The COVID-19 pandemic has upended world economies, bringing with it sweeping changes in the way money is managed. Strategies that worked well to generate wealth in the past are likely to bring disappointing results in the years ahead, making it vital for financial advisers to adjust how they approach portfolio management.
Being in lockdown can bring feelings of uncertainty and despondency, but taking advantage of the imposed downtime to work on your advice business may help instil hope and position your firm for a brighter future once the pandemic is behind us.
A large portion of the financial advice sector is struggling under mounting compliance and governance demands, prompting some to leave the industry. While the old way of doing business is becoming less and less profitable amid higher regulatory costs, some advice firms are taking advantage of the regulatory reforms to find better solutions for their business and gain a unique competitive advantage.
The effective management of goals based investment portfolios requires strong investment skills together with ample time and resources, but in return, rewards financial advice firms with satisfied clients and superior business outcomes.
There has rarely been a more urgent time to assess whether your money is being optimally managed. Market valuations are close to all-time highs while risk levels are high and long-term real return prospects are near zero. We anticipate re-runs of 2020 over the coming years, with more volatility and markets that ultimately go nowhere.
A market correction can spell disaster for a financial planning business. Time is lost calming clients’ nerves rather than building your business, some clients may even leave after seeing their capital shrink and your income may plunge along with the market. But this is not true for all financial planning firms; some businesses thrive during weak market conditions, which provide them with an opportunity to demonstrate their value.
During market downturns, investors are commonly advised to stick with their strategic asset allocation rather than crystalise their losses in the hope that the downturn will be short lived and that returns will revert to historical norms.
The purpose of any advice business is to help its clients to achieve what they want to achieve. So, why is talking about goals-based advice seen as being 'different' from what financial planners have always done?
Sequencing risk is one of the most important things to consider when constructing your investment portfolio.
