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In The Stands
Those on the pitch, by all means, need assistance from many people along the way. Guidance, tips, tricks and ideas. But ultimately, this craft is mastered through working with real people and seeing how financial plans and investment paths develop over time.
Six-Figure Tick Boxes
Stay vigilant for SFTBs; they are lurking everywhere. These seemingly minor decisions can be the difference between a six-figure future and a missed opportunity.
Waiting is Rewarded
How many of your clients can be counted amongst those who stuck to their personalised plan? How many clients switched money they won't need for another two decades into cash when it was offering 5%?
Cheap Gyms
Cheap gyms provide an affordable way for many people to start the long journey to life mastery, which, as we know, has no destination; it’s a continual pursuit.
An Audience of Zero
In the captivating world of glittering success stories, it's easy to overlook the humble beginnings. Every master was once a beginner, and every superstar had moments of doubt, navigating the vast sea of obscurity with no goal other than doing the work. But what does it genuinely take to start something new, and what are the unseen struggles that mark this journey?
The Myth of Wealth Preservation
Every time I hear the phrase "wealth preservation," I can't help but roll my eyes. If I’m being honest, my professional blood boils. Here's why: the investment world is bursting with buzzwords designed to prey on investors' deepest fears while ignoring what they truly need.
Sideways Markets
You and I know that there’s a chance we’ll never see the market at these levels again. Stand firm by proclaiming your core values to those who have entrusted you with their financial future. This is a time to double down on our core values.
Think Hard: Embracing Technology and the Human Connection in the Financial Advising Landscape
As financial advisers, we find ourselves in the unenviable position of selling the invisible. This concept is not exclusive to our esteemed profession but is a common thread in today's service economy in which professionals earn their livelihoods through providing intangible services.
Thriving and not Surviving
Most clients seek advice around the time they wake up, petrified that they will run out of money in retirement. Yesterday, they might have been endlessly scrolling through vacation deals or considering an upgrade to their barely-used car. Today, they're sitting across from an adviser, fearful of running out of money during retirement.
The Advantage of Adversity
If I had a penny for every time I heard someone say, “I came from nothing”, I’d have a load of pennies. I get where they’re coming from, but the person saying it was often born in a developed country and had many of the comforts we’ve become accustomed to. So, in essence, they came from ‘little’ and not ‘nothing’.
Financial Advice Is A Luxury Product
It’s become popular within the financial advice profession to discuss endlessly how we can take our services downstream, making them accessible to more people who currently can’t access or afford them. In other words, modify our businesses to attract people who have cheap financial questions.
Fresh Paint
After two bear markets in three years, our proposition is as needed as ever. Come back in 2023 refreshed and ready to keep doing your noble work. You’ve saved many families from the financial darkness. The next crisis is around the corner, and the message we preach will stand up to the test as it always does.
Stand By Me, My Apprentice
If you take shortcuts you won’t reach the top, to be average in this mighty profession is easy. Taking risks and starting at the bottom is the harder path. The tall poppies get cut, and many people take shots at those who speak out.
The Wealth Transfer Hype
One of the latest buzz topics in our mighty profession is ‘wealth transfer’. The migration of financial assets from one generation to the next, and what we as financial advisers should be doing to prepare for it. The advice is being peddled by the usual suspects who’ve never advised a family and who don't really understand what the elite adviser does.
The Power of Permission
Many of our clients have been conditioned by parents, society, and even our advice to associate spending with negative emotions. These money mindsets are embedded firmly in their psyche and often lead to them living much worse lives than they could be.
Care Like An Owner
When you encounter excellence, competence and kindness it’ll usually be from someone who cares. Most companies these days are impossible to get hold of, even when you do get hold of them you’re speaking to the wrong department because their ‘helpful’ automated telephone system is excruciating. When you do speak to a human they often do all they can to add to the problem and do not provide any solutions.
An Intentional Welcome To Reduce Buyer’s Remorse
The Welcome Meeting provides an opportunity for everyone to review and reflect on what's been done. We go over what changes have been made, reminding them of why it was done and why they're now in a better place.
Above The Clouds
Financial plans and financial futures are destroyed below the clouds. How many more client families can you get to live their financial lives above the clouds?
Show Me Your Bad Ideas
Before you say ‘I never have any good ideas’, show me your bad ideas first - and a lot of them. It takes many digs to strike gold.
Celebrate The Small Wins
You do not want them to face the “big one” without knowing that they have successfully survived challenges before.