Why Face to Face Advice Is More Important Than Ever!
We are in a new fast-paced world, where we seem to be on an unstoppable journey to everything being ‘online’. At Harold Stephens we have doubled down on the importance of providing a local face-to-face financial planning advice service for clients. Where we put huge importance on getting to know you and your families personally and in person. When making some of the most significant and complex financial decisions of your life, why would you not want the very best in personal service, delivered by a team who really cares for you, as if you were one of our own families?
Since the pandemic we all know of many advice firms and advisers (and of course all manner of client service businesses) that have found new ways of working – greater use of online video calls, call centers and ‘phone-based’ services – but we do question who this change has actually benefited? At Harold Stephens we certainly don’t think, in the majority of cases, it’s the client. In our experience a local face-to-face service is more important than ever, it’s what people want and need!
Who can we help most?
Typically, we attract clients who are, or will be, going through the most significant life-changing events or are making some of the biggest decisions of their lives. Retirement and pensions – what to do with 40 years’ worth of hard saving and investing? Declining health and its financial consequences. Relationships with, and how best to provide for, children and grandchildren in terms of Inheritance Tax and Estate Planning. Local care options. Spousal bereavement. What to do with the family home and living arrangements? The list is by no means exhaustive, but you get the idea. Life is unpredictable, and we believe this is no more so than in later life when life itself seems more fragile than ever and the stakes have never been higher when making those difficult life and financial decisions.
Later life planning is therefore a difficult and complex process, understandably hard for families to think about, let alone discuss openly with each other. So, in this context, how do you want your advice and service to be delivered? Who do you trust to hold your hand through this journey and guide and lead you through those difficult decisions?
What are meetings like?
Back to the importance of a face-to-face advice and service. Let’s dig into this. All of our advice is provided in our living room style office on the local high street, where you are comfortable and able to discuss important matters in -person. As we serve exclusively the local area, we will come to you if mobility is an issue. Our in person meetings mean we can use our skill and experience in dealing with emotions, our empathy for you and your individual situation.
Understandably you might be anxious, nervous, angry, frustrated, scared, worried, happy, optimistic, excited – these emotions can only picked up on in an in-person where we can read your body language, listen to the tone of your voice, feel the energy of the room and assess what is triggering these emotions and adapt the flow of the meeting and advice accordingly. A more physical example might be someone hard of hearing – when meetings are conducted in person we can simply move closer to you and speak clearly so you can both hear and lip read. We can ensure the meeting environment is quiet without background noise or interruption. There are of course, many other physical examples where simply being together in person provides the client with the ultimate in convenience, practicality and consequently a nice experience to be enjoyed!
A personal connection
We strongly believe the value of face-to-face advice, is shown in the shared experience, the shared emotions, the shared energy between client and adviser. It’s difficult to put a pounds and pence value to the experience but we believe it’s priceless! This personal connection creates trust and that trust in turn allows you and us to fully share information and discuss issues honestly and openly in a safe environment. The consequence of this is to create an environment which is conducive to problem solving, mutual trust and ultimately providing you with trust-worthy leadership through later life’s inevitable twists and turns.
Let’s turn to the new fashionable alternative. The online virtual meeting or phone call. As advisers with your best interests at heart, we have to first consider the potential dark side of meeting virtually on-line. Who else is present in the room? What other people are off camera that can’t be seen? Are you alone or is there a family member or friend present? Are you actually happy for that family member or friend to be present, included in conversations, and sharing in financial and personal details? These issues just don’t exist when meeting face to face.
There are the obvious practical problems of meeting online. Sometimes the stress of actually getting into the meeting online, with perhaps unfamiliar technology. Everyone has experienced the dreaded frozen screen as the internet signal drops off. We are supposed to be discussing and deliberating the most important decisions of your life here and we are more worried about the internet connection... Anyone who lives in the dip in Westbury on Trym will know exactly what we mean!
It has been scientifically proven that the human brain cannot focus on more than one thing at once. At best your brain is alternating quickly between the 2 or more things that are vying for its attention. Therefore, how can you be sure that the adviser you’re meeting with on-line has your full attention and is taking you seriously and professionally? Whilst it may be convenient and efficient for the adviser to conduct client meetings without having to leave the comfort of their own home or meet you virtually at the gym between classes or in a coffee shop – in our opinion these new practices are simply not conducive to a complete focus on YOU when deliberating important life decisions. Online work-from-home meetings are commonly interrupted by doorbells ringing, dogs barking, home deliveries, email / team messages popping up on the adviser’s screen, the internet connection slowing or going down completely.
On video calls it’s also very hard, if not impossible, to assess vulnerabilities. Are you feeling under pressure? Are you under duress of some kind? If you are bereaved what are your current emotions and state of well-being? Without the shared energy, experience and trust of an in-person meeting, you may not feel able to tell to disclose important information and feelings.
