Market trends & client communication: a roadmap to calm & clarity
Following the longest-running bull market (from 2009 to 2020) in history, the stock markets took a hit in March 2020 at the onset of COVID-19. While it’s since recovered, the sudden downturn certainly spooked many investors. And considering the bumpy road to full economic recovery, many still worry when they read a headline or hear a broadcast about potential changes in the market.
During turbulent times, you want your clients to feel comfortable and confident in your ability to manage investments that ensure their financial security. That includes staying on top of changes and understanding what, and how, to communicate to your clients.
You certainly don’t want to alert or alarm them every time the markets move in one direction or the other, but it’s important to be communicative and proactive.
So how do you maintain a balance between cultivating client relationships and ensuring effective communication that doesn’t add hours to your workload? When faced with shifts in market trends, here’s a short roadmap to confidently and effectively communicate with clients:
- Foster a forward-thinking focus
- Utilize digital communication
- Champion intuitive technology
Let’s take a deeper look at each area.
Help clients maintain a long-term focus
The stock market moves through cycles, which means periods of downturn are normal. That doesn’t mean, however, that clients don’t feel fearful, anxious, or worried when they occur. Part of your role as an advisor is to help your clients overcome their impulsive or instinctual decisions to deviate from their strategy anytime volatility occurs.
Remind them that fluctuations are normal, and more importantly, that you helped them develop a tailored portfolio that accounts for risks such as these. It’s the reason why diversification is so important — so investors don’t have to worry about downturns devastating their portfolios.
Investing is meant to reward those who are patient and able to keep a long-term focus. Reminding your client of this is important. It may be impactful to review with them the previous downturns their portfolio has overcome, as it shows that historically, recovery and growth have always followed periods of downtrend.
Share regular, digitally driven communications
Even though you know you’re working diligently every day to better serve your clients, how are you communicating that dedication and commitment with them? Many advisors only meet with clients annually, or perhaps quarterly — yet the markets move every day.
Thanks in part to the SEC’s New Marketing Rule, advisors have more freedom than ever to take advantage of social media and email marketing to communicate effectively and efficiently with clients (and prospective clients). If you want to grow and scale, without sacrificing service, integrate thoughtful and strategic marketing activities and tools into your tech stack.
Give your clients reassurance and guidance through monthly email newsletters, videos, articles, or social posts. With today’s digitally driven options, you can offer real-time reassurance that you’re paying attention to the markets and caring for your client’s financial well-being. Many marketing platforms allow you to create a few variations (depending on your audience) of one message and implement automatic customizations, so each client feels seen and valued.
Promote transparency with inclusive & intuitive technology
Your tech stack, when built strategically, has the power to save you valuable time while promoting transparency and accessibility to your clients. When you give your clients the power to look at — and understand — their portfolios, having that ability to “peek under the hood” can help provide reassurance.
Platforms like intelliflo redblack are built to deliver a fully integrated and seamless experience for advisors, ensuring data is kept organized and clean across your entire tech stack. With intelliflo redblack, you can operate with the peace of mind that your client data is up-to-date and available to view or analyze at a moment’s notice.
Deliver an exceptional client experience with intelliflo redblack
intelliflo redblack was built to help you effortlessly manage portfolios at the household level in one, simplified platform — including clients with complex, multi-custodian portfolios. When your clients are feeling unsure or overwhelmed by market movements, it’s essential to have critical client data at your fingertips. With complete visibility into their financial landscape, you can guide them to make better investment decisions and help them create the financial future they want.
See for yourself how intelliflo redblack supports a scalable client experience. Book a demo today.