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Marty Bicknell, CEO and president of Mariner Wealth Advisors

Industry Spotlight > RIAs

Marty Bicknell: Best Referral Sources for Talent Might Be Under Your Roof

By Jeff Berman

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Although Mariner Wealth Advisors has grown from having less than 200 advisors to 600 in just over three years, talent acquisition remains a major challenge, according to Marty Bicknell, Mariner Wealth Advisors CEO and president.

The firm is, however, making progress after realizing that its best referral sources for good talent were right under its roof, among its own advisors and associates, he said.

Other challenges remain, Bicknell noted. For one thing, advisors’ main challenge after joining Mariner is “implementing all the resources in a cohesive and structured way,” he said.

Meanwhile, the firm remains active in mergers and acquisitions. For example, Mariner said it acquired Hopkins Tameron Hostal last month in the latest sign that advisory firms are increasingly looking to add or improve the tax services they offer.

The HTH acquisition and integration of its services “enhances Mariner Wealth Advisors’ mission of providing clients with 360-degree wealth advice, and emphasizes the firm’s dedication to offering a full catalog of solutions in-house,” the RIA said in a news release.

Bicknell, with seven others, founded Mariner Wealth in 2006 with a goal of “keeping the client at the center of all we do,” according to the firm’s website. He wanted to build a company that could simplify its clients’ lives by having all the resources they needed under one roof.

Via email, we asked Bicknell a few questions about what advisors should be doing today that they aren’t, what industry trend or competitive issue is most affecting his firm and its advisors, and more.

THINKADVISOR: What are advisors at your firm not doing today that they should be doing (and want to do) for clients?

MARTY BICKNELL: At our main business unit, we have grown from having [fewer] than 200 advisors to 600 in a little over three years. During that time, we have built a significant number of tools and resources for our advisors to elevate their value proposition and the client experience.

Our advisors’ main challenge is implementing all the resources in a cohesive and structured way upon joining the firm. It takes time to learn the best practices and for them to adapt the technology to how they are accustomed to working with clients.

What industry trend/competitive issue is most affecting your advisors, your group and you?

Talent acquisition.

How is your firm addressing that issue?

We haven’t solved it. That’s for sure. We are making progress though. We discovered that our own associates and advisors can be our best referral sources when it comes to talent. They are connected to many in the industry, and they have a good idea of who would be an ideal fit for our culture. Instead of assuming they will make the referrals, we’ve started asking them to do so.

What do you think investor clients are most concerned about today when it comes to working with you, your firm and advisors? And how are you all addressing this concern?

Clients want time and attention from their advisor. It’s not a new concern. We are working very hard to implement systems and processes that give time back to advisors so they can spend more time interacting with clients. This will be a never-ending battle, and always at the forefront of us putting clients first.

What about your firm’s business growth and business building? What’s working and what’s not? What’s holding you back, and what do you intend to do about it?

We have an organic growth engine that produces 10%-20% organic growth across the firm. Growth is a constant focus of leadership. Our goal or purpose as an organization is to positively impact the lives of many, and in this order: clients, associates, communities.

Are you most challenged by internal issues like hiring or training? Or are you most challenged by external issues like competitiveness or compliance?

Currently, we are most challenged by internal issues … hiring and training, for sure. We almost doubled the size of our company associate count in 2022 alone and still need more people. With the clip at which we are hiring, training and onboarding is a major focus point and one that constantly needs to be reassessed and improved.

How does your firm and your advisors work with CPAs and attorneys, and do you plan to do more of this in 2023? Why or why not? 

CPAs and attorneys are a very important component to client outcomes, and we are very active in making the relationship with a client, their advisor and their CPA or attorney as cohesive as possible.

The value proposition and client experience is our primary concern, so engagement with centers of influence will always be a growing component to our model.

In addition, we have a robust in-house tax group, too. We always want to make sure tax strategy is part of the planning process, whether we are working with in-house or outside resources.

What do you like most AND least about your job?

Helping clients achieve their goals is our primary responsibility, and seeing success in that brings a lot of satisfaction. Seeing associates at all levels grow personally and professionally is why I come to work every day. I can’t really pinpoint something I don’t like. Not liking something is a mindset that I try not to engage with.

When did you get started in the business? How and why did you do so?

I got started in the business as a college intern in 1989. I thought I wanted to go to law school but, after my internship, I knew wealth consulting is what I wanted to do as a career.

What industry trend most interests or concerns you and why? What are you doing about it? 

The aging advisor trend is what most concerns me right now. With the average age of advisors being somewhere in the mid-50s, we are going to have a shortage of advisors in the near future. For me, this is both an interest, concern and an opportunity. We are very focused on attracting, training and developing the next generation of advisors. I’m encouraged to see more universities offering this as a major, too.

(Pictured: Marty Bicknell, CEO and president of Mariner Wealth Advisors)

Jeff Berman

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