Armond A. Dinverno, a certified financial planner in Itasca, Ill., is among the financial advisors encouraging clients to cut spending on such items as clothing, vacations and country clubs. He uses charts to show them how long their money will likely last at various spending rates.
People tend not to change their behavior until they experience fear or pain, he says. And though investors experienced both over the past year and a half, change may be temporary.
"I don't think by any stretch we're permanently reformed," Dinverno says.
Prospective clients, meanwhile, are taking longer to sign on as clients than they have in the past, says Dan Moisand, a CFP with Florida-based Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo.
A few years ago, it wasn't uncommon for investors to signal their interest in working with his firm after their first meeting, he says. Today's prospects are interviewing more advisors and taking a few weeks to make a decision.
Investors are also asking more questions about conflicts of interest, business continuity plans and how the firm's employees make investment decisions. And for the first time in a decade, two prospects have asked Moisand, before their initial meeting, for his firm's Form ADV-a regulatory filing containing information about the advisor's business, disciplinary history and fees, among other factors.
"People are learning what questions to ask and learning what to do with the answer," Moisand says.
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