Value of a Financial Services Program

"The AFS Brokerage team ideology has always provided top notch service on a multitude of levels. Whether my need has been compliance management, account maintenance, sales ideas or operational support; the team at AFS Brokerage has always been there and has always been willing to labor alongside me in order to accomplish the financial goals of my clients. With AFS Brokerage, I am confident I have the support structure needed for success in this industry."

Danny L. White Registered Representative, AFS Brokerage, Inc. Located at First National Bank, Elkhart, Kansas
 

With AFS Brokerage, you have an opportunity to leverage a very unique and different suite of services designed to provide you with a real competitive advantage.

By using our investment and insurance services, we can grow your bank's deposit base through your Money Markets.

Through AFS Brokerage's new Money Market program, your financial institution can offer brokerage and insurance services and use your own institutions' money market account. What a great way to increase your assets AND serve your clients!

Do you also need to...

• Increase fee income?
• Increase your market share?
• Retain and grow your customer base?
• Increase your cross-sell ratios?
• Compete with other outside entities, like larger financial institutions?
• Retain your best and most profitable employees?

We all know that there are distinct differences between "needs" and "wants." Today, many Financial Institutions are faced with the challenge of providing multi-level programs, products and services that will compete with large regional Financial Institutions while controlling expenses and risk. Financial Institutions need to provide higher level, more diverse choices to their customers…..or lose them.

Today's Financial Institution customer can choose many different financial service options from a variety of sources. You may more than adequately address their basic needs such as deposit products, commercial and consumer loans and mortgages. But, have you ever considered investments, life and disability insurance, personal and corporate retirement products and the host of other financial products that your competitors are offering?

In other words, have you maximized the number of relationships it takes to make a transactional customer a relationship-driven client?

Value of a Financial Services Program

"Today, your competition is making significant strides in reaching out to your most profitable and wealthy customers." An investment program gives your Financial Institution the opportunity to strengthen its position in today’s competitive marketplace. Implementing an investment/insurance program increases profitable, long-standing relationships with existing clients and empowers your Financial Institution to attract new clientele. If you want to stay competitive and provide service to your client base you must offer insurance and investment products. Cross-selling enhances the employee’s relationship with the customers and mitigates the risks of customer disintermediation. If a Financial Institution does not provide these alternatives to its customer base, some other bank, brokerage firm, insurance company, credit union, mutual fund company or an Internet bank will take away your customer base and their deposits.

Once a customer is lost to a competitor, the cost of obtaining a new customer relationship can be 7-10 times greater than the cost of retaining the existing ones. Your competition is no longer just the other institution down the street it is all of the above organizations.

To remain competitive, Financial Institutions must take on the role of banker, insurance agent, investment adviser and retirement planner. These job duties will help mitigate the probability of customer disintermediation from your institution and attract new, younger clients. By creating a "one-stop" financial office within the Financial Institution, you are able to capitalize on an established relationship of trust and credibility generating a new source of fee income for your Financial Institution and bring new value to your customers.

The future of your institutions comes from gaining a greater market share of the younger clientele. This lies in today’s Baby Boomers who comprise approximately 70-80 million people in the US population whose age ranges from 40 to 60 years old. A Baby Boomer turns 50 with great frequency, a trend that will continue for years. Moreover, their life expectancy continues to increase year-by-year. In 1900 by way of example, life expectancy at birth was age 48 for males and 51 for females, whereas in 2000 it had increased to 74 for males and 79 for females.

As this group faces retirement, they are looking past traditional bank investments and looking toward the equities and insurance markets for the purpose of gaining greater returns to enhance their retirement income. Similarly, this generation is more sophisticated and market-sensitive as compared to customers in years’ past. This generation will inherit approximately $6 trillion in assets and will need planning and direction on how to secure their retirement years. As customers’ net worth continues to increase, the need to diversify their money becomes of much greater importance.

Not only will our program enhance client services within your organization, but we will also provide an additional career path for current employees. Our programs increase cross-selling ratios and help develop a team atmosphere within your Financial Institution.

Now is the time to take advantage of this opportunity, and put our program in place to:

o Prevent the customer disintermediation you are facing today;

o Solidify your current client relationships; and

o Attract new client and business relationships.

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