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Kitces & Carl Ep 35: Favorite Questions To Ask A Prospective Client To Build Trust In The First Meeting

June 4, 2020 07:19 am 3 Comments CATEGORY: Kitces & Carl Podcast

Every business transaction (whether for a good or a service) moves both parties involved towards a desired state. A prospective customer or client needs something, and they also need someone to help them get it. Along the way, the person providing the good or service may or may not be successful in helping the customer or client reach their desired outcomes (whatever those may be), and one of the biggest determinants of their success is good questions.

In our 35th episode of Kitces & Carl, Michael Kitces and financial advisor communication expert Carl Richards explore their favorite questions to ask in a first meeting with a prospective client in order to get to know them better, start to establish trust, and take the initial steps towards building what will hopefully develop into a long-term, mutually beneficial relationship.

As a starting point, it’s important to keep in mind the path that the prospective client took in order to book their initial meeting in the first place (e.g., were they referred by an existing client or did they come in ‘cold’?) because that will help frame the initial conversation and give the advisor a confidence boost as the prospective client and advisor get to know each other.

Because asking good questions is about far more than checking off each box from a 17-point intake form or formulaically reciting from a predetermined script. In fact, the best questions are often ones that people have never been asked before, or are, at least, asked in such a way that offers someone a different perspective. While such questions can often create some discomfort (the best questions usually do!), they can also pave the way for some meaningful insights.

From there, perennial favorites include such questions as, “What's important about money to you?” (which helps lay the groundwork for establishing what really matters to the client and what might help keep them on track later on down the line), Dan Sullivan’s “What would need to happen in the next three years for you to deem this relationship a success?” (which provides a more concrete time frame around figuring out what their ‘desired future state’ is), and George Kinder’s famous three questions about what someone would do given increasingly narrow time frames on their longevity.

Perhaps one of the most useful questions, however, is simply, “What brought you in to see me today?” Because the disappointing reality of this business of financial advice and planning is that people don’t spontaneously come to the realization that they really need to get a comprehensive financial plan as soon as possible. Rather, there has usually been some sort of triggering event that brought them in and there’s some immediate and pressing need that they have at the moment, and understanding the triggering event accompanying their pain point can be very powerful when building trust.

Ultimately, the key point is that, no matter which questions an advisor uses in their first meeting with a prospective client, building trust is about being open to having a conversation, being comfortable and confident, and being empathetic to whatever a prospect’s pain point may be. Because, at the end of the day, the real beauty of this business is helping clients get from what they want to what we all know they need.

When CFP® Professionals Have To Actually ‘Do’ Financial Planning

June 3, 2020 07:08 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Ethics

One of the hallmarks of recognized professions is that they have established Practice Standards that define the process that professionals of that discipline are expected to engage in to ensure that their clients/patients/etc. are well-served. The end result is not only a more consistent quality of service from that professional discipline – when everyone engages in a vetted process that has been refined by recognized best practices – but also an important means of protection for professionals themselves, who can point to the fact that the process was diligently followed, even and especially in scenarios where the outcome isn’t favorable (e.g., the doctor who can point to the fact that the processes were conducted appropriately, even if the patient themselves unfortunately didn’t survive).

Accordingly, CFP® professionals have long had a version of “Financial Planning Practice Standards” that apply to the delivery of Financial Planning itself, known by the EGADIM acronym (short for Establish relationship, Gather data, Analyze the client situation, Develop and present planning recommendations, Implement the recommendations, and Monitor). But effective on October 1^st of 2019 (which were first enforced starting on June 30^th of 2020), CFP Board updated the Financial Planning Practice Standards to a new 7-step process of CGADPIM (understand Circumstances, Gather data, Analyze, Develop recommendations, Present recommendations, Implement, and Monitor).

CFP® professionals providing Financial Planning are expected to engage in the full 7-step Financial Planning process with clients, unless the Scope of Engagement specifically excludes the Implement and Monitor phases (e.g., for an hourly or project-planning-only engagement). In addition, the full Financial Planning Practice Standards will apply if the Client engages the CFP® professional for Financial Advice that broadly integrates a wide range of advice areas or otherwise requires Financial Planning based upon a weighing of factors that CFP Board specifically identified in the Code and Standards (i.e., “Financial Advice that Requires Financial Planning”), or in situations where the Client has a reasonable basis to believe the CFP® professional will provide or has provided Financial Planning (i.e., if the CFP® professional suggests the Client is going to receive Financial Planning based on how they market and hold out, they have to actually do so!).

