New research shows that if you can satisfy your clients’ needs, you’ll not only gain their loyalty, but a bigger share of their wallet.

When the equity averages began to teeter in 2000, Michael Martin turned 30 percent of his portfolios into zero coupon bonds. He hoped to obtain absolute returns during the pending bear market by using the bonds as an uncorrelated asset. The strategy worked. Financial Advantage, his Columbia, Md.-based firm, garnered 8.2 percent, 4.8 percent and 3.0 percent returns over the next three dismal years.

Ross Levin, the man behind The Wealth Management Index—the book and process that have influenced nearly a generation of financial advisors—is really a people person. That’s right: The CFP responsible for devising grids, graphs and work plans to appraise your performance as a wealth manager and measure it against your clients’ goals and plans, seems far more comfortable discussing subjects like work/life balance, holistic planning and communication.