As a financial advisor, you are very well aware of the challenges that you face in your role. The workload is intense, the responsibility is overwhelming at times, and with the speed at which the financial scene is changing, it’s often very hard to keep up. Did you know that there are a lot of tools out there to make your life easier? You can relieve some of the stress, streamline some of your processes, and efficiently handle any challenges that come your way by using the right tools. Now I know the tools available, I find it hard to understand why I quit being a financial advisor.
The Challenges
The role of a financial advisor has always been one of risks and challenges. In fact, the retention rate of advisors past their first four years is around a meagre 15 to 16 per cent. Nowadays, there is more pressure on financial advisors than ever before due to the volatile economy in which we now operate. Around the world, the effects of the global covid 19 pandemic are still raging. Inflation is rampant and spreading. Markets are crashing, international relationships are turbulent, and the world’s fragile economy is more evident than ever. This puts a renewed sense of pressure on financial advisors to stay relevant and up to date in order to navigate these unstable times.
A recent survey showed that more than 86% of Americans believe in the benefits of using a financial professional when it comes to supporting their future ambitions. People are feeling vulnerable and they’re going to need your advice and expertise in the field right now.
How can you meet the challenge?
the tools
As technology advances, there are more and more tools available to assist financial advisors in this modern economic world. Especially if you are working as an independent financial advisor, you need to have an arsenal of tools and applications at your disposal so that you can streamline your business and better help your customers. Many free software options and mobile apps are becoming available that will help you to remain organized, monitor clients, complete financial calculations, and build your client base.
There is a growing need for brief, virtual meetings and many tools for financial advisors are providing just that – you can share screen during virtual meetings, eliminating the time and expense involved in physical meetings and possibly removing the need for a dedicated physical office altogether. With such a variety of tools available, you need to find ones that are right for you, and that will give your customers the best experience possible. Not only will your clients have more success in their financial endeavors, but you will build your reputation as a reliable and trustworthy advisor while also reducing your workload.
Utilizing the tools available will relay help you to maintain a positive outlook and optimistic view of your work as a financial advisor, meaning you will have what you need to stick it out in your career and find enjoyment from the work that you do.
The Confidence
A big reason that new financial advisors leave the industry so soon is due to their confidence in themselves. It’s common for all of us to feel the effects of “imposter syndrome” from time to time. You may feel inadequate, wrongly doubting your skills and abilities with the irrational fear that you will be exposed as a fraud. This misconception of yourself and your abilities is only going to hinder you and hold you back. You have the knowledge, the training, the ability, the degree. Now, you need the confidence.
You need an easy way to build that confidence in yourself and the tools available will help you to do just that. With the right tool for the job, you will be able to explain complex financial solutions in a way that makes sense to your client – you’ll give evidence of your expertise without alienating the customers.
Tools Essential for Financial Advisors
There are several essential tools that will give you the confidence you need to persist in your job and serve your clients in the best way possible. In a world that is becoming more and more digitalised, using digital tools is going to be a big boost to both your effectiveness and efficiency. In their basic form, there are three tools that you can use to achieve your goals:
These are data management tools that will help you collect the information about customers that you need, pooling data from several different sources. Information from banks, credit cards, and investment accounts can be gathered into one accessible platform. With these tools at hand, you will be able to get a deeper understanding of your client’s financial situation and give more insightful suggestions on how they can improve and reach their goals.
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Performance reporting tools
These tools will help you to produce reports of customers’ finances in both an accurate and visually appealing way. Your relationship with your client is built primarily on trust and you can show this trust and transparency by regularly showing the condition of the customer’s finances with accuracy.
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Risk profile and risk assessment tools
Finances always come with risks. These tools will help you to understand the risks facing our customers and the risks within their investments. You will be able to fully ascertain both the risks that the customer is going to take against the risk capacity that they can withstand. Risk and return is essential in successful investing and although you can never fully guarantee the outcome of a financial decision, a tool like this will help you to make well-informed decisions for the benefit of your client.
How to Choose the Tools for You
Decisions are based on data and that’s what you need to decide on the financial tools for you. Understand your business, your clients and your goals and you’ll find the right set of tools to help you succeed as a financial advisor.