Notably, though, CFP® professionals do not have to engage in comprehensive (7-step) Financial Planning with every client. In situations where clients do not engage for Financial Planning, or seek out only narrow-scope (i.e., non-integrated) Financial Advice – or where the Client outright refuses to engage in the comprehensive Financial Planning process after being warned of the consequences – CFP® professionals may still proceed in providing non-Financial-Planning (i.e., not comprehensive and following the full 7-step process) Financial Advice. However, in all cases, CFP® professionals will still be held to CFP Board’s new ‘fiduciary-at-all-times’ standard with respect to the advice itself (even if not delivered pursuant to the full 7-step process).

The key point, though, is simply to understand that whenever CFP® professionals are engaged in Financial Planning itself – or provide advice that is so comprehensive and integrated it necessitates the full scope of Financial Planning – they are expected to follow the full 7-step Financial Planning process. Which isn’t intended to be unduly burdensome, but simply to help ensure that when financial planning advice is given, the CFP® professional has fully considered all the relevant facts and circumstances, as well as Client goals and objectives, before coming to a fiduciary recommendation in the Client’s best interests!

#FASuccess Ep 179: Investment Banking For Wealth Management And The Evolution Of Advisor Enterprise Value, with Elizabeth Nesvold

June 2, 2020 07:06 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Financial Advisor Success Podcast

Welcome back to the 179th episode of Financial Advisor Success Podcast!

My guest on today's podcast Elizabeth Nesvold. Elizabeth is the managing director and head of asset and wealth management investment banking for Raymond James, which provides investment banking services for some of the largest independent advisory firms engaging in capital transactions. What's unique about Liz though, is that she has covered wealth management as an investment banker for more than 25 years now, and has seen firsthand how the valuation of wealth management firms has evolved over the decades to become what it is today.

In this episode, we talk in-depth about how an investment banker looks at the valuation of an advisory firm. The way that, early on, RIAs were valued primarily by their assets under management and how evolving advisory fee models, away from the traditional 1% AUM fee, caused a shift for RIAs to be valued by their gross revenues instead. The way further shifts in what advisory firms do (and don't do) to provide value for their fees, and the associated cost for those services, have caused advisory firm valuations to shift again to focus on multiples of free cash flow instead, and how obtaining a valuation of an advisory firm can be a powerful tool for the firm owner to understand whether the business is really getting a good business ROI on the resources it expends to service its clients.

We also talk in-depth about what investment bankers actually do for wealth management firms, the dynamics of raising capital when starting an advisory firm and who actually can raise capital to start a firm, how it works when an investment banker is engaged to help an advisory firm recapitalize and buy out an existing partner or founder, why advisory firms engage investment bankers to facilitate mergers and acquisitions when buying or selling a firm, and the typical success fee that investment bankers receive to help make sure a deal actually goes through.

And be certain to listen to the end where Liz shares her own journey as someone who sat down at her kitchen table and started her own firm, Silver Lane, that grew into a practice, and then into a business, and then ultimately was sold to Raymond James. How she navigated the challenges in crossing the deserts of profitability that emerged as the business reinvested for growth, and what she learned as a founder that sold her own firm that she now brings to the table in counseling other advisory firm founders that are getting ready to sell their businesses as well.

The Latest In Financial Advisor #FinTech (June 2020)

June 1, 2020 07:08 am 2 Comments CATEGORY: Technology & Advisor FinTech

Welcome to the June 2020 issue of the Latest News in Financial Advisor #FinTech – where we look at the big news, announcements, and underlying trends and developments that are emerging in the world of technology solutions for financial advisors and wealth management!

This month's edition kicks off with the news that Goldman Sachs has acquired Folio Institutional and its $11B RIA custody platform for 450 (mostly small) RIAs… and raising the question of whether Goldman is making a play to compete for small RIA custody opportunities as Morgan Stanley acquires E*Trade Advisor Services and Schwab acquires TD Ameritrade, or if Goldman will repurpose Folio to capture large wirehouse breakaway teams, or simply use it as a custodial platform for their own RIAs (Ayco and United Capital), or turn it into a robo-advisor solution paired with Marcus, or use Folio’s fractional share trading capabilities to build a direct indexing solution. Or perhaps all of the above!?

