What is the True Role of a Financial Advisor? Ep # 17 

The Agile Financial Planner - A podcast by Roger Whitney

Categories:

Business

Have you ever considered what the role of a financial advisor really is? I read a Tweet recently in which a financial advisor said if you aren’t calling your clients when the markets take a downturn you aren’t earning your money. What do you think? Did you call your clients last week to explain what happened in the markets? The Agile Financial Planner is a podcast created to consider how to thrive as financial planners in the 21st century. Listen in to hear what I think our true role is as financial advisors. 

Outline of This Episode

  • [0:22] Should you call your clients when the markets are down?
  • [6:01] Don’t solely focus on the investment management part of planning
  • [8:02] Deliver the WHAM
  • [14:39] Teach the clients which levers to pull

Should you call your clients when the markets go up or down?

Would calling your clients when the markets go up or down help them reach their goals? If you call your clients out of the blue and tell them not to worry, would that ease their woes? What would you really accomplish? If you think about behavioral finance, this is the exact opposite of what you should be doing. Find out how to really help your clients achieve their goals by listening to this episode of The Agile Financial Planner. 

What do your clients really care about?

Your clients’ goals don’t have anything to do with the markets. Money is simply a tool to help us achieve our true goals. Instead of calling clients every time the markets move up or down a few percentage points, focus on creating a plan that will help them live the life they really want. As advisors, we need to go beyond the portfolio and help with the little decisions that can make a big impact on creating the life they want to lead.

Deliver the WHAM

Instead of focusing on the shifts in markets, I help my clients by focusing on the WHAM. I use this helpful acronym to act as a project manager for my clients. 

  • W - Clients always have a ‘wh’ question. What should I do next? What should I be focused on? What opportunities might I be missing? I help them define their questions and reframe them. I am constantly anticipating their ‘wh’ questions so that I can help them achieve their goals. 
  • H - How always follows what. After focusing on what then you can focus on how you can help your clients achieve their goals.
  • A - Provide assistance and accountability. You are the clients’ project manager. Teach them how to take the steps they need and give them deadlines.
  • M - build momentum by achieving a lot of little wins. 

What is your true role a financial advisor? 

Think about your role as a financial planner. Your focus is not only on the markets and money but on how to help your clients make good choices to ensure they can live the life they really want. Your role goes way beyond portfolios and investment management. Instead, show them the real changes they can make to optimize their choices and teach them how to not get distracted by the small shiny objects that can divert them from their true path. 

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