Successful financial advisors tend to gauge the success of their practice by the level of their clients’ satisfaction rather than using financial metrics, and they spend a vast majority of their time serving clients, according to a recent survey.

ByAllAccounts, Inc., a Woburn, Massachusetts-based company that provides data aggregation services for advisors, recently surveyed nearly 400 advisors across the United States to determine the traits and characteristics of successful advisors. A majority of the advisors surveyed have at least $100 million in assets under management (AUM).

The survey found that 96.9% of respondents measure success by client satisfaction, compared to 41.5% who measure success by AUM. Less commonly cited gauges of success include revenue, investment performance and new clients.

Although AUM isn’t top of mind for all successful advisors, however, the survey showed that assets are a key consideration when they’re choosing which clients to work with. Most successful advisors tend to focus on the high net worth (HNW) segment of the market.

Indeed, 40.6% of respondents said most of their clients have between $1 million and $5 million in assets, and 28.1% said most of their clients have between $500,000 and $1 million. Only about 26% said most of their clients have less than $500,000.

Furthermore, when selecting new prospects, an individual’s investable income is the top characteristic that successful advisors consider, according to the survey.

The three highest priorities for successful advisors include client retention, client service and growth of AUM, according to the survey. Other priorities include client acquisition, holistic wealth management and revenue growth.

These priorities are reflected in the ways successful advisors allocate their time. Of those surveyed, 80.6% said they spend the majority of their time serving clients. A smaller proportion of advisors said they spend much of their time on investment management and research, and on client acquisition and prospecting.

The survey results suggest that the top skills necessary to succeed as a financial advisor include understanding the needs of clients, having a strong investment philosophy and having solid financial knowledge. Other important skills, according to those surveyed, include analytical skills, sales skills, networking and communication skills, and a strong business strategy.

When asked how they’d like to be viewed and described by their clients and peers, ‘trustworthy’ and ‘honest’ were the top two responses. Others said they’d like to be described as ‘best-in-class’, ‘dedicated’ and ‘experienced’.