What makes a great advisor?

Throughout my career, I’ve always found the financial services industry to be tightly knit. People make time to discuss challenges, exchange ideas and seek and give advice from peers and colleagues. The community is phenomenal in that way.?

During a recent conversation with a young woman who is fast at work trying to grow her business, I was asked about the qualities and characteristics all good advisors share. While my response that day certainly wasn’t as detailed, here’s the best answer I can give you:????

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Make it personal.??

It’s not just listening; it’s asking the right questions, the difficult ones. This job goes well beyond the choice of investments. According to the J.D. Power Canada 2024 Full-Service Investor Satisfaction Study, clients are looking for more than ‘transactional’ advice or even ‘goals-based’ advice. To drive satisfaction and referrals, advisors must offer ‘comprehensive’ advice on all their financial and wealth management needs. That requires an intimate understanding of a client’s life, their values, goals, aspirations and appetite for risk.?

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Earn and build trust.??

Putting a “client’s best interest consistently first” is one of J.D. Power’s six tenets for ‘comprehensive’ advice. In a previous article, The power of good advice, I discuss why independent advisors can better serve their individual clients’ unique financial needs while being unencumbered by product and asset restrictions.??

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Develop meaningful relationships.??

Building on my first point, the best advisors develop real relationships with clients. There’s a reason human advisors deliver higher returns on investment than robo-advisors. As a human being with experience and empathy, you better understand the ebbs and flows of the market and can help steer clients away from making an impulsive decision when emotions are high. Thinking about wealth management holistically is paramount to maintaining these meaningful relationships – offering not only punctual advice, but also helping clients build, grow, protect, and transfer their wealth over the long-term.????

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Prioritize what matters.??

While this certainly isn’t limited to the financial industry, advisors often spend too much time on matters we don't control. But in this business especially, you need to ensure every decision you make and every action you take is focused on what you can control. This is a lesson I wish I had known earlier in my career and one I now try to live every day. Maintaining this perspective is key to letting your values guide you.??

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Bring a digitally forward mindset.?

Good advisors are competitive, proactive and never satisfied with the status quo. They need to be adaptable, to evolve constantly, and to stay one step ahead of technological advancements that clients are asking for. They maximize the value of their own time by adopting and implementing digital tools so that they can truly focus on the human relationship and growing their business. As Michael E. Gerber referenced in his book “The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It”, a great entrepreneur inherently understands the vital, often overlooked, distinction between working on your business and working in your business.?

One of the many reasons I love coming to work every day at iA Wealth is that each one of our independent advisors has a passion for their business, clients, and community. They have this unparalleled entrepreneurial DNA that drives them to be better for their clients, day in and day out. They are championing our digital transformation and are the very reason we are on the path to becoming Canada’s #1 independent wealth management firm.??

If you have a perspective on what makes a great investment advisor, please leave it in the comments below.???