While wellbeing and mental health have become a more mainstream conversation among the wider U.S. population since the pandemic, it’s a topic still largely untouched by the financial services industry. New research from Kitces.com aims to measure and track trends across advisor wellbeing, just as the industry benchmarks anything else. 

Over 1500 members of financial advisory teams responded to The Kitces Report: 2023 Advisor Wellbeing Study. Respondents reported on their current level of life quality, or wellbeing, on a 0–10 scale. The average was 6.84, with solo practitioners feeling better about life compared to mid-size or larger firm advisors.

In this episode, Diana Britton speaks with Michael Kitces, blogger and chief financial planning nerd at Kitces.com, about the key highlights of the study, including the positive impact of team involvement, the strategic delegation of less desirable tasks, and the necessity of fair compensation, particularly for those advisors who are service-oriented. 

Michael discusses: 

• The impetus behind launching this study
  
• How he defines wellbeing and happiness in the study
  
• The correlation between firm size and advisor well-being
  
• The top drivers of advisor well-being: autonomy, experience, team and service 
  
• How firms can foster happiness and engagement among their advisors
  

Resources: 

• Kitces Report: What Actually Contributes To Advisor Wellbeing
  
• Listen to the latest episodes of The Healthy Advisor
  

Connect With Michael Kitces:

• Questions@Kitces.com 
  
• LinkedIn: Michael Kitces
  
• Kitces.com
  
• Buckingham Wealth Partners
  

Connect With Wealth Management & NREI:

• WealthManagement.com
  
• LinkedIn: Diana Britton
  
• Email: diana.britton@informa.com
  
• LinkedIn: Informa
  
• LinkedIn: WealthManagement
  

About Our Guest:

Michael E. Kitces is the Head of Planning Strategy for Buckingham Wealth Partners, a private wealth management firm located in St Louis, Missouri, that oversees approximately $50 billion of client assets. In addition, he is the co-founder of the XY Planning Network, AdvicePay, fpPathfinder, and New Planner Recruiting, former practitioner editor of the Journal of Financial Planning, and the publisher of the e-newsletter The Kitces Report and the popular financial planning industry blog Nerd’s Eye View through his website www.Kitces.com, dedicated to advancing knowledge in financial planning.

If you have a struggle and wish to share your experiences and help others in similar situations, please reach out to Diana at diana.britton@informa.com.

The Healthy Advisor podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Android, Stitcher, Spotify and wherever podcasts are found.