Wealth management branding is about much more than just a logo. The number one reason clients become interested in considering outreach from a wealth management firm? It isn’t investment performance. Or fees. Or technology. Or even the offer of a free review of a financial plan.
According to McKinsey, it’s the reputation and brand of the firm.
As the wealth management industry becomes increasingly more competitive, and internal stakeholders become increasingly more focused on scale, branding is an essential consideration. However, most think branding means a bland promise of “putting clients first” or a new logo; in reality, branding means far more. Branding best practices for wealth managers require a well-defined brand, a strong brand identity, and a clear growth strategy that speaks directly to ideal clients and potential clients.
Below, we’ve created a comprehensive playbook to help wealth managers consider all the factors, inputs and best practices they need to consider when embarking on a rebranding effort.
Why Wealth Management Firms Rebrand
Every firm and its situation is different, but below are some of the most common triggers we see that lead wealth managers to reconsider their brand:
- Mergers & Acquisitions: With the wealth management industry frequently undergoing consolidation, firms need to consider anything from a new name and identity, to a revamped brand promise, to integrating disparate cultures into a single operating entity.
- RIA Breakaways: With many wealth managers increasingly considering independence, the “art of the breakaway” includes consideration for a powerful, evocative brand to launch into the marketplace.
- Competitive Differentiation: As the industry becomes increasingly more competitive, wealth managers are recognizing the need to differentiate themselves in the marketplace in order to connect more effectively with prospects and scale their firms. In a crowded market, effective branding helps attract clients, establish credibility, and communicate a clear unique value to end clients with unique needs.
What a Wealth Management Brand Actually Covers
“We have a new name, logo and website!”
For many wealth managers, a new name, logo, and website is the culmination of their rebranding efforts. And while these are important elements of a wealth management brand, they are not all the elements that need to be considered.
Below is a comprehensive list of what you need to create when developing wealth management branding.
Target Audience
Increasingly, wealth managers are realizing that speaking to everyone means speaking to no one. If you really want to differentiate yourself, you need a clear, discernible, descriptive target market you can message to, connect with and serve better than anyone else. This includes not just target clients, but also how your brand translates to prospective advisors if you’re focused on inorganic growth.
Positioning and Messaging
Are you a UHNW, family-office-like firm? A planning-driven shop? A niche player? Wealth management firms need to define their position in the marketplace and the corresponding messaging that supports their positioning in the marketplace. This is where your unique value becomes visible to the market.
Belief System
While it’s a component of messaging, we believe the belief system should be specifically carved out as a consideration when embarking on a wealth management branding exercise. The reason? It’s not just about who you serve, and how you set yourself apart – it’s also about what you believe. A clearly articulated belief system helps you connect with like-minded individuals, build deeper connections, and ultimately build lasting relationships rooted in trust and shared perspective.
Logo, Voice, and Visual Identity
After defining the above, you need to consider how you show up in the marketplace. This includes your brand identity, visual elements, and color scheme, all working together to create a consistent and recognizable presence across every touchpoint. These elements should reflect your positioning and deliver a cohesive brand experience across your website, social media profiles, and broader marketing materials.
Website and Collateral
While a wealth management brand is all-encompassing and therefore carries across all of your materials, you need to start with the “heavy hitter” touchpoints including your website, digital marketing templates across email and social, client brochure, one-page firm overview and recruitment materials (if focused on inorganic growth). These marketing materials should reflect a well-defined brand and support a strong brand experience.
Branding Best Practices for Wealth Managers
Below are some of the best practices we’ve developed over the years to create a compelling, distinctive wealth management brand:
Be Deliberate and Research-Driven
This is the brand you will carry forward into the future of your firm. It should align with your business plan, support your growth strategy, and clearly communicate the benefits you provide to your end clients. It will enshrine your belief system and values as you scale so that your service model doesn’t dilute with growth. In other words: This is heady, really important stuff. Carve out time, bring in an outside firm to do research and facilitate the process, and think hard about every word you put on paper. We promise it will be worth the time.
Build From the Inside-Out
Your people are critical to delivering a consistent brand. Alignment around core values, messaging, and positioning ensures your team can establish trust and create a shared sense of purpose across the organization and the broader community.
Think About Who You Serve – and Who You Don’t
We like to say that wealth managers should have the “courage to think small.” As the marketplace becomes increasingly competitive, having clear, distinct target audiences is critical. You do not want to end up with a target client that any wealth management firm can speak to. Have a clear specialization and a powerful service offering for unique client personas. Being specific now will make all of your marketing work harder for you later.
Avoid Cliches
Here’s a fun exercise – use the competitive audit that’s part of your upfront research process to create a list of “wealth management cliches”. These should become the taboo of all your messaging: Not a single brand message should use this language. Tip: If you don’t have the time to create a list, get in touch and we’ll give you ours!
