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| How to Reach Out to Clients in Times of Turmoil |
| by
C. Marie Swift
| 11-13-08 |
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Bankruptcies, bailouts, plunging indexes . what's next? From living rooms to water coolers, bus stops to the campaign trail, everyone is talking about the market. For financial advisors, these tough and turbulent times mean it's even more important to communicate with clients. Sure, you might agree that you need to reach out, but what will comfort your clients? In a word, perspective.
Above all, your clients need reassurance that the rules haven't changed, says Arthur Cooper, principal of Cooper McManus in Irvine, Calif. Accordingly, rather than discuss the market's instability, Cooper has his clients looking inward.
"You hear that the Dow has fallen 500 points and lost 4.5% in value, but it's likely the decline in a diversified portfolio will be less," he said. "We're spending time reviewing clients' original objectives and investment strategies to assess whether their goals are the same and if the investments we chose are still appropriate. If they are, our message is to hold the course."
Agreeing that changes in the client's life, not market swing should prompt portfolio changes, Bill Glubiak, principal of Cedar Brook Financial in Cleveland, said that he personalizes his "stay the course" advice to clients by reminding them of what they have accomplished.
"We use our performance reporting station to review how the portfolio has performed over a longer period of time. Clients are pleasantly surprised and then more able to block out the market noise and focus on their long-term investment horizon," he said.
While it might be tempting to reassure clients via letter or e-mail, Don Patrick, principal of Integrated Financial in Atlanta, points out that there's a comfort for clients in hearing a familiar, calm human voice.
"During the crash of 2000, we spoke with our retired clients quarterly to reassure them they were still on track," he said. "Today, clients who are globally diversified across equities bonds, cash, and alternative are not down as much the individual indexes--and they need to know they are on track to meet their goals. When we call, clients tell us, 'I know what you are going to say--that over the long term we'll be fine,' but there's still value in reaching out."
In addition to telephone calls, Patrick recently produced a market-commentary webcast for clients and is incorporating short podcasts into his Web site.
Clyde Wyatt, principal of Navigation Financial in Dallas, agreed that there's value in revisiting past performance and encouraging clients to focus on the long term, but he added that it's also vitally important that, in addition to imparting advice, financial advisors listen.
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C. Marie Swift is principal of Impact Communications, based in Leawood, Kan. A marketing communications professional, she's been helping advisors make better branding and marketing decisions since 1988. Additional resources and ideas are offered on her Web site, www.impactcommunications.org. Please e-mail comments about this article to marieswift@impactcommunications.org.
The author is not an employee of Morningstar, Inc. The views expressed in this article are the author's. They do not necessarily reflect the views of Morningstar. |
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