Program Bank. Customers are responsible for monitoring whether they maintain deposits at a Program Bank outside of Flourish Cash and should consider opting out of having their cash swept to any such Program Bank to avoid exceeding FDIC insurance limits. Although Flourish Cash is offered through a brokerage account and cash held in brokerage accounts often has the benefit of SIPC protection, until such time as we offer securities products, customers likely will not have the benefit of SIPC protection for cash held in their Flourish Cash account. Further, SIPC protection is not available for any cash held at the Program Banks. Our current Program Banks can be found here. For additional information regarding FDIC coverage, visit https://fdic.gov/