Don’t Forget Compliance
There is absolutely nothing worse than developing a great brand position, getting all internal stakeholders on board, and suddenly hearing from compliance that “the messaging will never fly.” The key is to get compliance involved from day one, and make them partners throughout the process. This will ensure your message isn’t just effective, but also usable.
Wealth Management Branding Examples
A brand is worth a thousand words. Below are some great examples of powerful, distinctive brands we’ve observed in the marketplace:
- Rockefeller: The minute you land on Rockefeller’s homepage, you can tell they’ve built their entire brand from the ground up to connect with high-net-worth clientele and their advisors. Our favorite part? The CTA on their website isn’t to “Contact Us”; it’s to “Request an Introduction”. Now that’s exclusive!
- Corient: Corient is a great example of having distinctive audience personas with a clear value proposition for each. They clearly know who they are targeting and how to meet them where they are. Even better: They’ve built entire marketing campaigns for each of these audiences in order to drive their business at scale.
- Hirtle Callaghan: Hirtle is a smaller player that not many know. But what we like about them is that their visual identity, messaging, and website don’t look, feel, or sound like anyone else in the marketplace. These guys clearly sought to avoid cliches and achieve something distinct.
How Long Does a Wealth Management Rebrand Take?
The answer: It depends. A smaller breakaway firm with just a few stakeholders doesn’t need as much time as a firm with thousands of advisors and home office personnel. But consider:
- The research and brand strategy development process can take anywhere from 1-3 months depending on the size of your firm, number of stakeholders, layers of socialization, and culture of your firm.
- Creation of foundational logo and visual identity components can take anywhere from 1.5 – 3 months, depending again on the size and complexity of your firm.
- Development of supporting internal and external collateral, inclusive of your website, can take anywhere from 2 – 5 months, with the website being the heavy lift of the group.
So, you’re usually looking at anything from 4 months to nearly a year depending on the size and complexity of the firm. But perhaps more importantly, this is just to get to the starting line. You now need to build your brand in the marketplace! And while your brand will immediately help you connect with and convert more clients, it can take years to become effectively known for a clear, discernible position in the marketplace.
When to Bring in an Agency
It is (sadly) very rare and difficult to successfully execute a wealth management rebranding without the help of an outside partner. Here are some of the things you need to consider:
- Is your team too close to your brand? If you have ingrained beliefs, an outside partner can help you ensure that your message isn’t built in an echo chamber.
- Do you have the resources to execute the rebrand? Consider compelling visual design talents, writing, website design, UX, and development … a rebrand can tug on many different areas of specialization and usually you need an agency partner to help with several of them.
- Can you navigate inevitable politics? Especially when it comes to M&A, you need to consider whether an agency can act as the “mediator” between two disparate groups as they come together. Starting your brand off siloed is a recipe for disaster, so having a third-party involved can help ensure alignment.
Wealth Management Branding of Substance
Substance has been closely involved and associated with many brands in the wealth management space. A few highlights:
- Lincoln Financial Network: Before it was sold to Osaic, we created a compelling belief system and visual system for Lincoln Financial Network, built around a new tagline, “The Network Effect.” The brand, positioning and messaging was a unifying point for all advisors and stakeholders across the firm, acting as a rallying cry that united the culture and maximized engagement in the marketplace.
- Janney Montgomery Scott: Janney needed a message that helped it position itself in the marketplace, but also helped it stay true to its advisor-first culture. We created a brand that celebrated the strength of the advisor-client relationship, and aligned all stakeholders around a simple brand promise: “Plan for more.” This included developing an elevated visual identity that would connect with key target personas ranging from HNW individuals to business owners.
Going through a merger, acquisition, or firm repositioning? Let’s talk about what wealth management branding needs to say on the other side.
Frequently Asked Questions:
What is wealth management branding?
Wealth management branding is more than the creation of a visual identity and logo; it’s the development of a comprehensive brand positioning, messaging, and strategy that creates a consistent, clear, compelling presence for your firm across all touchpoints.
How much does wealth management rebranding cost?
Rebrands can range from simple $35,000+ exercises to multimillion-dollar projects. Costs vary based on the size and complexity of the firm, number of deliverables, and the agency partner you ultimately choose to work with.
How long does a wealth management rebrand take?
Similar to the cost question, it can take anywhere from 4 months to a year to launch your revamped brand in the marketplace. However, you also need to consider the time it takes to seed that brand in the marketplace and begin to become known for something. Being known for your brand is a multi-year commitment that requires consistency and conviction if you really want it to work to your advantage.
What triggers a wealth management firm to rebrand?
There are many triggers, ranging from RIA breakaways, to mergers and acquisitions, to an acknowledged need amongst internal stakeholders that the firm needs to update its brand and message in order to maintain its competitive position in the marketplace.
