It's time to practice what you preach – so do it for yourself first
It’s the first day of spring and time to spring-clean your business and clients – and recommend they spring-clean their finances, too.
“You have to start at home – do it for yourself and you can do it for your clients, too,” Eke Rubach, the Principal of Rubach Wealth in Toronto told Wealth Professional.
“Simplify. Everybody’s running fast and furious and being pulled in a million directions, particularly women. And then things fall apart.”
Rubach started by ensuring her will made sense and was up-to-date. Then, she talked to her accountant to ensure she was aware of everything that was happening and what she wanted to achieve in the short, medium, and long-term. Finally, she made sure that she had her insurance – life, disability, and critical illness – in place.
Next, she reviewed her succession plan to see that it was up-to-date. She checked her disability insurance to guarantee that it would still cover her business’s overhead expenses, “because if I become disabled, I don’t want my personal money to fund my business. I don’t want my team to suffer because of my disability, so I wanted the right life insurance to deal with all the debt.”
Next, she scoured her accounts to ensure she only had what she needed in one institution and that her investments were optimized for the short, medium, and long-term, too. Finally, she reviewed her real estate plan to ensure she didn’t need any adjustments to it.
“When you do it, it’s a little bit of a poke in the eye with a spoon,” she said, before noting that even clearing out some of the financial clutter that can accumulate over time frees up energy and space.
But, then, she had the same conversations with her clients about whether they had their wills, insurance, succession plans, investments in place and up-to-date and only had the bank accounts they needed and actively used since many people have too many or forget the dormant ones.
Rubach then recommended going over your client list and checking whether you feel you can continue to deliver value to them and whether they’re responsive to your advice because “if you have to convince them to talk to you, that’s really annoying.”
She and her team checked when she’d last talked to them and whether they took her advice.
“Ask yourself: where is the opportunity? Where can we help this person grow? Is it in our wheelhouse – or should they be with someone else? If they’re now interested in private equity, who do we deal with, so we can be a resource for that?” she said. “If someone refuses to pick up the phone or says only call me once a year, she’s really not my client. She’s an account on my books, so let’s get rid of that.
“Or if they just want a broker, that’s fine. We’re not order takers. We’re advisors. And that’s when things go wrong. We don’t want to tell people what to do because they’re not kids We want to co-create solutions and plans with them. So, it’s about creating a friendly, two-way street.”
Rubach noted that advisors differ, but she likes clients to pick up the phone and talk to her so she can be the “grout” in their lives. She makes a point of talking to them every three to six months, and answering any questions because “there are no dumb questions”, so they can build a relationship.
“From there, I do my own spring cleaning, working with you and you and you. And the people that never answer, and for whom we don’t even have an address entail some risk that could come back to bite you. So, get rid of them in a nice professional way or find another home for them.”
She’s concerned that some advisors, particular as their average is high, may have too many accounts and no succession plan, which will end up leaving their clients vulnerable.
“I’d be shaking in my boots if I had that situation because there are going to be a lot of loose clients if something happens to you,” she said. “So, start with your own spring client, then help your clients’ do theirs, too.”
