"With the unraveling of our peers
and financial markets in general, we are lucky to be in a very stable
position and enjoy a flight to quality," he says. Cole adds that the
turmoil has also led to quick turnarounds on accounts. After first
contact with a potential client, it used to be typical in the industry
for it to take from six months to a year before a prospect became a
client.
Now clients are moving assets in roughly a month, he says.
In volatile times such as these, advisors must also be armchair shrinks and have the ability to see opportunity when most see doom, Tuens-Way says. "In this downtime communication is as important as performance," she says. "But that also means, do not ever go to a meeting without a clear idea. They pay you to come with meaningful customized ideas. You must honor that trust, which takes discipline, calm, resolve, strategy and execution and a lot of forward thinking."
Forward thinking includes working toward a horizon spanning multiple generations, Cole says.
"Our clients are concerned like everybody, but they are insulated to an extent and also opportunistic to a degree," he says. "So our guidance allows for much longer time horizons, in some cases up to 100 years. They are investing for a very long time."