As the running joke goes, it’s been a long month this week. Based on the conversations I’m having with advisors, I know you’re working harder than ever before and you’re doing that while juggling the complications and stress of home and office. Yet, through it all you’ve been asking what you can do to help your clients. Kudos. We all have a tendency to assume what our clients need, simply because we humans are both influenced and limited by our own lens on the world. We fall victim to unconscious bias in so many areas of our life and this is one of them. For that reason, we partner with the Investments & Wealth Institute each year to conduct extensive investor research. And never has the research been more important than this year. It provides a snapshot of how clients are feeling and what they need right now. More specifically, we wanted to find answers to three key questions.

1. What do clients need and how has that changed?
2. Has that change impacted how clients view their advisory relationship?
3. What can advisors do to support clients in a way that reflects what they need right now?

To answer these questions, and more, we gathered input from 1,178 respondents across North America, via an online survey, between March 10 and March 24. All respondents work with a financial advisor, make or contribute to the financial decisions in the household, and meet specific asset criteria. The first wave of this research was released today and you can access a special report here.

‍Celebration and Concern

‍The results are reason for celebration and for concern. While key metrics, such as satisfaction, are still high, the data points to a looming loyalty crisis. Rather than simply pointing that out, of course, we go deeper to understand what is driving that change and what you can do to take action. The bottom line is this. At a time when things feel out of our control, there are things that clients need and things that you can do to have a significant impact. And they may not be the things you expected.

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Thanks for stopping by,

Julie

P.S.  You can view the full news release here.

‍P.P. S. If you’d like to learn more about how we help advisors use input from clients to uncover unmet service, revenue and referral opportunities I’d invite you to book a 20-minute demo.  Please click here to find a convenient time.