Give Yourself the Gift of Being Heard By Caroline Wetzel, CFP®, CDFA®, AWMA®
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o you enjoy feeling heard and understood? My clients and I do, too. Over time, clients have graciously referred to me as their “sounding board,” “thought partner,” and “trusted advisor.” Together we create a safe space that is free of judgment to talk about what is important to them. This healthy environment is conducive to conversation and enables me to understand both what clients like about their finances as well as their financial pain points. With this information, I can advise clients on their financial choices so they can make informed decisions and optimize their financial health. As we prepare to celebrate the season of giving, consider giving yourself an independent view on your current approach to your finances. Accept my open invitation to a complimentary thirty-minute consultation to talk about what is important to you and whether my fiduciary team is best positioned to assist you with your financial needs. To illustrate what this looks like, the following is an account of a consultation I offered recently. Preparing for Your Future Georgia* is an accomplished doctor who had read an article I had written. After following me on social media for a bit, she requested a consultation. In preparation for the conversation, I invited Georgia to send me her financial statements and answer the following questions: • What do you like about your finances? • What do you not like about your finances?
As we prepare to celebrate the season of giving, consider giving yourself an independent view on your current approach to your finances.
• How would you like your finances to be different? • What questions are on your mind? After I received her information, I reviewed it and prepared some thoughts for our discussion. As we began our time together, Georgia confided in me, “I should let you know that someone has been managing my investments for years. I reached out because I like what you have to say, and I wonder what it would be like to work with your team.” I thanked Georgia for her honesty and assured her that most of my clients had other advisors before they decided to work exclusively with my team. To start our conversation, I asked Georgia to share what she understood already about my team and me. I listened to Georgia and provided her additional details about who we are, what we do, and what clients pay us for our services. With this context, we began talking about Georgia. She is an independent, accomplished woman in her 50s with no partner or children. After graduating from business and medical school, Georgia focused on building her career, paying off student loans, and saving for the future.
Georgia maximized her contributions to her company retirement plan and invested, enabling her to build a substantial amount of wealth. While her investments were “fine,” Georgia didn’t pay much attention to them and said that her advisor would reach out around once a year and let her know that things “were good.” Make Your Wishes Known Given this background, I asked Georgia what I said that had inspired her to ask for a consultation. She explained that in her professional experience, when patients understood their health options they felt better, and so she took time to educate her patients on their choices. Georgia saw in my articles and social media posts that I followed a similar approach: I advise clients on their financial choices so they could experience peace of mind. Considering this, Georgia and I discussed her answers to my consultation questions. We uncovered that while things “felt fine” with her finances, Georgia was craving something more, especially as she began thinking about her retirement in the next 15 years, her desire to share her wealth over time with causes she believed in, and the legacy she wanted to leave for loved ones. We began to chat about what retirement looked like for her, the organizations that were important to her, and who she wished to share her wealth with over time. Communication Is Key At the end of the conversation, we confirmed that Georgia’s main financial pain point was a desire to organize, coordinate, www.NaturalNutmeg.com
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