Building strong client relationships is essential for a Financial Advisor’s sustainability and success. However, many Advisors fail to focus on what truly matters to prospective clients, often spending time on details that may not attract new business.
A Morningstar study cited by Kitces.com found that clients prioritize Advisors who help them achieve their financial goals above all else:[1]
This is good news for Financial Advisors focused on relationship building, as 41% believe that offering comprehensive financial planning services is the key to long-term client relationships.[2]
By prioritizing your clients’ interests, sharing your expertise, and making financial concepts accessible and understandable you can help them achieve their financial goals.
1. Putting Your Clients' Needs First
While clients prioritize help reaching their financial goals as a top priority, it may be challenging to help them reach those goals without clarifying their short-, medium-, and long-term needs.
Think about your client’s objectives, pain points, and expectations and how your expertise and guidance can help them. It’s also beneficial to understand your preferred niche—what type of client do you want to work with? With this information, you can customize your services to meet clients’ specific needs.
Building trust through authenticity and transparency is essential to understanding your client and delivering the services they need. Some information they may want to know:[3]
- How your client-advisor relationship will work
- How often will you communicate
- What method(s) you use to communicate
- Whether or not you’re a fiduciary
- Your licenses and certifications
- Your investment philosophy
- How you determine asset allocation
- How you determine a client’s risk tolerance
- Your total costs (fee structure)
- Your retirement strategies
- Tax implications and strategies
Armed with this information, you can customize your approach and investment strategy to meet each client’s unique needs, goals, and risk tolerance. A significant number of Americans—68%—indicate that a personalized financial plan is an extremely or very important factor in determining whether to engage a particular Advisor.[4]
Addressing your clients’ needs also involves refining your values to ensure you’re aligned and determine whether it makes sense to work together.
On average, Financial Advisors spend nearly one third of their time on client relationship management.[5] What matters most to you in a client-advisor relationship? Does your firm have a mission and vision? What value do you provide for your clients—and how will you deliver it? How are you helping them meet their financial goals? If you’re unsure, the Symmetry Marketing Group can walk you through creating your Value Proposition.
2. Sharing Your Knowledge and Insight
Providing insight and education about various financial topics can help empower your clients to understand their options. They’re more likely to feel confident—and they may be more motivated to adhere to the recommended strategies, increasing the likelihood of achieving their financial goals—when they’re well-informed, which can help foster a collaborative client-advisor relationship.
Using open communication, your clients remain at the center of the advisory process, enabling them to make informed decisions about their financial future.
Sharing your knowledge can also help clients clarify and prioritize their financial goals. By thoroughly explaining different strategies, investment vehicles, and market trends, your clients can better align their personal objectives with actionable financial plans you can help them implement.
3. Helping Your Clients Understand Financial Concepts
Part of building a successful client-advisor relationship is your ability to clarify complex financial concepts into clear, digestible information.
Begin by assessing each client's level of financial knowledge. Some may be seasoned investors with a deep understanding of markets, while others may be new to investing with limited knowledge about the financial landscape.
Tailoring your communication to match their level of understanding can help ensure that your advice is accessible and relevant. The clearer you can make these concepts, the more likely they’ll feel confident and empowered about the decisions they’re making.
Regularly check in to ensure clients understand the financial strategies you’re implementing—and the rationale behind your recommendations. To avoid misinterpretation, reinforce key concepts like risk tolerance and tax efficiency with concrete examples related to their personal goals. Explaining how a strategy aligns with their goals, potential risks, and your risk management approach can help build trust and comfort—even if they don’t grasp every technical detail.
Once again encourage open communication and reassure clients that no question is too trivial. By enhancing your clients’ financial literacy, you empower them to make informed decisions, now and in the future.
Looking to Free Up Some Time?
As a Financial Advisor, solidifying client relationships is key to your long-term success. When you focus on what’s best for your clients, share your knowledge, and break down complex financial concepts into easy-to-understand terms, you help set them up to reach their financial goals with confidence.
But it takes time—something most Advisors struggle with, given the complexities of managing their firms.
Working with a Turnkey Asset Management Platform (TAMP) can potentially help small and mid-size RIAs scale efficiently, freeing up time and resources to focus on growth and nurturing client relationships.
Interested in learning more? Schedule a demo to find out how the Axiom Wealth Platform can help enhance your business.
For Financial Professionals Only. Not for public consumption. Symmetry Partners, LLC is an investment advisory firm registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm only transacts business in states where it is properly registered or excluded or exempted from registration requirements. Registration with the SEC or any state securities authority does not imply a certain level of skill or training. No one should assume that future performance of any specific investment, investment strategy, product or non-investment-related content made reference to directly or indirectly in this material will be profitable. All data is from sources believed to be reliable but cannot be guaranteed or warranted.
Symmetry provides this communication on this site as a matter of general information. Information contained herein, including data or statistics quoted, is from sources believed to be reliable but cannot be guaranteed or warranted. Due to various factors, including changing market conditions and/or applicable laws, the content may not be reflective of current opinions or positions. All content on this site is for educational purposes and should not be considered investment advice, recommendation, or offer of any security for sale.
[1] Beach, E., “What Clients (Actually) Value Most In A Financial Advisor,” Kitces, 2020, https://www.kitces.com/blog/evan-beach-value-financial-advisor-goals-priorities-morningstar-returns-communication
[2] Eser, A., “Financial Advisor Industry Statistics: $35.6B Market Projected by 2026,” Worldmetrics.org Report 2024, https://worldmetrics.org/financial-advisor-industry-statistics
[3] Adapted from Brock, C., “16 Important Questions You Should Be Asking Your Financial Advisor,” Forbes, 2022 https://www.forbes.com/sites/wealth-planning-insights/2022/09/02/16-important-questions-you-should-be-asking-your-financial-advisor
[4] George, R., “The First Step in the Financial Planning Process Is Client Data Gathering,” Nasdaq, 2022, https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/the-first-step-in-the-financial-planning-process-is-client-data-gathering
[5] Eser, A., “Financial Advisor Industry Statistics: $35.6B Market Projected by 2026,” Worldmetrics.org Report 2024, https://worldmetrics.org/financial-advisor-industry-statistics