With 2023 around the corner, the topic of stability is top-of-mind for everyone, given that many Americans are bracing for economic uncertainty. Advisors are in a key position to make a meaningful difference during challenging times, by helping investors remain focused on the long-term.

November’s roundup is about improving communication in critical moments. Here are some articles you may value reading in the days leading up to the end of the year.

  1. How to cope with financial shocks
    Source: Morningstar

Lately, a lot of people have been facing economic shocks — including losing their jobs. Financial advisors may be facing questions about resilience-building and disaster-proofing, especially after a client has lost a job.

This article by Sarah Newcomb, Ph.D., behavioral economist for Morningstar, has put together a resource to help people find their footing after being laid off or let go. 

“Positive reappraisal works by creating a more tolerable emotional response to the situation, which frees up psychological resources to put toward problem-focused strategies,” Newcomb writes.

Advisors can help investors establish a forward-looking mindset.

  1. Culture of care
    Source: Journal of financial planning

Emotional intelligence (EQ) is the superpower of our time. 

In this report, Journal of Financial Planning editor Danielle Andrus explains the topic of EQ through the lens of the advisor-client relationship.

“The financial planning relationship requires openness and trust as clients share information about their values, fears, and personal beliefs about money,” she writes.

“Talking about these difficult subjects can be more challenging when clients and planners are from different cultural backgrounds, an increasingly likely scenario as the United States becomes more diverse.”

EQ is especially important for financial planners who are seeking to expand their practices internationally or reach clients across more diverse cultural groups in the United States.

  1. Think client trust takes seconds to destroy? Think again
    Source: Wealth Professional

When emotions are running high, it’s common for people to experience conflict or dissonance. As an advisor, it can be tough to encounter these situations with clients. But even in these moments, it’s important to remember that trust has the power to be enduring. 

In this article, Canadian Journalist Noelle Boughton provides a thoughtful discussion about the art of building trust with clients, as an advisor.

“Benevolent perceptions can also take awhile to destroy, especially if clients have concluded that the advisor has his or her back,” Boughton writes. “But, advisors can destroy that if they put their selfish interests first.”

  1. Advisor trust study
    Source: CFA Institute

The CFA Institute Investor Trust Study has identified three themes as impacting investor trust today: a divided trust landscape, technology as a trust multiplier, and the additive factors of values and personal connection.

“In a crisis, investment performance may be challenged, decisions must be made quickly, and client questions are frequent,” cites the report. “Unsurprisingly, a crisis is a time when adviser trust is often tested the most.”

One of the CFA Institute’s perspectives is that technology has the potential to lead to greater trust in advisors.

“Two-thirds of those with an adviser said that their adviser is their most trusted source of advice.”

  1. Self-care and self-compassion in times of financial stress and anxiety
    Source: Kitces

At the start  of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Kitces team was quick to respond with some words of wisdom: remember to prioritize self care.

“After all, when advisors take on one fearful client conversation after another, it’s often difficult not to start internalizing their clients’ concerns, whether in the form of ‘vicarious traumatization’ (when the advisor begins to identify with the client’s concerns personally as if those concerns were actually their own), or through ‘compassion fatigue’ (when the advisor begins to personally experience the emotional pain and suffering that they perceive the client is actually experiencing),” wrote Meghaan Lurtz, PhD for Kitces.com.

Compassion fatigue is very real. Be sure to get the rest you need this winter.

If you found this resource valuable, we encourage you to please share it with fellow financial advisors in your network or in any communities in which you belong. 

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Disclosures
This material has been prepared for educational purposes only. It is not intended to provide, and should not be relied upon for, investment, accounting, legal, or tax advice.