From there, the latest highlights also include a number of other interesting advisor technology announcements, including:

Franklin Templeton acquires the robo-advisor-for-advisors AdvisorEngine, but the real play may be to reinvigorate Junxure CRM?
AdvicePay rolls out Offices for Enterprises as LPL signs on to the trend of fee-for-service financial planning
Smarsh acquires Entreda as device management cybersecurity becomes a more pressing issue in a future with more remote workers
Plaid launches an integration with Microsoft that will offer consumers (or advisors and their clients) a spreadsheet-based budgeting tool with automated account aggregation
PlanTechHub launches a new financial planning software competitor built around actually showing the value of a financial advisor’s recommendations to clients

Read the analysis about these announcements in this month's column, and a discussion of more trends in advisor technology, with special AdvisorTech consulting guests Craig Iskowitz and Kyle Van Pelt, covering news including Aurora Capital acquiring FMG Suite to build ‘Hubspot for financial advisors’ as interest grows in advisor digital marketing, Vise.ai launches a new robo-tech-turned-TAMP solution for advisors, Envestnet launches a next-generation client portal that includes not just performance reporting and news but also client To-Dos, Fidelity rolls out a new Virtual AI assistant not for clients but to support advisor back-office servicing, and Morningstar doubles down on its bet of a more ESG-centric future by fully acquiring Sustainalytics (after buying an initial 40% stake back in 2017).

And be certain to read to the end, where we have provided an update to our popular new “Financial Advisor FinTech Solutions Map” as well!

I hope you're continuing to find this column on financial advisor technology to be helpful! Please share your comments at the end and let me know what you think!

*And for #AdvisorTech companies who want to submit their tech announcements for consideration in future issues, please submit to [email protected]!

Weekend Reading for Financial Planners (May 30-31)

May 29, 2020 02:57 pm 4 Comments CATEGORY: Weekend Reading

Enjoy the current installment of "weekend reading for financial planners" – this week's edition kicks off with the big industry news that FPA Executive Director Lauren Schadle has resigned in the face of 8 years of stagnant membership and a recent accelerating decline, a new interim CEO is stepping in, and the FPA is beginning a national search for new leadership to try to get its growth engine firing again (giving the ongoing growth of the financial planning profession itself).

Also in the news this week is an announcement that the CFP Board is updating its own Disciplinary Rules and Procedures in advance of the June 30th enforcement date for its updated Code of Ethics and fiduciary-at-all-times Standards of Conduct, and a recent study by Hearsay Social shows the dramatic improvement in results that financial advisors get by sharing more personal and authentic information on social media channels beyond just canned investment content.

From there, we have several articles on cash flow and spending decisions, including a look at how credit card companies are beginning to shift their rewards benefits in the face of a major pullback in travel and dining, a look at the ongoing rise of subscription services for 'everything' and tips on how to keep track of them all, and an interesting discussion of the benefits of 'taking a sabbatical' to work remotely as a renter instead of buying a house (with all the costs and reduced flexibility that entails).

We also have a few retirement-related articles this week, from a look at how the coronavirus pandemic may shave one or several years off the survivability of the Social Security trust fund (accelerating either a prospective cut in Social Security benefits, or action in Congress to shore up the system), a look at the use of hybrid annuity/LTC policies in low-interest-rate environments, and why it's perhaps time to eliminate the assumption of 'retirement' altogether and instead think about phased glidepaths of retirement itself (where hours worked and duties gradually shift over time, rather than a hard-stop retirement plan).

We wrap up with three interesting articles, all around the theme of client communication and engagement: the first delves into recent research on exactly what communication strategies support client trust, satisfaction, and referrals; the importance of evolving client communication beyond 'just' regular check-ins (including and especially in the coronavirus pandemic environment); and the last provides a powerful reminder of the emotional benefits of working with a financial planner, in terms of not just walking clients off the proverbial investment ledge but also simply helping them to focus on what they can financially control (from investments to spending and more)!

Enjoy the 'light' reading!

Why Discretionary See-Through Trusts May Require Reform After The SECURE Act’s 10-Year Rule

May 27, 2020 07:06 am 2 Comments CATEGORY: Retirement Planning

The passage of the SECURE Act in December of 2019 introduced several notable changes to the rules governing retirement accounts. One of the most significant was the elimination of the ‘stretch’ provision applicable to most non-spouse Designated Beneficiaries of inherited retirement accounts. Instead of allowing such beneficiaries to continue ‘stretching’ their distributions over the span of their own lifetimes, the SECURE Act now requires that certain beneficiaries deplete their inherited retirement accounts by the end of the 10th year after the year of the account owner’s death. And while that poses challenges when planning for individuals who are retirement account beneficiaries… the planning challenges increase exponentially for “See-Through” Trusts, which can also be designated retirement account beneficiaries.

