Growth should get easier with scale, yet for many advisors it feels heavier. More clients, more systems, more staff, but somehow less time.

As advisory teams mature, the business itself becomes harder to run. Expanding technology, compliance demands and competing priorities can erode efficiency and cloud focus. That friction doesn’t stem from a lack of ambition. It’s operational drag, the unseen weight that slows even the most capable teams.

That’s where perspective matters. The challenge often isn’t growth itself, but the systems meant to support it.

Breaking through the ceiling

Growth rarely stalls because ambition fades. It slows when structure and systems can’t keep pace with opportunity.

At Mariner, we help advisors remove operational drag by aligning infrastructure, technology and people behind what drives momentum: leading teams, serving clients and growing with purpose.

When clarity and capacity move together, growth feels different—lighter, faster and built to last.

Why growth starts feeling harder

Across the industry, advisory teams are hitting the same wall. Demand for advice keeps rising, while the number of practicing advisors continues to fall. McKinsey calls it an “efficiency race”—a push to serve more clients in less time, according to its U.S. Wealth Management: The Path to Scale report.¹

The challenge isn’t opportunity; it’s capacity. Operational drag shows up in familiar ways: fragmented tech, compliance bottlenecks and resource strain that shifts time from clients to coordination. Each issue seems manageable alone, but together they create the ceiling that limits growth.

Mariner’s shared resources and centralized systems are designed to ease that strain, creating the clarity and confidence advisors need to scale sustainably.

Five moves that unlock capacity

Breaking through starts with a shift in perspective. The most effective teams identify what slows them down and build structure that restores clarity, rhythm and accountability.

Reclaim time like capital. Growth slows when hours scatter across meetings and coordination instead of client strategy. Start by auditing how time is spent. Then automate, delegate and reallocate so your highest-value hours deliver the greatest return.

Replace redundancy with rhythm. As teams expand, involvement can crowd out efficiency. High-performing teams aim to create clear ownership and structured handoffs, so tasks move smoothly from one specialist to the next. When the right people engage at the right moments, productivity can compound.

Redefine accountability. Delegation succeeds when it centers on outcomes, not activities. Instead of assigning steps, define what success looks like. When expectations are measurable and meaningful, accountability becomes shared rather than supervised.

Systemize the client experience. Consistency shouldn’t rely on memory. Document key milestones and build playbooks for outreach and reviews so every client experiences value at each stage.

Connect what powers growth. As firms expand, disconnected systems can create more complexity than clarity. The most effective teams aim to consolidate technology that links workflow, compliance and client experience, reclaiming time once lost to manual tracking or duplicate entry.

Built to last

When structure supports scale, growth feels lighter again. Teams regain time for what matters most: serving clients, leading people and shaping the business they envisioned from the start. At Mariner, our goal is to help make that possible—so advisors can grow with purpose and build lasting impact.

Sources:

¹ McKinsey & Company, “U.S. Wealth Management: The Path to Scale,” 2023. https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/financial-services/our-insights/us-wealth-management-the-path-to-scale

The views and opinions expressed reflect Mariner’s perspectives and are provided for informational purposes only. They do not constitute individualized advice or a guarantee of future results. Any references to growth, efficiency, or advisor outcomes reflect general observations and may not be representative of all experiences.

Mariner is the marketing name for the financial services businesses of Mariner Wealth Advisors, LLC and its subsidiaries. Investment advisory services are provided through the brands Mariner Wealth, Mariner Independent, Mariner Institutional, Mariner Ultra, and Mariner Workplace, each of which is a business name of the registered investment advisory entities of Mariner. For additional information about each of the registered investment advisory entities of Mariner, including fees and services, please contact Mariner or refer to each entity’s Form ADV Part 2A, which is available on the Investment Adviser Public Disclosure website (www.adviserinfo.sec.gov). Registration of an investment adviser does not imply a certain level of skill or training.