Yesterday's "The Adviser's Edge" event, courtesy of the fantastic team at Fundment, was time extremely well spent. It was a powerful reminder that our profession isn't just about numbers—it's about human psychology, communication, and lasting relationships.
The straight-talking Scot Mark Polson from the amazing LangCat team started us
off, reminding us ‘oldies’ how life was in the profession 25 years ago and the huge
progression the advice sector has made since. Probably an eye opener for the
younger advisers in the room.
Next up was Ben Hanlin, the magician (who many will have seen on tv). An
insightful session into the importance of making yourself ‘memorable’ and to focus
on how you make people FEEL. The main take for me was to focus on the CORE
message you wish to convey to clients, ideally at the start of a conversation. People
will forget about 90% of what you said within a week. Remember to have a ‘givers’
mindset not a ‘takers’.
The afternoon session was led by Peter Wozniak from Dimensional. He stressed
the value of advice and highlighted the gap between investor returns and investment
returns. When left to their own device, your average investor will reduce their
potential returns, sometimes massively, by buying and selling (especially selling) at
the wrong time. When investing your own money, you are driven by emotion and the
fear of loss.
Finally, the incomparable marketing genius Rory Sutherland (my vote for the next
Doctor Who! – solely based on his sartorial elegance). A whirlwind session that I
couldn’t do justice to in a few words. Perhaps buy his book, Alchemy, for more
insight into his view on behavioural economics.
A big thanks to Thomas Browne at Fundment for the invite. Also, good to finally
meet Laurie Jaques, CDO at Fundment, who it turns out is a near neighbour of
mine.
Time well spent and planned as I had a client meeting directly after just 3 minutes
away from the venue. A great day all round for learning and connection.
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