See-Through Trusts are treated as a Designated Beneficiary (by “seeing through” to the underlying beneficiaries) of an inherited retirement account and come in two basic forms – a “Conduit Trust” and a “Discretionary Trust”. Whereas conduit trusts require all distributions from an inherited retirement account received by the trust to be passed out (i.e., “conduited”) to the trust beneficiaries each year, discretionary trusts allow for the build-up of distributed dollars within the trust. Under certain circumstances, each type of trust can still take advantage of the stretch provision if the underlying beneficiaries can be considered Eligible Designated Beneficiaries, but See-Through Trusts will generally be subject to the 10-Year Rule if the underlying beneficiaries are Non-Eligible Designated Beneficiaries.

Applicable Multi-Beneficiary Trusts, meanwhile, can be used for trusts that have multiple beneficiaries (all of whom are people), when one or more of the beneficiaries is a disabled or chronically ill person. These trusts were established by the SECURE Act to help beneficiaries maintain their eligibility in certain means-tested programs such as Supplemental Security Income and Medicare. If Non-Eligible Designated Beneficiaries are named as beneficiaries to an Applicable Multi-Beneficiary Trust, the stretch provision can still apply to the disabled/chronically ill beneficiary (and would be based on the oldest beneficiary if all are disabled/chronically ill), provided the trust splits into a separate sub-trust for the disabled/chronically ill person immediately upon the account owner’s death.

The primary challenge that the SECURE Act imposes on discretionary trusts stems from the high trust tax rate – the income threshold for the maximum trust tax rate (37%) is only $12,950, versus the income threshold of $622,050 for the 37% personal income tax bracket for joint filers! And because any funds distributed from a retirement account to the trust will be taxed at the trust’s income tax rate if they are not subsequently distributed to the trust beneficiary in the same tax year, the tax liability that can result from distributions left in the trust can be substantial.

Some strategies that financial advisors can use to help clients maximize the post-tax value of inherited retirement account funds left to a Discretionary Trust include immediate Roth conversions of any distributions from the inherited retirement account, which especially makes sense when the account owner is in a lower tax bracket. If Roth conversions are not possible (e.g., if income is too high to permit them), using distributions to fund a life insurance policy can be a potential alternative strategy, but only if there is relative certainty that the funds won’t be needed during the account owner’s lifetime. Other strategies that permit distributions to be taxed at potentially lower individual income tax rates instead of the higher trust rates include providing the trustee with the freedom to time inherited retirement account distributions and creating a Discretionary Trust that allows a beneficiary to exercise a power of withdrawal over annual distributions made from the IRA to the trust.

Ultimately, the key point is that Discretionary Trusts, like Conduit Trusts, have been significantly impacted under the SECURE Act. Accordingly, it is crucial for advisors to know which clients have named a discretionary trust as part of their planning, and for those clients with special needs trusts, to ensure that they conform to applicable MBT guidelines. The low-income threshold for the highest trust tax rate bracket is a particular challenge for trust distributions and can be avoided by using Roth conversions immediately after distributions are made to the trust; timing distributions between inherited retirement accounts, the trust, and the beneficiaries; and providing the beneficiary with the power of withdrawal over annual distributions (when it makes sense to do so).

#FASuccess Ep 178: Blogging Your Way Into A Successful Niche By Simply Pursuing Your Own Curiosity, with Daniel Zajac

May 26, 2020 07:05 am 1 Comment CATEGORY: Financial Advisor Success Podcast

Welcome back to the 178th episode of Financial Advisor Success Podcast!

My guest on today's podcast is Daniel Zajac. Daniel is a financial advisor and partner with Simone Zajac, a hybrid advisory firm on the Lincoln Investment platform that oversees nearly $250 million of assets under management for nearly 300 clients. What's unique about Daniel, though, is the way he's driven an evolution of how the advisory firm markets itself, from the traditional approach of networking with local centers of influence and relying on existing client referrals, to developing a blog for those earning significant equity compensation from their employers that has turned into one to three new digital prospects for the firm every week, many of whom are bringing seven-figure accounts to the firm, even in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

In this episode, we talk in-depth about how Daniel built and developed a niche in working with those who receive significant equity compensation, including the years it took early on for Daniel to gain any traction with his blogging efforts, how pivoting to focus more narrowly on equity compensation accelerated his positive results, how Daniel selected equity compensation as his emerging niche in the first place, what Daniel focused on in the early years to figure out if he was on track when there were not a lot of new clients coming through yet, and how even today, Daniel has found that when blogging and marketing is focused on a niche, website traffic of just a few hundred visitors a day or a few thousand per month is sufficient to drive material new business results.

