We need them to abandon the machine work that has become such a distraction. Oftentimes, smart advisors use less than superior tools to do their darndest to serve their clients and in the meantime have lost human connection. It is time to alter our expectations of financial advisors. We primarily need to expect them to act in human, not machine ways, and in doing so more than earn their fee. What are the human things great advisors do?
Written by: Chelsea Emery | Jeff Motske has one of the strongest ways to tease out client priorities I’ve heard in quite a while.
“What if?” Motske asks clients.
“What if one if your partner needs critical care? What if you want to move to Arizona? What if one of your kids starts a family on the other side of the country?,” the CEO of Trilogy Financial asks.
It’s deceptively simple, but an excellent method for getting at the heart of clients’ values and fears.
“These are critical questions,” Motske told me during a recent visit to Financial Planning offices in New York. “You want to ask them before things happen.”
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If you’re planning a wedding, this conversation is a must.
Having debt is nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, according to CNBC, 70 percent of college students graduate with student loan debt (the most common type of debt faced by newlyweds).
But if you do have debt (or your partner does), the one thing you need to do—no matter how uncomfortable or awkward it feels—is discuss it with each other.
“It’s important you’re transparent, for better or worse,” says Jeff Motske, president and CEO of Trilogy Financial and author of The Couple’s Guide to Financial Compatibility. “Get it out on the table now, because there’s nothing worse than statements showing up in the mail or online and all of a sudden, you realize you’re both liable for paying off the debt.”
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