While historically advisors focused primarily on retirement planning and investment management, the demand for comprehensive financial planning has grown significantly. Despite this trend, many clients still rely on their financial professionals solely for investment management. By expanding their services and introducing financial planning to their investment management clients, financial professionals can deepen client relationships while increasing asset stickiness and client retention.

5 Ways to Start Planning Conversations

Investment management relationships can serve as an entry point into financial planning conversations. If you want to discuss planning with your investment management clients, there are several ways to initiate the conversation. Since every client is different, it’s helpful to have a few different approaches at the ready.

1. Delve into Their Underlying Goals and Intentions

If you ask your clients what they want from your investment management services, they might say they want to make more money. To initiate financial planning conversations, it’s essential to go beyond just increasing their assets and delve deeper into the underlying goals and intentions behind their financial decisions. Asking questions like “What is this money for?” can reveal goals beyond accumulating wealth, opening the door to more purposeful planning.

Whether it’s planning for retirement, setting up a charitable fund, ensuring a legacy for their children, or even fulfilling a personal dream like traveling, recognizing the underlying motivations behind financial decisions can pave the way for a more comprehensive and personalized financial planning relationship.

2. Begin with a Personally Relevant Topic

Major life events can trigger clients to have a heightened awareness of their financial well-being and future security, prompting them to consider getting guidance and support in effectively managing their finances. These events could be nearing retirement, getting married, expecting a child, divorcing, or losing a family member.

If you have a client who has recently experienced one of these events, they may be more open to engaging in financial planning conversations. Depending on the event, you can open a discussion about the most relevant area of financial planning, such as retirement, education, or estate planning.

3. Start in Familiar Territory

If your client hasn’t recently experienced a major life event that can be used as a segue into financial planning conversations, consider starting with areas of planning that clients are familiar with, such as budgeting or tax planning. By starting with these familiar concepts, you lay the groundwork for more complex discussions on long-term financial planning and goal setting.

4. Get an Understanding of Their Full Financial Picture

Understanding your client’s full financial picture, from the assets you manage to other retirement accounts or self-directed assets they may have, will help you identify opportunities to expand your relationship to include planning.

You can use your viewpoint as an investment manager as an entry point, explaining the importance of aligning their investments with their broader financial objectives and full financial picture. Emphasizing the importance of this alignment will help you shift the conversation from pure investment management to a more robust and strategic approach to wealth management.

5. Build Engagement Through Client Education

Educating clients on the importance of financial planning is key to getting them to engage with your financial planning services. This is particularly important when you are working with clients who seem resistant to engaging. By taking the time to explain why financial planning is crucial and how it aligns with their financial goals, you can help them understand the broader significance of integrating financial planning into their wealth management strategy.

This transparency not only bridges the gap between investment management and financial planning but also empowers clients to make informed decisions about their financial future, fostering a collaborative and mutually beneficial relationship between advisors and clients. To prepare to have these conversations with your clients, hone your value proposition with the benefits of financial planning that consumers can easily understand.

Leverage Technology to Illustrate the Value of Planning

No matter how you broach the topic of financial planning with your clients, you can utilize technology to showcase the value and impact of your advice. Financial planning platforms with features for budgeting, tax planning, Monte Carlo simulations, and what-if scenarios can help clients grasp the rationale behind and returns of different financial decisions.

Leveraging technology in your meetings will not only enhance your clients’ financial literacy but also strengthen the client-advisor relationship by demonstrating the tangible benefits of comprehensive financial planning and showcasing your expertise.

To learn more about how to effectively communicate the benefits of financial planning to your investment management clients, download our eBook, Unlocking the Value of Financial Planning.

DISCLAIMER: The eMoney Advisor Blog is meant as an educational and informative resource for financial professionals and individuals alike. It is not meant to be, and should not be taken as financial, legal, tax or other professional advice. Those seeking professional advice may do so by consulting with a professional advisor. eMoney Advisor will not be liable for any actions you may take based on the content of this blog.

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