You're not guaranteeing returns. You're telling them you understand what it is they care about; what they're afraid of; what their wants, needs and dreams are; their goals in life that are musts to them. If, indeed, you can get your clients to articulate those values, then all you have to do is follow that line consistently.
If you listen more than you talk and actually hear what they're saying, you're then setting up a road map to continue to build trust because you're doing what you say you're going to do. Doing what you say you're going to do consistently is what builds trust.
In our firm, we reach out to clients, meet with them regularly, talk on the phone, meet face to face, send out correspondence, make sure we're attuned to what they need -- and when they need their hands held, we're there to hold their hands and put things into perspective. And the fear that takes over their lives? Our job is to help them push that away and put it into proper perspective.
FA: Skip, at TD Ameritrade, you serve as an advisor advocate, which also plays to trust, and how advisors build a good business and build relationships with their clients. What are you hearing from the field?
Schweiss: We service over 4000 independent advisors. I listen to their concerns, particularly about the regulatory environment. We distill that (information). Then we go to Washington - to legislators, regulators including SEC, the Department of Labor, and deliver that message. What are financial advisors concerned about? What are they excited about? What do they need more clarification about? So I facilitate that communication between policy makers and financial advisors.
One thing I'm hearing from advisors is what a custodian can do to support their business better. Stuart made some great points and I just want to build on them. Just processing transactions accurately, and sending out accurate statements, are core things a lot of (custodians) do well. But now advisors are looking for more than that. "Help me run my business more efficiently. Deliver technologies that will help me run my business more efficiently and provide better service to my clients." But at the same time they're saying, "Don't give me a one-size-fits-all technology application." One reason they went out on their own is to be able to build their business their way, select the (appropriate) technology applications, charge what they want, work with the clients they want. So they are looking for help from us in those areas. They really want open architecture. We've heard that loud and clear.
The second thing we're hearing from (advisors) is "Help me grow my business." That might mean delivering referrals from our branch network or maintaining the integrity of their brand. I go back to my story about my mother: "Mom, your assets are safe, they're at TD Ameritrade." Well, she better not see a negative headline about TD Ameritrade or I'm going to get another phone call. Another way we help an advisor is by maintaining a strong national brand that holds the assets for their clients.
Also, regarding this whole regulatory arena we've talked about, advisors are saying, "Look, I don't care if my business card says registered investment advisor, registered representative, certified financial planner or something else. If I am delivering financial advice to consumers, I should be held to a fiduciary standard." So that's a message we have heard loud and clear and we are conveying it to Washington for them.
FA: Scott - you work with some 2,800 clients. So efficiency and communication is very important to your business and to your clients. With the erosion of trust, what were you seeing with clients, and what did you do to shore up that trust, build visibility and gain market share as well?
Hanson: The last couple of years, clients clearly wanted more interaction with our firm. Many individual investors had a hard time judging if their advisor was doing a good job. Thus, when the market's down 30% and they're down 25% or 35%, I don't know how much difference that really makes with their advisor. They are losing money; everyone is losing money.
But what a client can judge is the type of service and communication an advisor provides them. So if an advisor is reasonably competent at what they do, and can communicate well, they will build that level of trust and that client will then follow their advice more readily, which is key to success.