We have spoken at length about the importance of sharing the same physical space, about looking into each other’s eyes creating mutual trust and empathy. With online meetings, it is very hard, if not impossible to connect with someone at a deep level. Let’s be honest, it’s all very superficial. Signs of emotion are difficult to spot, it’s much harder to build rapport, gain trust and difficult to be fully engaged and not distracted. From a physical point of view, video meetings do not facilitate an assessment of body language – for example signs of anxiety are often hidden from view.
Perhaps the biggest frustration we see when talking to people in the local community about the ‘new world’ is the fact whatever business or service you need - you just can’t get hold of anyone anymore! And furthermore, when you do eventually get hold of them, they are distracted. The new ‘work from home’ and ‘flexible working’ culture has created a never-ending client experience of leaving voicemails, requesting call-backs and navigating phone options. There is nothing quite like a face-to-face meeting, in a private, comfortable, professional environment, with you and your professional adviser’s full attention with no distractions. When talking about some of the most important decisions of your life, surely you want the best, most professional service. When you phone our office or simply drop-in in person, you know you will get someone you know, usually Laura, who will answer the phone or be there to greet you with a smile. Someone who knows you, knows your situation and how we can help and actually get things done.
Only Invest Once You Have Taken Face To Face, Independent Financial Advice
In this day and age, investments can be made (and unmade) at the click of a button. Whilst convenient, this can create a culture of short-termism and reaction to the daily news and hype. This modern culture of instant gratification runs completely contrary to what a financial plan should be, a plan made over a lifetime. Decisions should be seen in 5 year time-frames, even multi-generational time-frames. I still get the odd call from clients from previous jobs I had early in my career thanking me for advice – decisions made over 20 years ago!
Human beings are clearly not perfect. There are inbuilt biases, emotions and layers upon layers of previous life experiences that affect someone’s perception of current reality. However this makes the average human’s inherent investment decision-making potential, shaky at best. This, along with the ‘click of a button’ instant culture described above, has created a perfect storm. It has resulted in unsatisfactory investment decisions becoming the norm amongst the average investor trying to navigate their financial plan (and perhaps navigate themselves).
Psychological studies highlight the following reasons why people can sabotage their own financial plan when investing:
· Behavioural Bias: people can lack self-control and act against their own values and goals. They make investment decisions based on bias rather than facts.
· Loss Aversion: people can be so scared of a loss that they focus on the loss disproportionately more than the potential gain. Investment decisions are therefore made through anxiety and fear rather than facts.
· Herding Mentality: people sometimes make investment decisions by following others, believing that its somehow safer to make those decisions based on what lots of others are making. Rather than sitting down and assessing their own individual circumstances.
· Narrow Framing: Many make investment decisions without considering the implications, without seeing the bigger picture. Investments need to be part of your overall strategic, long-term plan.
· Media Response: Many make investment decisions based on what they are seeing in the media by knee-jerk reaction to new information. News is not always relevant to long-term investment performance and definitely not in relation to your long-term financial plan.
· Optimism: Some have views that reflect unrealistic investment outcomes. The ‘it won’t happen to me’ idea creating almost an illusion of invincibility. These investors make decisions without considering the ‘what-if’ consequences.
In this context, it is worrying that recent research from the FCA found that 66 per cent of self-investors make investment decisions in under 24 hours and 14% do so in under one hour. This is in direct contrast to our advice process of meeting and deliberating, face-to-face, sometimes over a number of meetings over some weeks or even months. It is important to allow for adequate reflection time and having your investments independently researched and recommended as part of your long-term strategic plan to reach your life goals.
In the study, 25% of self-investors admit making investment decisions impulsively to keep up with current trends. Worryingly, 40% of those investors then regret making the hyped-up investment. Buying into the buzz around investments, although giving you a short-term dopamine hit, can, at best, be extremely risky for your long-term financial plan. At worst, you could be investing in an unprotected product or maybe even be subject to a scam. It is therefore crucially important that investors ignore the hype and take a breath.
Organise proper professional, independent in-person advice so that they fully understand and appreciate any investment and how it fits tax efficiently into your financial plan. Importantly, FCA approved, financial planning investment advice is fully covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme and so you also have the peace of mind that you are fully covered.
Therefore, when considering investing, the very first investment you should make is time – book some time with your local independent financial adviser. Discuss with them face-to-face what is important to you. Your adviser will be experienced at bringing out things you may have never considered. They will ensure that what you’re investing in is not only properly researched and is of the quality you deserve, it also fits in with your overall financial and life plan.
If you have read the article and see the value in a local, face to face advice financial planning service, then do get in touch for a relaxed initial chat with us. To arrange an initial, face-to-face, financial planning review, please call Laura on 0117 3636 212 or email her at office@haroldstephens.co.uk