Time is money, especially in the world of financial planning.

Let's take a closer look at how financial advisors spend their time and uncover some eye-opening stats that show both the importance and potential inefficiencies in the current system.

Picture this: only about a third of Americans work with a financial advisor. That might not sound like much, but we're still talking about a whopping 120 million people seeking professional financial guidance.

Now, let's break it down. Typically, advisors meet with each client twice a year for an hour each time. That's two hours of face-to-face time annually. 

But here's the kicker - research shows that advisors usually spend just as much time on meeting prep and follow-up as they do in the actual meeting. So, we're looking at four hours per client per year.

When you do the math, it's mind-boggling. We're talking about 480 million hours a year spent on client meetings and related admin tasks. That's half a billion hours! It's like watching "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy 160 million times.

This massive time sink highlights a huge opportunity for improvement. 

At Thyme, we're aiming to slash that meeting admin time by 50-90%.

Imagine freeing up even half of those 240 million admin hours.That's 120 million hours advisors could use to serve more clients, build stronger relationships, stay on top of market trends, or even achieve a better work-life balance.

As the industry evolves, embracing tech to streamline meeting tasks will be crucial. Tools that can automate scheduling, prep, and follow-up could be game-changers, benefiting both advisors and their clients.

At Thyme, we're all in on this transformation, helping advisors reclaim their time and focus on what really matters - providing top-notch financial guidance to their clients.

So, what do you think about these numbers? If you're an advisor, does this line up with your experience? We'd love to hear your thoughts. 

We’re a YC-backed company with a mission to help transform meeting intelligence for financial advisors. We use meeting transcription, and intelligent document parsing to allow you to focus on what matters.

Schedule a demo here to learn more. 

Sources

[1] Population Clock - U.S. Census Bureau https://www.census.gov/popclock/ 

[2] 20+ Financial Advisor Statistics You Must Know in 2024 - Upmetrics https://upmetrics.co/blog/financial-advisor-statistics 

[3] How Do Financial Advisors Actually Spend Their Time? - Kitces.com https://www.kitces.com/blog/how-do-financial-advisors-spend-time-research-study-productivity-capacity-efficiency/ 

[4] How Many Financial Advisors Are in the U.S.? | Finance Strategists https://www.financestrategists.com/financial-advisor/advisor-types/how-many-financial-advisors-are-in-the-us/ 

[5] Only 35% of Americans Work With a Financial Advisor. Here's Why ... https://www.fool.com/the-ascent/buying-stocks/articles/only-35-of-americans-work-with-a-financial-advisor-heres-why-you-should-consider-one/ 

[6] How Many Clients Per Financial Advisor? - Doug Greenberg https://douglasgreenberg.org/2022/10/19/how-many-clients-per-financial-advisor/ 

[7] New Kitces Research On What Improves Advisor Productivity https://www.kitces.com/blog/financial-advisor-productivity-revenue-per-advisor-experience-expertise-team-leverage/ 

[8] United States Population 2024 (Live) https://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/united-states-population 

[9] meetthyme.com https://meetthyme.com