We also talk about how Daniel's advisory firm prices and delivers its planning services to clients, the digital meet-and-greet session they start with every prospect to determine if they're the right fit, the way the firm uses Dropbox in the data-gathering process to make it easy for prospective clients to share information, why the firm also offers tax preparation to clients as a part of its services, and how forming a niche has opened up new opportunities for lucrative hourly planning in addition to their traditional AUM business.

And be certain to listen to the end, where Daniel shares his perspective on why it's so important to focus sooner rather than later, having struggled himself to find his own traction after his first five years as an advisor, how the path to specialization is really more about iterating incrementally deeper and deeper and not just trying to pick the perfect future niche, and the importance of recognizing that even if you commit to an initial direction, you can always pivot to another niche focus if you're not happy with the results.

Overcoming A Disciplinary U4 Disclosure To Reinvent Your Advisory Business

May 25, 2020 07:08 am 9 Comments CATEGORY: Personal/Career Development

When applying to register within the securities industry, whether as a registered representative of a broker-dealer or an investment advisory representative of an RIA, individuals must complete and file FINRA’s Form U4. The form asks for personal information such as employment and residential history, education, and designations, but is most commonly known for the section towards the end that requires individuals to disclose past events, including criminal history, disciplinary actions from a regulatory body, customer complaints, various financial events, and civil judgments.

Regardless of any mitigating circumstances, having any such “disclosure events” can complicate an advisor’s life and can sometimes even end careers altogether. Not only are most disclosures a permanent part of an advisor’s record, visible to the general public and included for review by prospective clients in the firm’s ADV, the process of dealing with the disclosure itself is also long and expensive, which can involve a formal hearing proceeding by the regulatory body involved.

In this guest post, Tyler Olson – owner of Olson Consulting LLC, an RIA located in Saint Joseph, Michigan – shares his own experience dealing with having a disciplinary disclosure on his U4 record, and the process he went through to move forward in the industry, establishing his own RIA and rebuilding his client base from the ground up after a 3-year ordeal led to a regulatory fine. Through his experience, Tyler learned valuable lessons and devised deliberate strategies to help him organize a failsafe system to avoid the same mistakes he made in the past.

Most importantly, Tyler has come to recognize that the three key characteristics that are vital to operating as a successful advisor are built around integrity and a strong ethical foundation. Specifically, endurance, humility, and respect are the central traits that will not only help advisors avoid potentially damaging mistakes but are also traits that will help an advisor persevere should they find themselves with a challenging disclosure event.

As he rebuilt his business, Tyler developed several strategies to discuss the disciplinary event in his background with prospective clients, organize his processes to prevent future mistakes, and stay abreast of industry trends by keeping up with the CFP Board and investor advocacy groups. He also maintains open communication lines with his state regulator (finding it is more effective to work with them proactively than trying to ‘stay under the radar screen’) and sticks to a structured weekly routine to keep his compliance protocol up to date.

Ultimately, the key point is that U4 disclosure events can be very difficult for any advisor to deal with, but by cultivating key characteristics, developing a strong work ethic, and having the right mindset, advisors who are given the opportunity to remain in the profession with a disciplinary disclosure really can move past the event and still build successful careers.

Weekend Reading for Financial Planners (May 23-24)

May 22, 2020 02:47 pm 0 Comments CATEGORY: Weekend Reading

Enjoy the current installment of "weekend reading for financial planners" – this week's edition kicks off with an interesting investor research study showing what clients are actually interested in learning and hearing about now... which shows that while there was an initial burst of interest in commentary about markets and the economy, within just a week or two of the pandemic shutdown client interest had already shifted to topics more 'personally' relevant to them, from health and wellness to thinking about second careers (as the pandemic may have shut down their first!), and the family dynamics of how the pandemic and its economic impact may be rippling through their personal lives beyond their portfolios alone.

From there, we have several practice management articles on the continued adaptation of working in a virtual environment, including tips on managing your team remotely (from daily huddles to weekly videos and structured virtual get-togethers), to advisory firms taking a fresh look at their office space decisions as lease renewals may be coming due in the midst of the shutdown, some tips on managing client meetings virtually, and why in the end the key to surviving and thriving in the midst of this pandemic shutdown is not just about figuring out whether and how to adapt by changing your mindset to view this as a positive turning point in your business (and then to decide what you're going to build towards from here!).

