Financial Advisers
Develop, prepare and implement financial plans and investment strategies for individuals and organisations, and advise on investment strategies, cash management, insurance, retirement and estate planning, real estate and wealth management.
A Tuesday with three clients
You are a financial adviser at a small independent practice, with back to back client meetings booked today. It is Tuesday morning. Three meetings are booked, your file notes from last week are overdue, and the market has been bumpy all week. Each client wants something different from you.
Choose what you would do. Then see what happens. There are often good reasons for each choice.
My brother in law swears by this new investment he's in. He says it can't lose. I want to put all my savings in tonight. Can you just set it up for me?
Set it up as asked, because it is his money and refusing might lose him as a client
He is happy tonight. But you have helped him stake everything on one idea you have not examined. If it goes wrong, the question will be why his adviser did not speak up.
Ask what draws him to it, explain the risk of one big bet, and look at it together
Callum admits it is mostly excitement. He keeps most of his savings where they are and puts a small part into the idea. You have treated him as an adult and kept his trust.
Tell him firmly it is a terrible idea and that you will not discuss it any further
You may be right, but he leaves feeling lectured. He may do it anyway through someone else, with nobody checking. Being honest works better when the client still wants to listen.
The market has dropped again this week. I'm thinking of selling everything and putting it in the bank until things settle down. What would you do in my place?
Tell her not to worry and to leave everything exactly as it is
She nods, but you have not heard what is really bothering her. She leaves reassured on the surface and phones again two days later, more anxious than before.
Agree and sell quickly, since she is the one losing sleep over it
She feels better today. But selling in a panic can lock in a loss and puts her plan off track. A worried client needs a conversation, not just an order form.
Go back over her goals and timeframe, show how her plan allowed for dips, and let her decide
Seeing her own plan on paper calms her. She trims one holding for peace of mind and keeps the rest. The choice is hers, and she makes it with full information.
Your notes for last week's two meetings are not in the system, and the file review is Friday. Where is the record of what you advised and why?
Write honest notes today from your calendar and emails, and say they were late
Ben is not thrilled, but he respects the honesty. The notes show what was really said, and you set a rule to write them within a day. Good records protect clients and you.
Fill in the notes to look as thorough as possible, including what you probably said
The notes look impressive, but some of it is guesswork. A record that is not true is worse than a late one, and it could count against you if a client ever disputes the advice.
Promise to catch up next week once the meetings quieten down
Friday arrives with the notes still missing. Ben has to report it, and the delay looks careless. Records written while a meeting is fresh are far more reliable.
How it went
By the end of the day you have talked one client out of a rash move, steadied another and written your notes honestly. Financial advice is as much about listening and being straight with people as it is about numbers. Would you enjoy being the person people trust with their plans?
This is a simplified, fictional situation to help you explore. It is not professional instruction or a test of your ability.
Case study: The retirement plan built on a hunch
A fictional case set in a small independent financial advice practice in a regional town.
The situation
Harbourline Advice is a small practice in a regional town. Priya, one of its advisers, met Dennis and Marcia, who were about to retire. Dennis had heard from a mate at the bowls club about a local business that was sure to take off, and he wanted to put most of their savings into it. Marcia was uneasy but did not want to argue. Priya knew that if she simply said no, they would probably go ahead without her. Her job was to find out what they really wanted from retirement.
What they did
Priya asked each of them separately what a good retirement looked like. Marcia wanted time with the grandchildren and no money worries. Dennis wanted to feel useful. She explained, in plain words and without scaring anyone, what it means to tie up most of your savings in one place. She showed how a small part could go into the venture if they still wanted it, wrote down her advice and their reasons in a file note, and suggested they sleep on it.
How it turned out
They put in a small amount Dennis could afford to lose and kept the rest on a steadier path. The venture did only moderately well. Dennis got his project, Marcia got her peace of mind, and both kept coming back for their yearly reviews.
What would you do?
- Why do you think Priya spoke to Dennis and Marcia separately?
- How would you tell someone their favourite idea is risky without losing their trust?
- What would you want written down after a meeting about your own money?