FinServe Ambassadors Talk the Future of Financial Advice

Addressing and Unearthing Complexities in the Wealth Journey

Jared Trexler, senior vice president and chief marketing and strategy officer, joined FinServe Network ambassadors Fatima Williams, FSCP®, Dave Valdez, ChFC®, CLU®, AAMS®, CWS®, AIF®, Mónica Clesse, MBA, FPA, and Heather Welsh, CFP®, AEP®, MSFS, for a conversation on financial advice. After introducing the ambassadors, Trexler began the conversation by inquiring about how advisors can address the complexities of individual wealth stories.

When asked, the ambassadors agreed that clients have unique and complex needs, which require specialized knowledge and flexibility to be expertly addressed.

“We help create the plan. So when you have individuals looking for particular goals for themselves, it requires us to be more flexible and knowledgeable on their options,” Williams said. “They’re coming to us with an end goal and the path might look different for everyone, and that’s what we do — we create plans.”

“They’re coming to us with an end goal and the path might look different for everyone, and that’s what we do — we create plans.”

- Fatima Williams, FSCP®

Valdez chimed in with his thoughts on the importance of flexibility in financial advising.

“As the industry has evolved, clients have asked not just to be told what to do. There’s a new clientele of young investors that want to partner, “ he said. “So as an advisor, you have to be able to dance between those lines of being the thought leader in the conversation and being able to influence your client to a better and brighter future, but also having them feel like they’re a part of the decision-making process.”

“To educate and to be willing to be educated,” Williams agreed.

The Value of Comprehensive Financial Advice

Trexler continued by asking the panelists what comprehensive financial advice means to them. The ambassadors concluded that to give solid advice, advisors need to be confident not only in their own specialized knowledge and skills, but also in the skills of others. Whether it be bringing in external CPAs and attorneys or pairing advisors together, the panelists acknowledged the importance of teamwork.

“When I think about ‘comprehensive,’ it doesn’t necessarily mean, ‘Let’s go from A to Z all in one shot.’ Really, it comes down to specialization,” said Welsh. “If you’re just going an inch deep and a mile wide, that’s not necessarily comprehensive. The power of advisors and planners is being able to really say, ‘I work with clients like you. I understand the needs and the complexities…of your situation.’”

“I think that the client also is looking to see a network behind the face,” Clesse said. “So ‘comprehensive’ also involves trust, and them knowing that we have a team with specializations that will help them.”

Williams backed Clesse’s assessment. “It’s important to know what you know really, really well, and also when you don’t know it, and when to bring someone else in who is also great at their job,” she said.

“The power of advisors and planners is being able to really say, ‘I work with clients like you. I understand the needs and the complexities…of your situation.’”

- Heather Welsh, CFP®, AEP®, MSFS

The Evolution and Future of Financial Advice

Next, Trexler asked the ambassadors about the shift in financial advice from seeing products as solutions to seeing them as tools. The panelists were in agreement that the good of the client should come before the satisfaction of selling a product.

“I mean, what is the good of a hammer if you really need a wrench? How do I make an assumption and not be prepared to listen?” asked Williams. “Knowing what you’re offering, knowing what you’re selling, in theory, so that you can be able to pivot and offer an alternative because the other options offer more benefits and solutions for them. It’s really about what benefits the client’s future goals.”

Valdez supported Williams’ statement. “I like to think of the client and the financial plan as like the hub of a wheel, and then the products and services around it are the spokes,” he said. “Once you have that, then you have the actual wheel, and that could take you to the better and brighter destination for your client.”

Bringing the conversation to a close, Trexler asked the panelists how the industry can leverage all the points made in their discussion to drive growth in their firms.

“I never want to lose sight of that this is a relationship business,” Valdez said. “We could talk about products and services and credentials, but at the end of the day, this is all about making connections with a prospect or client and helping them and guiding them through a difficult time or a positive time, whatever it may be. But it’s all about the human connection and the relationship over time.”

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