--- title: "Why Reactive Advisors Hurt the Industry's Trust Problem | Aspen" description: "Reactive advisors are why the industry has trust problems. With today's technology, being proactive is easy, so why do bad actors refuse to take the step? A candid take on churn, fees, and retention." lang: en json-ld: | [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Get Aspen", "url": "https://getaspen.com", "logo": "https://getaspen.com/apple-touch-icon.png", "description": "AI implementation firm for financial advisors. Strategy, content, automation, and growth executed by operators who become your AI team.", "sameAs": [ "https://www.linkedin.com/company/getaspen" ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "name": "Get Aspen", "url": "https://getaspen.com" }, { "@type": "FAQPage", "mainEntity": [ { "@type": "Question", "name": "What is Get Aspen?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Get Aspen is an AI implementation firm for financial advisors. We become your AI growth team, powered by Aspen Agent, our AI platform built for advisors." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Who does Aspen work with?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Aspen works with ambitious financial advisory firms and RIAs that want to grow through AI-powered strategy, content, lead generation, client servicing, and automation." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "How is Aspen different from marketing software?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Aspen is an AI agent that runs the work, not a tool the advisor has to configure. It sounds like the firm, stays compliant, and operates as a teammate that executes across marketing, lead follow-up, and client communication." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "What does Aspen Agent do for a firm?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Aspen Agent runs websites, lead generation, outreach sequences, content, email nurture, and client servicing workflows like annual reviews, referrals, and Google reviews — end to end." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "How do I get started with Aspen?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Book a call with the Aspen team to walk through your firm's goals. If it is a fit, Aspen builds and runs your growth engine for you." } } ] } ] }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Article", "headline": "Why Reactive Advisors Hurt the Industry", "description": "Reactive advisors are why the industry has trust problems. With today's technology, being proactive is easy, so why do bad actors refuse to take the step? A candid take on churn, fees, and retention.", "articleBody": "Being proactive has never been easier\n\nIt is so easy to be proactive nowadays with technology, systems, and automations. The tools exist to reach out, check in, and stay ahead of client needs without manual effort.\n\nThe bad actors, though, just refuse to take that step. It is annoying as a client when the only time you speak to your advisor is when you pick up the phone and call them. To be paying that amount of money and not hear from your advisor until you reach out first is insane.\n\nProactive work is the boring part no one talks about\n\nThe catch with being proactive is that you have to set it up months in advance, and that is the boring part nobody mentions. Reactive advisors avoid it because the last thing they want to do is plan ahead to talk to their clients.\n\nWhat reactive advisors have figured out is that they still collect the same fee while doing less work, because they never have to be proactive. On the surface, maybe they are on to something.\n\nReactive advisors damage trust for everyone\n\nIn all seriousness, reactive advisors are going to have terrible churn, very bad retention, and a thrashed reputation. The math eventually catches up with them.\n\nBut it only takes a couple of those reactive, bad advisors to create trust issues across the whole industry. Proactivity is not just good service, it is what protects the profession's reputation.", "author": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Get Aspen" }, "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Get Aspen" } }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "FAQPage", "mainEntity": [ { "@type": "Question", "name": "What is a reactive advisor?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "A reactive advisor only engages clients when the client reaches out first. They do not proactively check in, plan ahead, or stay ahead of client needs." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Why do reactive advisors hurt industry trust?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Clients paying high fees expect to hear from their advisor. When advisors only respond after being chased, it erodes trust, and a few bad actors damage the reputation of the whole industry." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Why don't more advisors stay proactive?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Proactivity has to be set up months in advance, which is the boring part. Reactive advisors avoid that work because they still collect the same fee while doing less." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "How does technology make advisors more proactive?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Modern systems and automations make it easy to reach out, check in, and stay ahead of client needs without manual effort, so there is no excuse for being reactive." } } ] } ] --- [aspen ](#top) [Approach](#work)[Operators](#operators)[Work](#approach)[Resources](/resources) [Book a Demo](https://calendly.com/d/3rs-82d-kpc) [← Resources](/resources) Videos # Why Reactive Advisors Hurt the Industry 2 min watch Reactive advisors are why the industry has trust problems. It is a hot take, but think about it: if the only time you hear from your advisor is when you call them, who is really the client in that relationship? ## Being proactive has never been easier It is so easy to be proactive nowadays with technology, systems, and automations. The tools exist to reach out, check in, and stay ahead of client needs without manual effort. The bad actors, though, just refuse to take that step. It is annoying as a client when the only time you speak to your advisor is when you pick up the phone and call them. To be paying that amount of money and not hear from your advisor until you reach out first is insane. ## Proactive work is the boring part no one talks about The catch with being proactive is that you have to set it up months in advance, and that is the boring part nobody mentions. Reactive advisors avoid it because the last thing they want to do is plan ahead to talk to their clients. What reactive advisors have figured out is that they still collect the same fee while doing less work, because they never have to be proactive. On the surface, maybe they are on to something. ## Reactive advisors damage trust for everyone In all seriousness, reactive advisors are going to have terrible churn, very bad retention, and a thrashed reputation. The math eventually catches up with them. But it only takes a couple of those reactive, bad advisors to create trust issues across the whole industry. Proactivity is not just good service, it is what protects the profession's reputation. ## Frequently asked questions What is a reactive advisor? A reactive advisor only engages clients when the client reaches out first. They do not proactively check in, plan ahead, or stay ahead of client needs. Why do reactive advisors hurt industry trust? Clients paying high fees expect to hear from their advisor. When advisors only respond after being chased, it erodes trust, and a few bad actors damage the reputation of the whole industry. Why don't more advisors stay proactive? Proactivity has to be set up months in advance, which is the boring part. Reactive advisors avoid that work because they still collect the same fee while doing less. How does technology make advisors more proactive? Modern systems and automations make it easy to reach out, check in, and stay ahead of client needs without manual effort, so there is no excuse for being reactive. Aspen partnership ## See what Aspen can automate for your firm. [Book a Demo](https://calendly.com/d/3rs-82d-kpc) aspen An AI implementation firm for modern financial advisors. 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