Financial advice is essentially a relationship business

Heather Hopkins is the Founder and Managing Director of Next Wealth – an organisation that helps individuals and businesses understand what’s next in Wealth.

She shares her views on how the conversations around retirement are changing, the vital role advisers play in managing their clients’ emotions and the challenges they still face.

Emotions play a huge role when it comes to thinking about milestones. One of the things we’ve seen over the past two years is that clients are more focused on longevity and wellbeing. How will they live in retirement? How will they spend their time?

Financial advisers play a vital role in managing these emotions. Clients sometimes have family and friends who they can turn to when they need guidance, but they might not always have that one step removal from their emotions that they need. Having someone who can advocate for you, make sure you’re thinking of your own needs and your goals is incredibly important. This has been a catalyst for some important conversations for advisers.

Role of advisers

The role of financial advisers is also evolving. Financial advice is essentially a relationship business and is built on the trust between advisers and their clients. The value comes from advisers understanding their clients’ behaviours and emotions around their money. Advisers need to manage the conversations around their clients’ transactional expectations and their emotional needs longer term. It’s a balancing act that is needed to fully understand a client’s goals for their retirement.

However, there are still roadblocks stopping clients from seeking out independent financial advice. We know that some people would rather do housework or go to the dentist, than talk about money. This creates an obstacle for clients who want to seek financial advice but can’t get past the discomfort around discussing their finances. But it’s critically important, because we have a lot of evidence that shows that mental wellbeing is closely linked to financial wellbeing. So, how do we stay relevant in our client’s lives?

There’s a lot we can do as an industry to make it easier for clients to engage with us.

One of the biggest things we can do to improve engagement with clients, is to make it easier for advisers to work with Canada Life, which will make it easier for them to work with their clients. 

To find out more about Heather connect with her on LinkedIn.

Canada Life has researched the psychology of long-term thinking and the role of the adviser.  Read their latest research.

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