There is no limit to the amount of money an advisor can generate, says Peter Pomponio, vice president of Assante Capital Management Ltd. in Montreal. But the single limiting factor for growing a business is the number of meaningful relationships an advisor can maintain.

Pomponio’s advice to advisors: “Choose your relationships carefully.” An advisor can seek out the elusive high net-worth clients or, as Pomponio has learned to do, build relationships with their trusted advisors — particularly, chartered accountants.

That’s the strategy Pomponio outlined at the 2008 Top Advisor Summit held on June 9 in Toronto. He has built his book by working with CAs because, as centres of influence go, “accountants offer the most bang for the buck,” he says. CAs have solid relationships with quality clients who can benefit from the services of a good advisor. A relationship with an accountant, Pomponio says, will generate 10 referrals.

Pomponio would know. He owns the largest independent branch in the Assante wealth-management network. He has $160 million in assets under management, and serves 130 families. And he knows a thing or two about efficiency, recently doubling his AUM while reducing his staff to one assistant from four.

“Focusing on centres of influence,” he says, “allows you to leverage your time.”

The key to building relationships with CAs is to show that you pose no threat to their business, Pomponio says. You have to prove to them that the services you can provide to their clients will complement — not take away from — the services they provide.

“We are not in competition,” Pomponio says. “This is a ‘one plus one equals three’ strategy. You, in conjunction with the accountant, will provide a much better service to the client. And you will always make the accountant look good.”

While larger accounting firms offer a broad spectrum of expertise, smaller firms often don’t provide services such as tax planning and estate planning. Pomponio has found that working with accountants in small and medium-sized firms enables him to help the accountants compete with those in larger firms, all while building his own book.

Building a book through referral relationships is a slow process, what Pomponio calls a “dripping” strategy: “You don’t meet an accountant, and then they send you a bunch of referrals. They need to see you over and over and talk to you often.”

Pomponio started by canvassing his existing clients and building a database of their accountants. Over time, he determined which professionals were interested in building a network. He learned not to expect all accountants to co-operate. “If someone isn’t ready to play ball,” he says, “move on.”

When approaching an accountant, offer black-and-white solutions and a process, he suggests. Accountants deal in the practical realm, he says: “They do not like surprises.”

Pomponio arranges a personal meeting, at which all the members of his team or network are available to answer questions. Before the meeting, he always sends the accountant a list of the topics that he plans to discuss.

“The discussion should address the COI’s practice and challenges — make it all about them,” he says. “When dealing with a COI, especially an accountant, a consistent and seamless process is crucial in every aspect, from marketing to them to getting referrals to servicing that client.”

Repetition breeds confidence and, ultimately, trust. “Their comfort level rises as they experience the same process over and over. It might be very painful at the beginning,” Pomponio warns. “But once you’ve gone through this over and over, they trust you.”

Accountants have challenges of their own, he adds. Their success depends on having their clients’ trust and they must be seen to be independent. Accountants may believe that by referring their clients to an advisor, they will lose control of the client relationship.

“Accountants want their clients to believe that they know something about everything, including our business,” says Pomponio. “But they are perceived to offer truly independent advice. If you can piggyback on their trust and integrity, if an accountant is referring you, it’s a 95% sale.”

But accountants don’t give their approval readily, he adds.

Pomponio doesn’t present the arrangement as a solicitation for business. Instead, he shows that he can increase the value of the services the accountant offers to his or her clients by becoming a part of the accountant’s network.

@page_break@“We make sure that because of our process, the accountant’s client retention is going to increase,” he says. “We are going to allow them to increase their consulting fees because we bring about new services or we reinforce things they have been saying to their clients.”

The best an advisor can offer an accountant is the opportunity to work with someone who will always make them look good.

“We are looking out for them,” Pomponio says.

Acknowledging that a referral relationship is a two-way street, Pomponio refers clients to his COIs whenever he can.

While not a CA himself, Pom-ponio understands accountants. After completing a commerce degree at Concordia University in Montreal in 1990, he was in the CA program at McGill University and later worked at an accounting firm. But he was drawn to finance, so he joined DPM Financial Planning, a firm that was subsequently bought by Assante.

More advisors and accountants could be working together, he says, but misunderstandings are keeping them apart: “Advisors don’t give themselves the chance. They don’t even attempt to meet the accountant because they worry that their ideas will be shot down.”

But accountants do not know the investment business, says Pomponio: “Accountants do realize that they need to understand our business a little bit more because there are tremendous opportunities for them down the line.”

Pomponio, who is married with three children, maintains strong social and business networks though a number of community activities. He is active in philanthropic circles, both through Assante and through Montreal’s Italian-Canadian community.

He hosts his top COIs frequently, but warns: “Never talk shop at a social event.” IE

IE:TV — Advisor says referrals with accountants pay off