Citigold has introduced a new loan and bonus program to attract more top financial adviser talent to the firm. The firm believes there is a huge opportunity for advisers at its 641 bank branches to get referrals from relationship managers who serve only affluent bank clients who need investments.
“Many clients know us for our premium banking and credit card business,” said David Poole, head of Citigold and Citigold's private client business for North America. “What we're trying to do is make sure we improve that knowledge and experience around investments, which is important.”
Citigold currently has 641 retail banking branches in six affluent markets: the New York metro area, Miami, San Francisco, Los Angeles and the greater Southern California region, Chicago and Washington, D.C. These branches have relationship managers who are professionals fully licensed with the bank only business books. They are paired with senior wealth advisors who can then offer investments to those premium banking clients.
Overall, Citigold's North American business has grown its investment income by over 30% year-over-year and seen a 50% increase in referral flow from relationship managers to advisors, accounting for over 50,000 referrals since the beginning of this year.
Poole said 50% of these branches currently have senior wealth advisers and the firm is looking to hire another 150 by the end of 2026 to reach 75% coverage. Ultimately, Citi wants to have a wealth adviser in what it calls “high-opportunity branches,” where the firm has identified clients that could benefit from entering the market.
To achieve these numbers, the firm is sweetening its recruitment deal. In the past, the firm has offered 50% of trailing production 12 months in advance, designed as a forgivable draw and targeted at advisors with $1 million or less in trailing 12-month production. This agreement, which will remain in effect, also includes a two-year bonus payment based on the acquisition of new assets.
“To accelerate our growth trajectory and fill all of our branches with high potential, we're enhancing, with an additional offering, that's really more targeted at the $1 million successor advisor,” said Poole.
The new deal is structured as a loan plus bonus, in which advisers can earn up to 250% of the successor-12, depending on the individual, the market they are in, the composition of the book, etc. They receive an increase in the first loan based on the subsequent ones-12, and which is amortized over a period of nine years. They can also receive bonus payments every quarter. On the flip side, there's a two-year payment based on new assets acquired at Citi, where the firm will pay off another loan, amortized over a seven-year period.
“We spent over a year designing this deal for Citi and worked with various industry experts on the credit plus bonus on this design element,” said Poole.
He said the new deal will help senior advisers bridge a wider gap from their previous employer. It would be a good fit for a more established advisor looking to grow their book rather than someone just looking to annuitize their book.
“It's really for that person who has been successful but knows they can take it to the next level if they have the support of an affiliate, the support of the referral flow, which is tremendous,” he said.
The move aligns with one of the main goals of Andy Sieg, who left Merrill Lynch will lead Citi's wealth management group about a year ago.
“He's made it very clear that one of his core goals is really to cultivate the broader Citi market,” Poole said.
Citi also has institutional client relationships through its commercial banking business that advisors can tap into. Executives and owners at these companies need retail support for their individual portfolios.