Financial Health

BY RAJ SHAH AND FIONA SHAH OF BLUE WEALTH CAPITAL

The financial planners on the most important measure of value for clients

BEYOND INVESTING

“The money I have entrusted you with represents years of hard work and sacrifice. Your actions will impact this family for generations. It not only will be long-term business for you but the opportunity for my children, and their children’s education and well-being, are in your control.

“Please don’t let us down.”1

This quote pretty much sums up why I do what I do. I have to admit, if I think about it too much, I can scare myself. But it is always bubbling away, under the surface, in my subconscious. It is just what I do.

What do clients want?

The results of an investor feedback survey 2 (carried out annually from 2016 to 2019) has shown the most important measure of the value clients receive from their adviser is a 'sense of security or peace of mind'. This was closely followed by 'knowledge of my personal financial situation' and, in turn, 'progress against basic needs before moving on to other, more advanced needs. Like Maslow, we are interested in learning about what makes people happy and the things they do to achieve that aim.

As a humanist, Maslow believed people have an inborn desire to be ‘selfactualised’. In other words, to be all they can be. To achieve these ultimate goals, however, a number of more basic needs must first be met such as food, safety, love, and self-esteem. Once these basic needs have been met, people then move on to the next level, which are for safety and security.

How do we give you financial peace of mind?

It is simple. We: • Acknowledge – we listen to you. We really listen.

Because we are interested. • Clarify – we understand you.

And we keep checking that we understand you. • Explain – we help you. And we keep helping you, by coaching.

Investment – and beyond

Our work at Blue Wealth and the high-quality financial planning we deliver goes way beyond investing.

You can put a value on investing – and by this, I mean we can give you an idea of what your money will be worth in 30 years using projections. You can put a value on good advice (the adviser’s fees). The value of financial security and peace of mind, however, is priceless.

If you would like to learn more about our approach, please contact us for a no obligation chat.

my goals' and only then, 'investment returns'.

Why is financial security or peace of mind so important?

At Blue Wealth, we are fascinated – and led – by what drives human behaviour. One of the best-known theories of motivation is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. The concept was first introduced in 19433 , and its premise was that our actions are motivated in order to achieve certain human needs.

The hierarchy suggests that people are motivated to fulfil

Selfactualization

Esteem

Love/belonging

Safety

Physiological Raj Shah is founder of Blue Wealth capital and has been shortlisted for Financial Planner of the Year and Investment Adviser of the Year

bluewealthcapital.com raj@bluewealthcapital.com

1. An end client quote from the [Dimensional] 2017 Global Investor

Feedback Survey. 2. Dimensional Investor Feedback Survey 3. ‘ A Theory of Human Motivation’,

Abraham Maslow, 1943.