Are we money managers or relationship managers?

I know what I am, probably a combination of both. In reality, most of my time is spent managing client relationships. The buzzwords at all the recent conferences have been focusing on ‘behavioural coaching,’ and that is probably the best description. 

I picked up this report from EY last night as I skimmed through some of the headlines. Although this is a piece of Global research (and some of the mistrust clients seem to be experiencing is dominated in Asia and The Pacific’s), it felt to me that it is suggesting wealth management needs to be far more focussed on client management. 

 

I run my own business. Like many IFAs, we know all of our clients on a personal basis. We often know things about their lives that their close family or best friends don’t know about them. So, being to identify for them the things that matter and how they will be impacted by certain changes in the markets, is imperative to a long-term relationship. 

 

One of the areas of concern was highlighted: 

Globally, 45% of clients see investing as having become more complex. Clients are becoming more concerned about factors such as, volatility, inflation, political uncertainty and other macro factors. 

Being able to reach out to a ‘relationship manager’, someone who can guide you through the volatility, becomes increasingly important in a world that is flooded with news. Where markets fluctuate rapidly, clients now have access to see those changes at their fingertips. 

 

If you get time to look at the report, check out page 9, where they review 10 underlying challenges that wealth managers are facing: 

No 1: Stand out in the age of personalisation. Exactly what we are all trying to do. Whether its on a social media platform, via our website and marketing, we are constantly striving for differentiation. 

No’s 2& 6: Evaluate and Redefine relationship management. Looking at continuous improvement in all your client relationships, even when you believe you are already getting it right! 

Anyone in business knows the value of long-term clients and repeat business. This report amplifies the need to invest in client retention even more. A great read if you have time.