3 things your advisor should be doing

The wealth industry is traditionally slow-moving. The pitfalls of kneejerk investment decisions have moved wealth brands to believe that slow-moving, yet watchful modes of operating are more effective in the long run. However, the fintech movement is challenging long-established beliefs, and instead of placing traditional custodians as the source of information, the movement seeks to use the internet to empower customers with frequent information updates.

Financial advisors must play a unified middleman role between the traditional stable investment movement and the fast-paced information movement. They should: Listen

Standard healthy financial advice is relatively easy to find; so access to information is not only what an advisor should be providing. What clients need is empathetically driven, palatable, timely, and appropriate wisdom based on their set of circumstances and motivations. Non-traditional advice

An example here would be a case where a couple sought advice on bitcoin from their wealth advisor. They met around the time that the price of bitcoin was fluctuating at the $1 000 (R14 200) price mark. They asked their advisor for advice on buying bitcoin, and he advised against it. Today the price of bitcoin floats around the $8 000 mark, once having reached a high in the region of $17 000. The lesson here is that advisors need to be prepared to provide either sound advice on different vehicles or introduce their clients to people who have the knowledge to do so. Fearless, pro-active engagement

Regulation forces advisors to meet with their clients once a year. Advisors should look beyond regulation and seek differentiation through personalised engagement with clients. Using market events together with cost-effective digital channels to drive engagement, advisors can differentiate themselves from their competitors at a relatively low cost.

Derek Gardiner is the CEO of Seed Analytics.