H.D. Vest Training Focuses on the Advisor's Team

For Immediate Release

PR Contact: Susan Patrick
H.D. Vest Communications Consultant
(972) 870-6149
pr@hdvest.com
www.hdvest.com

IRVING, TEXAS (September 4, 2007) – H.D. Vest Financial Services^®, the oldest and largest independent financial services firm specializing in supporting tax professionals who offer investment solutions, announced today that its practice management strategy will continue to focus on training Advisors and their entire team. At H.D. Vest’s recent H.D. Vest Elite Academy^SM , the training was created exclusively for Premium Advisors and their staff.

“From the very start, as this workshop was researched and designed, it was intended to be a learning opportunity for the Advisor and his or her team,” said Roger Ochs, president of H.D. Vest. “H.D. Vest Elite Academy trainees learned how to create the ‘ultimate client experience’ – incorporating client-centric service philosophies and efficient office processes. The teams learned how to standardize processes behind the scenes yet customize the clients’ experience. Clearly, Advisors’ team members play an essential role in implementing these processes, which is why they were encouraged to participate in this workshop.”

Advisors and their teams participated together and then created strategies and action plans that could be realistically implemented in their office. The opportunity for Advisors and assistants to learn and work side-by-side was exceedingly well received.

“It was wonderful to see so many assistants at H.D. Vest Elite Academy. It was much better for the assistant to hear that message with his or her producer, instead of the producer having to come home and try to get it across to the assistant. At H.D. Vest Elite Academy, the assistant bought into the message at the same time and understood exactly what the producer is trying to accomplish. Having us at the training together was very helpful,” said Assistant Ramona M.

In addition to the new H.D. Vest Elite Academy, H.D. Vest assistant training is designed to equip assistants with the essential knowledge needed to support the Advisors and their business philosophies. This training is delivered through a variety of tools to accommodate every learning need. The learning suite includes online courses, regional meetings focused on insurance and fee-based business practices, National Conference classes designed for assistants, and local Chapter Meetings – assistants are welcome to attend with their Advisors (free).

The highlight of the online tools includes a module that was designed and developed specifically for new assistants, which helps them learn basic information about working with H.D. Vest and supporting their Advisors. Assistants can explore the information at a high level, then “drill down” to go into as much detail as needed to learn about the topics. The course is divided into the following four sections:

• Getting Familiar with H.D. Vest: Examines how H.D. Vest and Advisors partner together to offer financial products and services to clients.
• Client Marketing: Gives you practical tools and examples to help you market your Advisor’s services to clients.
• Client Meeting Preparation: Takes a look at what preparation you need to do before and after meetings.
• Processing the Business: Gives assistants an understanding of what is involved in processing the different types of investments.

Because assistants can log into H.D. Vest’s intranet site (HDVLink^®), they have access to the large catalog of on-demand courses designed for both assistants and Advisors. Topics include H.D. Vest proprietary software, as well as concepts such as IRA basics, communications with the public, and paperwork instructions. In addition to the on-demand courses, H.D. Vest offers live, instructor-led webcasts on a variety of topics. Later in 2007, H.D. Vest will begin offering a quarterly conference call where assistants can receive training on a specific topic or just share ideas.

Advisor Brian Stephens of Baytown, Texas, has been with H.D. Vest since 1996. He has each one of his new assistants spend an average of one hour per day on H.D. Vest training during their first few weeks at his firm. “The online training portal has given our new team members a place to start and learn the basics as well as a place to go for the advanced tools on HDVLink. These are great training tools that we just need to use. It is easy to get the team member started. Everyone knows that training is the key to keeping employees motivated and not burn out,” said Stephens. “The KRIS system (on-demand FAQ) is great as well for the employees to access the databases and get answers quickly and easily. I have even used it,” he added.

Lastly, at the H.D. Vest National Conference November 7 - 10, 2007, in San Antonio, Texas, assistants will have the opportunity to network with other assistants and share their best practices and lessons learned. Some of the topics provided just for assistants will include business etiquette, customer service, technology applications, techniques to keep their office NASD and SEC compliant, and how to support Advisors who are advisory or insurance licensed.

More information about H.D. Vest can be obtained on their website: www.hdvest.com.

About H.D. Vest, Inc.

Based in Irving, Texas, since its inception in 1983, H.D. Vest Financial Services supports an independent network of tax and non-tax professionals who distribute comprehensive financial planning solutions, including securities, insurance, money management services and Wells Fargo banking products. Approximately 5,500 independent contractors manage over $25 billion in assets for some 1.8 million individuals, families and small businesses in all 50 states. H.D. Vest became a non-bank subsidiary of Wells Fargo & Company in July 2001.

Securities offered through H.D. Vest Investment Services^SM , Member SIPC,
Advisory services offered through H.D. Vest Advisory Services^SM ,
non-bank subsidiaries of Wells Fargo & Company,
6333 N. State Highway 161, Suite 400, Irving, TX 75038 (972) 870-6000.