In Your Client's Corner
Standing out as an advisor often comes down to intangible things – ones that are hard to put a monetary value on but which your clients may value more than you would ever know.
Think of the comfort and convenience you provide to clients by looking out for them in a myriad of ways, like anticipating the potential impact of tax and regulatory changes on their finances.
As people’s circumstances, goals, assets, obligations and risk appetites can vary so much from individual to individual, advisors need to take a holistic approach – seeing how each client will be affected by policy change and working out what that might mean for their goals.
For instance, the start of the new financial year in Australia brought four changes to superannuation, including an increase in in the compulsory contribution to 10.5%, the inclusion of super for even part-time workers, the lowering of the base age for downsizer family home sale proceeds into super and the removal of work test restrictions for those aged 65 to 74.
Good financial advisors will understand how each of these regulatory and tax changes applies to each of their clients and how they can be incorporated into their plans.
But the value you bring is bigger than your technical understanding about tax and regulation. It really comes down to the emotional benefits you provide each client by giving them the confidence of knowing they have someone in their corner looking out for them.
At times of market volatility, that benefit is particularly valuable. Discipline, even for experienced investors, is hard to maintain without a calming voice at hand. When you add to that the need to keep up with constant and unforeseen policy change, the value of advice is even greater.
While technology can definitely help in providing low-level, general advice at scale, there also is no question that the granularity of people’s particular needs and circumstances argues for the value of personalised, customised advice against cookie-cutter product-led solutions.
Like a sailing boat skipper who knows how to set the sails to deal with shifting winds and choppy seas, a good advisor can combine both structure and flexibility to help clients cope with market volatility and even the possibility of policy change.
The result for clients is the chance to feel a degree of comfort they might otherwise struggle to attain had they tried to navigate these changing seas all on their own.
So why not spend some time in your next review meeting telling clients the value of having someone like you in their corner?
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