Common Challenges Financial Advisors Face Today

There’s no such thing as an industry without challenges. While finances and investments may be something that you’re passionate about, you had to know that you’d come across some challenges in your career! The team at Alpha Droid has been a part of the industry for years. In the last few decades, we’ve seen some serious changes happen. Whether it’s because of technology, strategy, or the market itself, there are challenges that all financial advisors should be prepared to deal with.

In today’s blog, we are going to touch on some of the most common challenges that financial advisors are faced with today. Whether you’re a new or established financial advisor, our hope is that you gain some insight from the various challenges and points that we’re going to cover below.  

Communication

A significant component of being a successful financial advisor is your ability to communicate. While this is an industry that deals with a lot of risks that can lead to unhappy clients, communication needs to be constant and thorough. Whether you struggle to communicate current happenings with a client’s portfolio or you’re just downright bad about getting back to people, recognizing this is a must.

Technology has made it increasingly easier to communicate, and if you’re not making the most of these advances, you are only hurting yourself. Email, social media, and texting are three means of communication that are often forgotten. While in-person conversations are definitely fantastic to have with your clients, they are by no means the only option that you have to communicate —- take advantage of every medium available.

Aside from focusing on the means by which you’re reaching out to your clients, you want to make sure that the conversations that you have hold value. If you struggle to contact your clients or reach out to them, set reminders for yourself. Each discussion should include an update on their finances, a glimpse at what you’re currently working on, and any additional ideas or comments that you think they could benefit from. By drafting up an outline for yourself, you can make the process of filling in the blanks time after time all the easier.

Whether things are going well for your client’s finances or they’re going poorly, you want to make sure that you’re regularly communicating to them the current status and what you’re doing for them. This is one of the only ways that they’re going to recognize the value of hiring you.

Setting Expectations

Another common challenge that happens in the financial advisory industry, as well as various industries, is setting realistic expectations for clients. While it makes sense that you’d like to set extremely high expectations for your clients or promise them certain things, it’s not always in your best interest to do so.

A piece of advice that we continue to give to financial advisors that are getting started in the industry: be transparent. It is shocking how frequently young advisors feel as though they aren’t going to be enough for their clients. By simply maintaining a confident demeanor and being honest with them, the chances of them trusting you are significantly higher.

When you do go to talk with a client, be as honest and straightforward as you can with them. Even if what you’re telling them isn’t great, it’s better to set their expectations at a realistic point where the results were expected. It is so much worse to set the bar high and fail in their eyes.

Avoid Financing Tools

Being independent has never been a fault, but when you’re too stubborn to ask for help or utilize the available tools, you’re not doing yourself any favors. With the advances in technology, the world of financial advising has changed — for the better, in many ways. One of the ways that we have noticed technology advance is through the addition of tools that help financial advisors gain some insight into the trends of the market.

While these types of software have been designed to assist financial advisors with their jobs and the investments that they make, they are often viewed as inaccurate or additional risk. Of course, we can’t guarantee that every software is going to yield quality results, but we do think that when you find a reliable option, you should absolutely take advantage of it!

Aside from sifting through the programs and software available, actually understanding and managing the information that they’re providing can be another struggle for financial advisors. For that reason, if you are considering adding software or some sort of program to your toolbox, make sure that you get a good idea of how it works and what information it’s providing you with so that it can truly become a tool for you and your practice.

Alpha Droid has created a high-quality, asset allocation software for financial advisors to use with their day to day tasks. This software was designed to provide financial advisors with some insight into the current market trends and changes as well as an extensive selection of strategies to incorporate with your clients’ portfolios.

Rather than struggle to figure out which programs and software should be added to your toolbox, get a glimpse of what Alpha Droid looks like and how you could benefit from it with the 30-day free trial that we offer. If you have any additional questions or need assistance, feel free to contact our team, and we would be more than happy to get you taken care of.