Understanding a family’s health characteristics and concerns will be just as important as their financial circumstances and concerns when building financial plans. In order to address more areas of a family’s wellbeing, advisors can expand their advice offering with access to credit and insurance products, as well as healthcare and Social Security expertise.
Emphasizing Families & Communities
The renewed focus on family and communities during this time have led to a new mutuality that “we’re all in this together.” Going forward, advisors have an opportunity to take a broader perspective and strengthen their connections within their communities to help improve financial lives at a higher level. For example, advisors can leverage digital and educational tools to enable families in local communities to gain a greater understanding of how to achieve financial wellness.
Writing a New Playbook for a Sustainable Business
When the lockdown began, large businesses tended to fare better than smaller counterparts because they had the technology to make it possible for employees to work from home. Going forward, smaller companies, including wealth management practices, will need to ensure they have secure technology and business continuity plans that can position them to fully operate in the cloud. This digital transformation will deliver scale and a consistent fidelity of advice across all points of engagement.
In the face of economic uncertainty, advisors can utilize a broader network of external partners to do more with less—helping them achieve sustainability through secure, unified technology systems.
Our Industry’s Time to Shine
Financial advisors have performed diligently on behalf of their clients during the COVID-19 pandemic, but they must take steps to ensure that both their clients and practices will be prepared for anything long after the recovery.
This health and safety crisis will eventually end. However, it will leave behind lasting change that will define a new way forward. The wealth management industry has a tremendous opportunity to help lead American families into our “new normal,” and make financial wellness a reality for millions of people.
John Harris, CFP, is Managing Director of Envestnet, Inc., a provider of data, solutions, and technology to the wealth management industry.