Consumer trust isn’t something to be taken for granted, but reports from the UK, US and here at home are all pointing towards an uplift in trust levels around financial advice, which can only be a welcome development.
There are significant tailwinds behind the financial advice industry at the moment, but some major obstacles are still preventing advice practices from taking advantage of surging demand according to a new study from CFS.
8 things clients want advisers to know about them
Clients want advisers to ask them questions. They want advisers to know more about them, and our research at Invesco Global Consulting can shed some light on the specific things they want to know about.
When Invesco partnered with private wealth experts, R.A. Prince & Associates, to survey high-net-worth investors on exactly what is it is they want their adviser to know, we discovered there were eight core topics which, if an adviser was well-versed in, could not only increase their share of client assets but also increase their chance of referrals.
Our research found that if clients believed their adviser was familiar with six out of eight of specific topics about them, the adviser would have an average of 75 per cent of their assets and were getting one unsolicited referral from that client per year. If the client believed their adviser knew all 8 of these topics, that number increased to 100 per cent of assets and up to four unsolicited referrals per year.
So, what are the topics that are so important to clients?
1. How they made their money
This is the number one thing clients want their adviser to know. They are proud to share, with a professional wealth manager, the story of how they made their money.
2. Their best and worst experiences with financial advisers
This is a subject and adviser may feel uncomfortable bringing up, but which is vitally important to clients. Advisers want to make sure they don’t repeat any of the bad experiences a client may have had with a previous financial predecessor. This topic may bring out some goldmines but also some landmines; That’s healthy, it’s important to know about these issues up front.
3. Who they care about
When clients speak to advisers they want to talk about people, not just numbers. They want to tell them about the people they care about as these are the people that form the basis of why they are investing
4. Circumstances that could impact their financial future
This is an important topic to cover. What is going on in a client’s life right now that could impact their financial future? This is also the perfect topic to start with when an adviser wants to get to know more about an existing client.
5. Who they rely on for financial advice
The importance of this area lies in its connection to the potential competition, as well as the potential for consumer harm. Advisers want to know your client is not getting conflicting information somewhere else – be it another qualified adviser, someone who may take advantage of the client or an unlicensed person trending on social media.
6. How involved they like to be in their financial decisions
This is a critical topic because it really defines the type of client/adviser relationship that is likely to evolve. It gives an adviser all kinds of insights into how proactive the client may want to be.
7. What they want their money to do for them
This is a great question and somewhat elegant in its simplicity – what does the client want to achieve financially? This is a great precursor into their financial goals discussion.
8. How much money the client needs in order to stop worrying about their finances
This topic transcends very well. It doesn’t matter how much money somebody has – ultimately everyone has a number in their own mind. This is something an adviser should ask early, because the client wants to explain and it can form the basis of a good financial plan.
Out of those eight topics, only the final one leads to a quantitative number. This highlights that when all questions are taken into account, the vast majority have nothing to do with a number – they are all personal.
If advisers want to have greater connections with their clients, the key is to ensure the balance of their conversations with them are mostly around who they are and not just what they have.
