As the year winds down to an end, financial advisors should be mindful of next year and the years to come. Now is as good a time as any to make sure that you know your customer.
The year-end gives you a unique opportunity to get in front of your clients and revisit the year coming to an end and their future with you. Here are some questions that immediately come to mind:
- Have their goals changed?
- Have they changed jobs or expect to in the coming year?
- Is there an immediate or short term need for cash?
- Has their tolerance for risk changed?
- What are their investment goals on a short term and long term horizon?
Any financial advisor that does not know the answers to these questions is looking to get sued in the future. The key to any risk prevention and, for that matter, client satisfaction, is to make sure you know your customer. I have prepared this guide book that may help with this analysis.
Either schedule year-end meetings or send your client a year-end questionnaire . By taking either step, you have put the onus on the client to provide information to you. In turn, this may protect you in the future if your client should claim that you made improper investments because you did not know your customer.
So before you have the second glass of egg nog, ask yourself, do I really know my customers as we head into the New Year? If the answer is anything other than an unqualified yes, you have work to do.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
