Standing Out In A Sea of Advisors: How Clariata Can Help You Navigate The Red Sea and Find Your Blue Ocean
- Clariata
- Feb 4
- 3 min read
Updated: Feb 14
I recently received an email teaser for this smartasset article exploring the question, when is it worth it to pay for an advisor/planner? (Granted, this was coming from the perspective of someone who felt reasonably comfortable investing on their own but this initial question set off a chain reaction of thinking.)
The obvious question – How does an advisor explain or justify why their clients should be paying them thousands or tens-of-thousands of dollars for their expertise?
"If you’re looking for advice, coordination, and a way to counteract knee-jerk investing decisions, [...] a financial advisor may be worth the cost." [smartasset]
(I found the use of the term "may be" in their response interesting.)
The article's author went on to share some of the main benefits of working with an advisor.
a) Calm during periods of volatility - advisors are helpful here as they help their clients get off the emotional investing roller coaster.
b) Structure and coordination - the "advisor can act as the quarterback of your financial team" coordinating with other advisors to help ensure the client's goals are being achieved
c) Tax-conscience investing decisions - an advisor can help identify more tax-efficient ways to invest, gift, and manage investment losses.
d) Experience - a "been-there-done-that" advisor can be helpful to have around when markets get rough (I think this overlaps with the first point but I'm leaving it here as originally presented.)
e) A second opinion - an advisor can act as a tie-breaker when family members disagree or they can help encourage the less "money-confident" spouse to participate/have a more equal footing.
I was surprised to see some of the more obvious and overt benefits like clients who work with advisors tend to make more money (up to 3% more on their investments) and feel less financial stress missing from this list.
Even adding these more hard-hitting benefits into the mix, is this enough of a reason to pay an advisor thousands of dollars per year?
For some, the math works. For others, if they aren't already asking this question, they may be soon.
Investors have access to more tools and solutions than ever before – free help from the big firms like Schwab and Fidelity, or super-low-fee-automated assistance from robo-advisors, plus there's AI and all the new solutions that will bring...
In addition to all these new options, there are a bounty of articles like this one pushing investors to really challenge the established fee system by running articles with headlines like, "Are you still paying 1% to your financial adviser? Here’s what might make a lot more sense — and save you tens of thousands of dollars"
Advisors are getting hit from all angles. They are truly swimming in the Red Sea versus the Blue Ocean.
It seems now, more than ever, advisors need a way to stand out.
Advisor's need to leverage more advanced solutions, like Clariata, to not only work smarter (not harder) but to also have a clear point of difference in the marketplace. A point of difference their clients can see, feel, touch, and truly experience.
"This is exactly what we need. It's what's been missing this whole time. We couldn't be more excited." (A Clariata client seeing their completed DreamMap™ for the first time.)
Clariata's proven methods and approaches get you more deeply connected with your clients – giving you the ability to consistently deliver outstanding client engagement* (while spending less time with each client) while building trust (moving you from an advisor to trusted partner) and fueling your growth.
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*Increasing client engagement and satisfaction is directly linked to increased fees of up to 15bps and 1.9x net NEW AUM. Higher client satisfaction is also linked to an increase of up to 25% in referrals per a CapGemini study.
Want to know more about how Clariata can help you stand out in today's crowded marketplace?
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