Beyond the Numbers:
Using Your Advisor as a Sounding Board
Written By: Kevin Reardon, CFP®
In a recent meeting with a prospective client, I was articulating how our relationships with clients go far beyond the dollars and cents of traditional financial planning. The client had a curious look on their face and commented, “You sound more like a therapist than a financial advisor.” We are certainly not therapists, but the reality is that finances touch nearly every aspect of one’s life, far beyond investment portfolios and financial projections. As a result, clients lean on us for perspective and guidance on a range of sensitive issues, typically during significant life transitions. Let’s take a look at some of these not-so-typical financial topics and how your Shakespeare Advisor can help.
Big Picture
Virtually every client meeting includes a financial projection, anticipating your wealth into the future (Cash Flow Report). Unless you’re a Shakespeare client, most people have never seen a financial projection like this before. As a picture is worth a thousand words, clients begin to understand their finances in a much deeper way. Perhaps for the first time, clients see how the work of the past has put them in their current financial position, and how that can shape their life moving forward.
This report brings up many interesting questions:
– If I am financially able to retire, should I continue working?
– Should we be doing something else with our money or life while we are alive?
– How much money do we want to leave to children or charities?
– Are our kids ready to inherit money?
Clients aren’t looking for us to make these decisions for them, but rather for us to provide perspective that goes beyond numbers. Ultimately, these discussions revolve around a client’s core values and making decisions that align with them. Our job as your advisor is to offer suggestions, point out alternatives, identify and avoid pitfalls, and encourage you to continue blending your financial life with your life goals.
Retirement Discussion
While calculating the dollars and cents of retirement planning is relatively easy (at least for your CFP® Professional 😊), serving as a sounding board beyond the numbers requires far more skill.
Years ago, a client indicated the scariest day of their life was the first day of retirement because it was the first day in 40 years they didn’t have a paycheck. Reassuring clients they will have a comfortable retirement requires us to first identify their fears, discuss the origins of these fears, and then help them see a future where their assets will provide for them.
A sample of a few key sounding board discussions includes:
– Helping clients understand how their identity may come from their career and talking about how to deal with that loss once they retire.
– Challenging clients to map out where they will spend their time in retirement, beyond time on the golf course or chasing after grandkids.
– Identifying when clients fall into a ‘retirement rut’ and encouraging them to stretch their comfort zone by adding purpose-driven activities.
Life Transitions
Our client relationships span years and even decades. It’s typical for us to help clients navigate many challenging situations, beyond the above discussions of retirement. Although I could write an article on each of the topics below, let’s briefly touch on a few:
Marriage: For those marrying later in life, when you have significant assets, there are many sensitive discussion topics. People will ask about pre-nuptial agreements, blending assets with a new spouse, paying for joint expenses, how to title assets, how to provide for a spouse and children when you’re gone, and what to do with assets at death. As a client merges their life with a new spouse, they want a perspective on what strategies to consider and pitfalls to avoid.
Divorce: Someone once described divorce as not just the end of a marriage, but rather the death of a relationship. This helps articulate the emotional impact divorce can have on a couple, and why people lose perspective during this difficult time. Clients frequently need a non-emotional sounding board as they make decisions for their new life. We provide a judgment-free zone without the biases (or baggage) of a friend or family member.
Death of a Loved One: Losing a loved one can be the most difficult thing in life. In addition to navigating a plethora of financial issues surrounding the death of a loved one, clients need our perspective on broader life decisions. Sometimes a client simply needs someone to talk through an issue with, and frequently they answer their questions when processing out loud.
Inheritance: When someone receives an inheritance, a common question is what to do with this large, sudden inflow of assets. Showing a financial projection for these new assets can be productive, but frequently clients need a deeper level of help beyond just an investment discussion. There may be feelings of guilt, and sometimes people are still too deep in the grieving process to make decisions. Other times, people are drawn to spend the assets in an unhealthy way. Clients may need to bounce ideas off a trusted third party before making a decision.
Family Dynamics
It might seem strange to think a financial advisor would be asked to weigh in on family matters, but it is an integral part of what we do. These discussions occur frequently when talking about estate planning as clients seek solutions to a problem, are weighing pros and cons to an issue, or are simply looking for perspective on what they are considering. Dozens of estate planning techniques can be used to solve a client’s objective, and identifying the best one starts when a client shares their personal story.
It’s been proven that minimizing emotions when making big decisions will dramatically increase your odds of success. Having a trusted sounding board who can help explore the emotions driving your choices while offering a broader perspective can lead to better decisions and the peace of mind you seek.
At Shakespeare, we deeply value the relationships we build with every client and family. Open, ongoing communication is at the heart of those relationships, allowing us to guide clients through a wide range of financial and personal matters with clarity and care.
Going beyond the numbers not only leads to better solutions but is the most rewarding part of what we do. Thank you to our clients for your trust and confidence. We look forward to continuing to serve as your sounding board through life’s decisions, big and small.