This kind of information is even more important for younger employees who haven’t gone through a significant market correction before, he said.
“Riding a bull market for 10-plus years means they haven’t seen the cycles and they don’t know how to respond,” he said. “They might be making some hard decisions, and the financial advisor can also talk about budgeting and provide context for what works and what doesn’t.”
The current economic situation provides financial advisors with an opportunity to reach more potential clients, he said, as only 56% of employers provide access to a financial planner as a benefit, according to an employer survey by the Employee Benefit Research Institute in Washington, D.C.
“Financial advisors are always looking to generate new relations. Going to a company and saying, ‘I’m willing to spend an hour in the lunchroom or online to help your employees,’ offers a tremendous amount of value and is a way to earn trust,” Bunnell said.
Besides educating employees on some of the options that are out there, a financial advisor who works closely with a company’s HR department can also influence benefit offerings that could retain employees.
“The retirement space has done a great job in this. But emergency savings is also important, and a financial advisor could help facilitate direct deposit or even a match for emergency savings,” Bunnell said.