Wealth management firms across the country are asking the same question: should we outsource marketing, or keep it in-house? The answer isn’t the same for everyone, but for most RIAs under $1B in assets, outsourcing marketing to a fractional Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) delivers the right balance of strategy, execution, and cost savings.
At Select Advisors Institute, we’ve worked with firms ranging from multi-billion dollar institutions to boutique RIAs. The pattern is clear: when firms outsource, they grow faster and get unstuck from the bottlenecks that stall internal teams. Below, we’ll answer the most common questions advisors ask about outsourcing marketing, while weaving in real case studies of how firms used Select Advisors Institute to accelerate growth.
What is outsourced marketing for wealth management?
Outsourced marketing means partnering with external professionals to run your firm’s marketing instead of building an in-house team from scratch. A typical setup includes:
A fractional CMO to set direction.
An agency team to handle execution.
Specialists for SEO, video, website design, and content writing.
This model gives wealth firms flexibility, scale, and access to proven playbooks without committing to a full-time CMO and staff.
What is a fractional CMO?
A fractional CMO is a senior marketing executive who works with your firm on a part-time or retainer basis. Their role goes beyond “advice.” They shape your brand, create your growth plan, oversee campaigns, and make sure compliance boxes are checked. The difference is that you pay for what you need, not the $300,000+ salary of a full-time executive.
Why would a wealth management firm hire a fractional CMO?
Most firms bring in a fractional CMO for one of four reasons:
Cost savings – strategy at a fraction of the cost.
Speed – marketing gets moving quickly instead of stalling internally.
Specialization – industry-specific knowledge of RIAs, UHNW clients, and compliance.
Scalability – the ability to flex resources up or down as the firm grows.
How much does a fractional CMO for financial firms cost in 2025?
Most firms pay between $5,000 and $10,000 per month for fractional CMO services.
Compare that to a full-time in-house CMO (senior level who doesn’t need constant hand-holding and understands UHNW marketing): $250K–$350K salary plus benefits and bonuses, as well as other vendors and experts (ie. designers, coders, video editors, etc.)
The financial logic is straightforward: outsourcing costs less and produces results faster.
Case Study 1: Large multi-billion dollar wealth management firm
A multi-billion dollar wealth management company we worked with was stuck in neutral. They had the size, brand, and talent on paper, but inside the organization things weren’t moving. Key people were leaving or being promoted to other divisions, projects were bouncing between departments, and initiatives kept dying in committee. Marketing deliverables that should have taken weeks were dragging out for months.
That’s when the firm turned to Select Advisors Institute’s Unlimited Plan. Unlike traditional consulting engagements, this plan gave them everything they needed—video production, website optimization, SEO campaigns, social media management, and content writing—all under one umbrella, with no restrictive scope. We set priorities, created systems, and built a pipeline for execution.
The impact was immediate. Projects that had been frozen for months started closing quickly. Marketing, which used to feel like a burden, became a structured, systematized part of the firm’s growth. Leaders could focus on clients instead of chasing half-finished marketing projects. By outsourcing to Select Advisors Institute, this firm turned complexity into momentum.
Case Study 2: Mid-sized RIA with a CMO but missing wealth marketing
Another engagement was with a mid-sized firm that already had a Chief Marketing Officer running their corporate and institutional branding. On the surface, they seemed covered. But when the firm decided to grow its wealth management division, they realized there was no dedicated strategy for high-net-worth individuals. Their in-house team was strong on the corporate side, but didn’t know how to translate that into the relationship-driven world of wealth management.
We stepped in as the outsourced partner for the wealth division. Select Advisors Institute built a targeted strategy focused on UHNW prospects: a redesigned website experience that spoke directly to families and entrepreneurs, video campaigns highlighting the firm’s advisors, and SEO optimization for wealth-specific searches.
Within months, the wealth unit had a clear identity separate from the corporate arm. They were generating consistent inbound leads and converting conversations that had previously gone nowhere. The CMO stayed focused on the larger enterprise, while Select Advisors Institute became the engine driving the wealth business forward.
Case Study 3: Founder-led firm facing succession planning
A third story comes from a boutique RIA led by a founder who had been the firm’s rainmaker for decades. Everything about marketing—the brand voice, the client stories, the pitch—was in his head. The challenge came during succession planning. As he prepared to step back, it became clear that there were no systems. Marketing was essentially “founder-dependent,” and without him, growth would stall.
That’s where Select Advisors Institute came in. We worked with the founder to extract the strategies that had worked in the past and translate them into scalable, repeatable systems. We produced a library of video content capturing his approach, built written frameworks for messaging, and optimized the firm’s website to reflect the broader team instead of one individual.
The result: what had once been an undocumented playbook in a single person’s brain became an institutionalized marketing system the entire firm could use. Succession became less about “losing the founder” and more about handing off a documented, modern marketing engine to the next generation.
When should an RIA outsource marketing?
You should seriously consider outsourcing if:
Advisors are spending time on marketing instead of client service.
Growth has plateaued despite referrals.
Your brand feels dated compared to peers.
You need results now, not in 12–18 months.
What are the benefits of outsourcing marketing?
Lower fixed costs compared to in-house hiring.
Access to experts who already know financial services.
Faster project completion and campaign launches.
Scalable resources—add or reduce support as needed.
What are the risks of outsourcing marketing?
Outsiders may take time to learn your firm’s culture.
Compliance must be managed closely.
Some execution is dependent on third-party resources.
But for most firms under $1B in AUM, the benefits far outweigh the risks.
How do I choose the right outsourced CMO or agency?
Look for firms that specialize in wealth management marketing.
Ask for results tied to AUM growth, not vanity metrics.
Ensure they understand compliance rules.
Evaluate cultural fit—they should be able to influence advisors and leadership.
What results can outsourced marketing deliver?
Across clients, we’ve seen common outcomes:
Projects that had stalled for months suddenly move forward.
Entire business lines gain new identity and growth momentum.
Founder-dependent firms shift to scalable, team-based systems.
Costs stay far below the level of a full-time in-house marketing team.
Is outsourced marketing right for every wealth management firm?
Not always. Larger firms above $5B in AUM may need an embedded CMO (although many of those firms still hire us for our various other management consulting services). Firms in acquisition mode may need full-time in-house support. But for most independent RIAs under $5B (doing over $1.5mm in revenue), outsourced marketing is the most cost-effective way to access top-tier strategy and execution in 2025.
Bottom line
Outsourcing marketing gives RIAs and wealth firms the ability to operate like billion-dollar competitors without carrying the cost of a full-time team. With Select Advisors Institute, firms don’t just get marketing deliverables—they get systems, execution, and growth that align leadership and free advisors to focus on clients.
Should wealth firms outsource marketing? Learn when to hire a fractional CMO, typical costs, and the benefits for RIAs and financial advisors in 2025.