1. NATIONAL POST, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2011 INVESTING TODAY nationalpost.com JV7
In the research we see that the most engaged clients are asked for
feedback but they are also saying that it is important to be given that
opportunity to provide feedback, and that makes a difference
— Julie Littlechild, Advisor Impact president
THE IIAC INTERVIEW
Building a two-way street
BY PAUL BRENT
W
hen investors
say that the y
are unhappy
with their rela-
tionship with their financial
advisor, one of the most com-
mon complaints is that there
is not enough two-way com-
munication.
“Creating great client-ad-
visor communications, or feed-
back systems, is an often-neg-
lected element in the offerings
of investment industry profes-
sionals,” says Julie Littlechild,
president of Advisor Impact, an
Accretive 360 Company where
she leads the innovation and
development of research for
all aspects of client/advisor
engagement.
“The statistics suggest that
a fairly small percentage of
advisors have a disciplined
process in place to consist-
ently gather feedback from
clients,” she says.
“For those who do, there
will be a range of ways that
they do that from informal
to very formal. Either end
of that range is better than
nothing, but obviously it nets
different results in terms
of their ability to interpret”
client feedback.
In her experience, between
10% and 25% of advisors have
some sort of communications
system in place to gather
client feedback, with varying
levels of effectiveness.
“We are strong believers
that that mechanism should
be disciplined and consist-
ent and objective,” she says.
“While it definitely can’t hurt
to ask informally for feed-
back, that is not always the
best way for an investor to
provide feedback.”
Ms. Littlechild’s Toron-
to-based company creates
tailored client surveys for
advisors — or client audits —
in an attempt to measure and
improve client feedback on
behalf of individual advisors
and investment firms.
“We go out as a third party
to gather information that is Advisor Impact president Julie Littlechild says most client dissatisfaction with their advisor is caused by too little communication between the two.
going to be important to the
investor in terms of ensuring ter client feedback or com- isms include formal written an opportunity to answer in most important thing to cli- changed? Does the client feel
that they are getting the best munications. or online surveys and even a way that makes sense for ents,” Ms. Littlechild says. “We that the advisor is putting
possible service, and then “There is certainly a con- client advisory boards. them and take time to consid- are always surveying clients the client first? “These are all
helping interpret that and nection from the most en- “A number of advisors are er their responses,” she says. so we get this feedback all the core to the offer,” she says.
providing the tools for the ad- gaged [client-advisor] relations considering putting an advis- Playing an objective and time but trust will get the high- Her firm also tries to meas-
visor to really shape the ser- and feedback. When we ask ory board in place as a differ- independent third-party role est rating in terms of what is ure client intangibles: Does
vice that they are providing.” for feedback it creates some ent way to get feedback from is also a useful function, she critical to the relationship. the investor feel a greater
Key questions from Advisor ownership of the relationship, their clients,” she says. says. “So that if they choose to Advisor Impact’s surveys peace of mind? Does their
Impact client audits or surveys and that usually leads to higher The main characteristic for be anonymous, they have got typically ask about 20 ques- financial future seem bright-
include what do clients con- satisfaction.” tions and take five to 10 min- er having worked with the
sider to most important to the Creating and maintaining utes for clients to complete. advisor?
relationship and how is the strong client feedback mech- “So it needs to be exam- “These are some of the
advisor performing in regards
to those key functions, what do
anisms are in essence the
mark of a good advisor, she
The best advisors are looking for ways ined and we need to ask that
question: Is the perception
things that we think everybody
should be looking at as a base-
clients expect in terms of fre- says. to get feedback from their clients there that the advisor is trust- line,” Ms. Littlechild says.
quency or form of contact, and “The best advisors are look- worthy?” In the end, clients are the
are they looking for education. ing for ways to get feedback Beyond the issue of trust, biggest supporters of the sur-
“So ever ything around from their clients, and invest- Ms. Littlechild, however, is that that option.” other key questions include veys, Ms. Littlechild says. “In
what is the offer and how is ors should certainly be look- the communications program Over time, Advisor Impact issues such as client satisfac- the research we see that the
it delivered we will examine ing for ways to provide that has a well-defined structure. has identified a number of tion and service delivery. For most engaged clients are asked
and present back to the ad- feedback to ensure that the “We really think that if critical areas of the client- example, is the advisor creat- for feedback but they are also
visor, so that they can deliver service they are receiving is you are going to be gathering advisor relationship that ad- ing a plan that is reflective of saying that it is important to
on that.” really reflective of their needs feedback it should be from all visors and clients should be the client’s goals, and is he or be given that opportunity to
Ms. Littlechild says there and is meaningful to them.” clients, it should be consist- measuring. she regularly reviewing that provide feedback, and that it
are obvious benefits from bet- Effective client mechan- ent and it should give clients “Trust will always be the plan to see if anything has makes a difference.”
ac-cre-tive Great things can happen when an Investor and a Financial Advisor share
high levels of trust and confidence. When they share a similar investment
[uh-kree-tiv] philosophy, communication style and personality, an “accretive”
relationship is forged. One in which the sum is greater than the parts. One
means working together that, in coming together, produces more. One that adds value immediately
and over time. One that, in all likelihood, leads to better results.
to produce more. That’s why Accretive Advisor™ was founded: to give you the tools,
confidence and disciplined approach you need to create a more
successful, accretive relationship with your Financial Advisor.
To learn more, visit accretiveadvisor.com today.
Create a Follow us on:
more successful
financial @AccretiveInvest
relationship Accretive Advisor