Don’t Ignore This Moment
If you are winding down your advisory career, you might be doing the math and saying that in 10 years you will be on a beach living “la vida más fina.”
Your clients likely know your plans too. But when you win clients, you have a “contract” with them—something noted by Ross Levin, founder of Accredited Investors Wealth Management, at our Next Chapter Rockin’ Retirement event in May. And your relationships with aging clients likely determine your firm’s valuation, something noted by another speaker, Tom Bradley of Schwab. If you skip out on these clients, the value of what you’ve built will be eroded or destroyed.
The Price Of Ignorance
I’ve spent a lot of time worrying about this issue on behalf of big company clients, and I count five significant risks from keeping our heads in the sand about this issue:
1. We can lose our current clients and their assets.
2. We might lose the ability to consolidate the assets that our clients hold elsewhere.
3. We could lose the clients’ families if we fail to take care of a member in turmoil. (Surviving spouses and adult children will have no sympathy for us if our response to a difficult topic is inertia.)
4. We could draw scrutiny from regulators if we don’t really sufficiently “know our clients” and their needs, which is part of our fiduciary responsibility.
5. Finally, we also risk our reputations. When it comes to aging clients in financial trouble, the more colorful cases tend to make headlines.
Other Than That Mrs. Lincoln, How Was The Play?
Every corner of the financial industry has benefited from the historic demographic of retiring baby boomers, a powerful wave lifting all our boats. It’s time to pay it back by at least meeting the needs of loyal clients and their families, all of whom will soon be dealing with the less pleasant issues that come with increased longevity. Our ability to serve them will be a function of both our will and skill. I’m completely confident we have the skill. Do we have the will?
Steve Gresham is on a mission to improve longevity and “retirement.” He leads an industry initiative, Next Chapter, and is CEO of the Execution Project LLC, a consulting firm. He is also senior educational advisor to the Alliance for Lifetime Income.