The 3 Essential Elements for Client Trust
Clients tell investment advisors what it takes to gain their confidence. CPAs sound off on financial planning services. Join the discussion.
by Rick Telberg
If you’re a personal financial planner, you know how it feels. You put on your best navy blue suit. You shine your shoes to the luminosity of black diamonds. You comb your hair like a kid on his way to Sunday school. You walk into your new clients’ living room, and you see it in their eyes: How is this guy going to steal my money?
This phenomenon is revealed in a study from State Street Global Advisors and Knowledge@Wharton, which asks clients to name the most important characteristics of their investment advisors.
The most important characteristic wasn’t low cost, which was an issue to just 12 percent of respondents. Nor was it investment performance, which was important to only 10 percent of respondents. It wasn’t “understanding family needs and goals,†which touched just 20 percent.