We also have several marketing-related articles this week, from suggestions of what any advisory firm can start doing to improve (virtual) communication and connection with clients and prospects, why it may be a good time to take a fresh look at your advisor website, tips on how to focus on and change your website to do a better job of turning visitors into qualified prospects and eventually clients (now that we have to rely on our websites more than ever!), and how even though clients commonly find prospective advisors through referrals it's still necessary to do the substantive work of really earning their trust.

We wrap up with three interesting articles, all around the theme of habits and personal productivity: the first is a reminder of the power of "keystone habits", and how finding just one or two positive anchor habits can help spiral the rest of our lives in a more positive direction; the second is a fascinating look at mathematician and computer scientist Stephen Wolfram and the 'personal infrastructure' he has created to make himself more productive; and the last is a powerful reminder that in the end, the pandemic shutdown hasn't necessarily given us more time to be productive (as though we weren't already trying to be productive in the past!), it has just shifted our time, and the real key to productivity remains as it always was: not finding more time in the day, or a way to cram more things into the time that's available, but instead figuring out what you truly need to be doing yourself to be productive... and learning to hyperfocus your time on only those things that really, truly, matter the most!

Enjoy the 'light' reading!

Kitces & Carl Ep 34: Are We Making Financial Advice & Portfolios More Complex Than They Need To Be?

May 21, 2020 07:19 am 1 Comment CATEGORY: Kitces & Carl Podcast

Oftentimes, individuals seek out the services of a financial planner because their lives have become increasingly complex, and they need help to get organized, simplify, or at least just ‘make sense’ of their situation and what to do next. However, some clients don’t even realize just how complex their finances and lives have really become, and therefore may not fully appreciate the extent their financial advisor actually works to create a comprehensive financial plan that simplifies their situation in an easy-to-understand narrative and manageable to-do list.

In our 34th episode of Kitces & Carl, Michael Kitces and financial advisor communication expert Carl Richards talk about how many financial advisors feel compelled to illuminate the complexity in a client’s financial plan as a means of justifying their value, and whether the ability to simplify complexity, especially as pertaining to the client’s investment portfolio, is really what defines an advisor’s value in the first place. Because while clients do find value in the solutions their financial advisors bring to them, for many clients, it is their advisor’s ability to understand who they themselves are and the goals they are trying to achieve (and why) that is even more important than coming up with solutions themselves. And so in many instances, the fear that offering a simple solution to a complex problem may end out encouraging a client to take a do-it-yourself approach (and thus losing the client in the process) is generally misplaced, because helping clients to simplify is still a tremendous value unto itself.

Even so, there are many financial advisors who have encountered prospects who already had well-diversified portfolios that need little, if any, adjustments, sometimes prompting them to question themselves and what value they can actually provide to a client who seems to already have their investments in good order. These situations can be opportunities for the advisor to reflect around their own value proposition outside of portfolio design (e.g., all of the elements aside from investment management involved in a truly holistic financial planning process), and how they might best present their services to clients. As while the value in knowledge and technical details is unmistakable, there is also a huge value proposition in an advisor’s ability to help their clients identify and clarify their goals, and then to help them manage their behaviors and the use of their capital to achieve those goals.

Another common question facing advisors is how much complexity they actually should share with their clients, which depends on where the client may lie on the ‘complexity curve’ of understanding how complex their lives actually are. As for many clients who are far along on the complexity curve are fully aware of how much their lives are embroiled in complexity (though their concern is not so much in understanding that complexity, but just in getting help to manage the complexity), other clients who are at the initial stages along the complexity curve are completely unaware that their situations are anything but simple, and don’t understand the effort it takes to bring some real simplicity back to their financial situations (and thus the actual value their advisors provide to them). These ‘early-curve’ clients may benefit from their advisor sharing the level of detail involved in developing their financial plan, thereby moving farther along the complexity curve… not as a ‘scare tactic’ to reveal how complicated their lives actually are, but just as a way to walk them through the rough terrain that must be traveled to get from their current situation to a workable, simpler outcome.

Ultimately, the key point is that financial advisors have the freedom to delve into varying levels of complexity for their clients, depending on how much the client needs (or wants) to understand and participate in. And by asking simple questions at the start of the relationship to identify why the client sought an advisor in the first place and how the client believes an advisor can help them with their goals, an advisor can leverage how they share complexity as a means to further strengthen their relationship with their clients.