Okay, by the end of this week’s post that title will seem a little self-serving and maybe even slightly dramatic – but I do think you can help someone by encouraging them to think about (or rethink) an investment advisor relationship.
After more than two decades in this profession, I’ve learned that the technical side of wealth management — while critically important — is often the easier part to identify. Many experienced advisors can build diversified portfolios. Some can construct sophisticated financial plans, coordinate with CPAs and attorneys, discuss tax strategy, manage retirement income planning, or explain market history with confidence. Competency in portfolio management and financial planning absolutely matters. It should. Clients deserve that baseline level of expertise.
But over time, I’ve come to learn that the defining characteristics of excellent advisors (whomever and wherever they may be) often exist in a less measurable, less tangible way than just through asset allocation. And perhaps more importantly, these are lessons I’m still learning. This profession is not simply about managing money. It is about managing relationships with human beings who are trying to navigate uncertainty while building meaningful lives. Markets fluctuate daily, but people’s fears, goals, insecurities, ambitions, and emotions tend to fluctuate right alongside them. And, in my opinion, that reality changes the nature of the job.
Early in my career, I probably believed technical knowledge would be the primary differentiator in wealth management. The longer I do this, the more I realize that many advisors possess strong technical capabilities. The harder — and rarer — qualities are often communication, responsiveness, focus, honesty, and the ability to genuinely listen. Those characteristics sound softer and, to some, they sound like “nice-to-haves”. In practice, these characteristics are often harder… but to do really good work for a client, they are must-haves.
Open communication, for example, is something I’ve come to appreciate more with every passing year. Financial decisions rarely exist in isolation from the rest of someone’s life. A portfolio is not just a collection of investments; it reflects concern about retirement, anxiety about children, uncertainty around business transitions, aging parents, health issues, identity, lifestyle, and sometimes even regret. Clients, like most other humans, do not always arrive ready to discuss those things openly. I’ve learned that good advising often starts with creating enough trust for honest conversations to occur in the first place. A client nearing retirement may outwardly focus on portfolio performance while privately worrying about whether they will still feel purposeful after leaving their career. Another client may appear highly risk tolerant until market volatility collides with personal stress happening elsewhere in life. Without communication, advisors can mistake surface-level discussions for actual clarity. And often the most important question has nothing to do with investments.
Being available and responsive is another lesson that has grown more important to me over time. In theory, financial advice is rational, but in reality, people experience markets emotionally. During periods of volatility, silence can unintentionally amplify anxiety. Clients are not necessarily expecting advisors to predict outcomes or eliminate uncertainty altogether. But they do want to know someone thoughtful is paying attention alongside them. I’ve learned that responsiveness is not merely operational efficiency; it is relational reassurance. A delayed response during a difficult market environment may seem small from the advisor’s perspective, but to a client watching retirement balances fluctuate while financial media broadcasts panic twenty-four hours a day, it can feel enormous. Sometimes people simply need acknowledgment before they need solutions. Ironically, some of the most meaningful client interactions I’ve had involved situations where there was no dramatic action to take at all. The value came from helping someone remain disciplined when emotions were encouraging the opposite.
Competency, of course, still matters tremendously. In many ways, it is the admission ticket into the profession. Clients should absolutely expect their advisor to understand investments, taxes, planning strategies, risk management, and the interconnected nature of financial decisions. But I’ve also learned that competency is not the same thing as intellectual performance. The best advisors are not the ones who make clients feel overwhelmed by complexity. Translating complexity into clarity is the hallmark of a quality advisor. For example, when a surviving spouse suddenly inherits financial responsibility after their lifelong partner shuffles off their mortal coil (and my high school English teacher thought I wasn’t paying attention when we read Hamlet) … that moment is not improved by jargon. Or, when a business owner is navigating a sale, they need thoughtful coordination and practical judgment, not theatrical sophistication. The older I get professionally, the more I respect clarity.
Another attribute that one might look for in an investment advisor may be one of the most underrated characteristics in the industry… the ability to dial in (focus) on the primary issue or concern. The modern financial press is designed to fragment attention. Every day introduces new predictions, new fears, new products, new headlines, and new reasons to abandon long-term thinking. Advisors are not immune to this either. There is constant pressure to react, forecast, optimize, and appear perpetually certain. But it seems to me that good advising frequently requires filtering out noise rather than amplifying it. Clients do not hire advisors to chase every narrative. On the contrary, clients often hire an advisor to remain anchored to a process and a purpose. Keep an open mind? Yes. But, chase each shiny object? No! During speculative periods especially, maintaining focus can become surprisingly difficult. Watching others pursue short-term excitement creates its own form of pressure. Yet many of the largest financial mistakes occur when discipline quietly gives way to distraction. Sometimes the advisor’s role is not to accelerate activity but, rather, to slow things down enough for good decisions to occur.
And, lastly… honesty — perhaps more than anything else — is absolutely foundational. This may seem obvious, but I see honesty as not just telling the truth but also a willingness to tell the truth even when the recipient may not want to hear that truth. Clients should want (and get) our best and most honest opinions. And, sometimes, that honesty looks like “I don’t know” or “I don’t have a good answer for that”. However, that should not be the end of it. Those responses should be followed by: But let me get an answer. There is enormous temptation in this industry to project certainty. Predictions attract attention and describing the nuance in a subject rarely goes viral. Honest advising is often less exciting. It involves admitting uncertainty when uncertainty exists. It means acknowledging risks clearly. It means explaining tradeoffs instead of pretending perfect solutions exist. It means occasionally telling clients uncomfortable truths about expectations, risk tolerance, or financial behavior. It also means admitting when you do not know something. Honesty tends to strengthen trust far more than polished certainty ever could. Clients are generally not searching for perfection. They are searching for alignment between what is said and what is real.
If you have read all the way to this point in this week’s piece (and kudos to you if you made it this far!) I would encourage you to consider forwarding to someone with whom you have discussed financial planning or someone who you think could use professional investment advice. And, to be clear, I am not asking you to endorse East Franklin Capital when you do that – the hope is you will forward this to someone who can benefit from thinking about this topic more thoroughly. Because, in my view, investment management and financial advice can be an essential relationship for wealth building.
Portfolio management matters deeply. Financial planning matters deeply. And, both of those areas of focus are essential foundations of competent advising. Many platforms and advisors offer off-the-shelf investing, standardized portfolio allocations, and overall market exposure. The differentiator (value-add) may simply be the ability to combine expertise with humanity. So, as a fellow human (and advisor), I encourage you to encourage those around you to seek a lasting advisor relationship.
