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Staying Relevant in Wealth Reporting
In today’s world of social media bombardment of information, how do wealth advisors stay relevant and
grab their client’s attention through reporting?
How to stay relevant:
To stay relevant, we must understand how information today is delivered and processed compared to 20,
10, even five years ago. Over the past two decades, information has been widely abundant; however, we
had to go out and seek it.
The good news, the Internet greatly improved the process of obtaining information, so we did not have to
wait for newspapers, thumb through an encyclopedia, or take a trip to the library. When we found what we
were looking for, we then had to read, decipher, and understand what was important to us.
Traditionally, wealth managers use this same process when delivering reports to clients. We gather as
much information as possible from financial institutions, fund managers, bank statements, economic
experts, etc. and then compile all this information into a report book the size of an investment prospectus;
and just as interesting. Then we may “boil it down” into a “standard” consolidated reporting package that
highlights the investment returns, cash flows, and asset allocation. However once all the information is
presented to the client, they are responsible for sifting through the information to decipher what is really
important to them.
With social media and web browsers a dramatic shift is occurring; information is now spoon fed to us and
it’s provided to us based upon our interests. When we search the web, companies gather information on
our interests and then fire back information that is directly relevant to us. This information is sent through
all areas of social media, web browsing, advertisements, and forums. After enough time, information is
provided to us based upon our entire lifestyle. If I enjoy mountain biking, mountain biking information
pops up, if I enjoy vintage cars, information on vintage cars is showing up everywhere in my searches and
social media. We no longer have to go out and seek information. Based upon our lifestyle, information is
now being put in front of us, deliberately, sometimes subliminally.
Now that we understand how information is delivered and received we can provide the information in a
way that is relevant.
Grabbing your client’s attention:
In today’s technological environment, many will debate if it’s useful to provide “on-demand” information
and reporting provided in a flexible on-line medium. One thought is, “If they have access to everything
from anywhere, they will have everything they need.” It is true, there are new technologies that allow our
clients to slice and dice their financial information any way they want, any time they want, right in the palm
of their hand. However, can this much accessibility and data be distracting? Will it hold your client’s
attention?
We must provide them with great content. We haven’t stopped watching feature films because we can
access millions of hours of video content through YouTube. In fact, more and more we are turning to non-
traditional delivery channels for our “traditional” entertainment content; Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime
have challenged established television networks, not because of the flexibility or customizability of our
entertainment choices, but simply because they have created great new content like House of Cards and
Orange Is the New Black, AND they allow us to consume this content when and how we choose; over
time or all at once; through our television, our computer or even our phone.
Like great movies, your report should create thought, feeling, and/or action. Great content will hold the
viewer’s attention regardless of length and frequency. We must evolve from just providing consolidated
data and analytics to our clients, we must become storytellers of great content revolving around the
client’s financial interests and lifestyle.
Are we using all of the information we know to report in a way that it’s relatable to a client’s current
lifestyle?
• What if we replaced asset allocation with goals based investment categories?
• What if we led with a narrative instead of a pie chart?
• What if investment returns were compared to a personal goal instead of an index?
• What if we created a financial story that is completely in line with the way our client feels, lives,
works, and thinks about money?
As a wealth manager we can now tell a financial story with a beginning, middle, and end that is 100%
relevant to our client. As a wealth manager we must;
1) Decide what story we want to tell to our client, understanding that there will be different stories for
different clients.
2) Begin telling the story we have with the resources, software and services we are currently using.
3) Once we have determined the story and information needed to create those stories, we can begin to
focus on efficiencies, which may include faster data acquisition, better analytics, integration with
other systems or broader delivery platforms.
Most top wealth managers do this when we MEET with our clients; we tell them the story we believe they
want or need to hear because we have listened to them. We have asked them what is most important
and refine our stories as our clients lives and/or interests change. But still, our reporting rarely matches
our narrative and our verbal communication.
Sometimes one or more of the “best of breed” platform providers is the best tool, other times it is a simple,
but powerful spreadsheet that tells the most compelling story. Rarely, if ever, is there a single platform
that is the “silver bullet” of wealth reporting.
Remember, the story is much more important than the tools used to create it.
Bill Ranshaw & Rick Higgins
Risclarity