\u201cToday, I would argue that the most effective advisors recognize that clients want a lot more than portfolio performance,\u201d said\u00a0Cunliffe, wealth advisor and portfolio manager with Nicola Wealth in Vancouver.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cClients want to engage with and partner with an advisor\u00a0who\u00a0understands their entire financial picture and their personal goals \u2014 the story behind their wealth.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
That\u2019s\u00a0especially true today, in the age of\u00a0robo-advisors,\u00a0finfluencers\u00a0and do-it-yourself investing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Advisors must work\u00a0hard\u00a0now\u00a0to differentiate themselves and\u00a0demonstrate\u00a0that\u00a0their value transcends investment performance.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Client review meetings offer an ideal opportunity to do just that.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe review meeting used to be more about how your investments are doing, but now it\u2019s gone more from the numbers to the narratives,\u201d said Chris Merrick, an advice-only financial planner and principal\u00a0with\u00a0Merrick Financial Inc.\u00a0in Toronto.\u00a0He\u2019s\u00a0been a financial planner for six years.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Merrick said\u00a0there\u2019s\u00a0an increasing emphasis on \u201clife returns,\u00a0where clients are trying to [reach] certain goals.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
How to approach review meetings\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cunliffe recalls a time when she spent\u00a0an entire review meeting listening to her client who was going through\u00a0a difficult time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Though the meeting \u201chad very little to do with the portfolio\u201d she built for her client,\u00a0Cunliffe said\u00a0allowing the client to express how they were feeling was much more valuable.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said, \u2018Wow, Martine, I know we didn\u2019t cover the agenda that you had prepared today, but this was cathartic,\u201d she recalled her client telling her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cunliffe\u00a0recommended advisors\u00a0similarly\u00a0treat review meetings as a\u00a0chance\u00a0to check in on\u00a0clients and\u00a0centre\u00a0their experiences in the financial planning process.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve got\u00a0to read the room,\u201d\u00a0she said.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSomebody shared this with me a long time ago, and I\u2019ve never forgotten it: \u2018When you\u2019re in a meeting, think about whose comfort you\u2019re managing.\u2019 Most often, advisors will manage their own comfort.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lianne Di Rocco, a senior wealth advisor and portfolio manager with BMO Nesbitt Burns in Toronto, agreed. She\u2019s been in the industry for more than three decades and has seen a similar shift from advisors acting as \u201cstockbrokers\u201d to today\u2019s emphasis on offering comprehensive financial advice.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n
Between tax policy changes, cross-border issues, wills, estate planning and inheritances, Di Rocco said the world of finance is becoming increasingly complicated for Canadians to navigate on their own.<\/p>\n
Advisors can use review meetings to help them cut through the noise and make sound money decisions.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not just the investments on paper,\u201d she said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere did these investments come from? What is important to the client? Who is important to the client? How do they want to live their life with the people who are important to them? And how do they use their assets to support [their goals], not only during their lifetime, but from generation to generation?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Di Rocco added that if an advisor is not embracing this strategy, \u201cthen I would challenge them that their relationship could be at risk with their clients.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Liz Bouthillier, head of retail sales with Franklin Templeton Canada in Toronto, said this was a popular topic at a webinar series her firm hosted over the summer. Many advisors who attended the webinars were wondering how in-person client connections would be affected in a world where virtual communication and AI are gaining traction. \u202f\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRegardless of the industry, what we\u2019re seeing is\u202fhuman connection becomes more important, not less important, in a digital world,\u201d Bouthillier said. \u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the end of the day, clients don\u2019t meet with advisors or work with an advisor to beat an index or to deliver a certain level of return in terms of percentages, but it\u2019s really to see where they are in terms of the progress they\u2019re making towards reaching goals.\u201d\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
Merrick echoed that point: \u201cIt\u2019s nice they get a 5%, 8% return, but what they really want is to meet their life goals, that\u2019s really the big picture.\u201d\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
He said he typically spends about 20\u201325% of a review meeting discussing a client\u2019s portfolio. The rest of the time is allocated to discussing their cash flow, estate plans, life insurance and any financial concerns they may have. He\u2019ll also update their retirement projections if needed.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTechnology has been a big helper,\u201d Merrick said, in allowing advisors to spend less time on investments and more time on other aspects of a financial plan.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In a similar vein, Cunliffe said she doesn\u2019t think advisors will be replaced by robo-advisors or AI, but that future technological advancements will make human advisors more efficient and save them time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd that time, I hope, will allow me to spend more time face to face with my clients,\u201d she added.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Holistic financial planning\u00a0<\/p>\n
Personalization in financial planning brings loyalty and can help advisors stand out in a \u201ccrowded\u201d wealth management market, Merrick said. \u202f\u202f\u00a0\u00a0 \u201c<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve been\u202fwith\u202fsome clients through divorce\u201d and other major life changes, he said. \u201cIt brings loyalty. And that, frankly, leads to referrals.\u201d\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s also beneficial for those who want to attract intergenerational clients, said Di Rocco. Some of her clients are members of the fourth generation of households she has supported, which she called \u201can honour.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we\u2019re doing estate planning for our clients and we\u2019re planning for their grandchildren, they\u2019ll say, \u2018I\u2019m not going to be here to watch them spend this money,\u2019\u201d she said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI [tell them], \u2018But we will. We\u2019re going to be here when your granddaughter buys her first home, or when she starts her first business, and we\u2019re going to be able to help her understand who you were and where this money came from and the purpose of it.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Personalized, comprehensive wealth planning can also help advisors attract women clients who face unique financial challenges<\/a>. According to two separate studies, women are less likely than men to engage with an advisor but are projected to control $3.8 trillion in assets in Canada by 2028, nearly double the $2.2 trillion they held in 2019.\u00a0<\/p>\n