Finfrock said his clients often want to discuss the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as the primary contests are exacerbating clients’ anxieties.
“They seem to think it has a lot to do with the market, but I disagree,” Finfrock says. “The president doesn’t really have that much of an impact, but it can be challenging to talk to clients about it.”
Straus says the 2008-2009 financial crisis is a great teaching tool, and not only because it occurred amid one of the most hotly contested presidential elections in American history. By comparison, 2016’s turmoil is tame.
“Back in 2008, I was receiving calls from people asking if their money was safe at UBS or Morgan Stanley,” Straus says. “The structural problems were so different from what we have today. We’re not worried about the financial system collapsing.”
Kineke is telling her clients that if they resisted the temptation to sell during the crisis, and again during the “flash crash” in late August, they should be able to avoid selling now.
“Back in March 2009, I only had two people who sold out of their investments,” Kineke says. “With some people, you can’t stop them. You can’t know exactly what’s going to happen, but you have a responsibility to try hard to dissuade them from making that mistake.”
The best way to do that is through spending more time and resources communicating with clients, Tamer says, which requires a more efficient office.
“Advisors need the technology and support staff to free them up from most non-client-facing activities,” Tamer says. “At times like this, advisors need to be in front of their clients talking to them. They can’t be stuck behind a desk rebalancing portfolios or using prospect management tools.”
Investment management also plays a role in tamping down client concerns.
Tom Weilert, a financial advisor with Northwestern Mutual, said that building a stream of guaranteed investment income helps ensure that his clients won’t panic.