Study reveals broader conversations and more holistic planning approach leads to greater advisor trust and satisfaction
Advisors who don’t want to get too personal in their conversations with clients may want to rethink their approach if they want to develop fruitful relationships.
Drawing from a survey of more than 2,000 advised clients between 30 and 75 years old, AIG Life & Retirement and the MIT AgeLab found that clients developed more trust in and satisfaction with their financial professional when both parties are open to broader conversations and a more transparent, holistic approach to financial and future planning.
That approach, according to the Future of Client-Advisor Relationships study, should include “engaging on topics that are top of mind for clients.” One emerging area of concern is identity theft or fraud, particularly among clients aged 61 to 75, yet only 30% of those clients said they have had a conversation about that with their advisor. Among those who have discussed the topic, 97% said they are open to continuing the discussion.
Physical health also turned out to be a top concern, though more than half of all respondents said they have not touched on it at all with their advisor. Respondents aged 30 to 45 were more likely to have talked about physical health with their financial professional, with 78% saying they’d like to do so again. Among older clients aged 46 to 70, around 60% who have not talked about that topic said they either want to or would be willing to if it arose.
Housing came out as the most desired subject among four health- and security-related topics explored in the survey, with 88% of younger clients saying they want to revisit the issue. Among those who haven’t yet discussed it with their advisor, 79% want to or are willing to have an initial conversation, with an even greater proportion of the youngest clients (92%) showing that high level of interest.
Additionally, a slight majority of clients (58%) said they have talked about the finances of their family or loved ones with their financial professional. Respondents between 30 and 45 years old were the most likely to have had that talk (72%). Eighty-two per cent of those young clients expect their financial professionals to keep providing advice on the topic, as do 74% of middle-aged clients between 46 and 60 years old, and 54% of older clients from 61 to 75 years old.
Unsurprisingly, respondents cited their financial plan for retirement as a top concern, along with physical health. The overwhelming majority (92%) said they’ve already discussed retirement with a financial professional, and 85% said they want to continue to discuss it.
A broad base of conversation, the study found, provides more opportunities to deliver added value to clients, which in turn lead to higher satisfaction levels. Among clients who self-report being highly satisfied with their advisors:
