/ by Don Connelly / Investing Wisdom, Storytelling, analogies and power phrases / 0 comments
Let’s face it: Most people are lousy timers. Think about the last time you switched to the shortest line at the grocery checkout. That feeling of smugness turns to scorn when the line crawls to a halt while the longer lines churn through.
Or, when you constantly switch to the fast-moving lane on the freeway only to watch a long river of red brake lights stretch out in front of you. The actual cost, in terms of time, frustration, and dignity, almost invariably exceeds any possible gain you might have achieved by making the switch.
The stakes for investors seeking bigger gains or cutting losses by timing the market are much higher.
Financial advisors know that few people, if any, are adept at picking winners or predicting the market’s direction. Yet many still try, often driven by the powerful emotions of fear and greed.
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Decoding Doubt: 6 Non-Verbal Cues Clients Might Be Giving You That Signal a Trust Deficit
/ by Don Connelly / Managing the Relationship / 0 comments
Trust is the bedrock of any successful financial advisor-client relationship. But how do you know if a client truly trusts you, especially when they might not explicitly say it? Beyond the spoken word, clients often communicate their feelings through non-verbal cues. Learning to recognize these subtle signals can help advisors address underlying concerns and build stronger, more trusting relationships.
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5 Relatable Analogies to Explain the Perils of Market Timing to Clients
/ by Don Connelly / Investing Wisdom, Storytelling, analogies and power phrases / 0 comments
Let’s face it: Most people are lousy timers. Think about the last time you switched to the shortest line at the grocery checkout. That feeling of smugness turns to scorn when the line crawls to a halt while the longer lines churn through.
Or, when you constantly switch to the fast-moving lane on the freeway only to watch a long river of red brake lights stretch out in front of you. The actual cost, in terms of time, frustration, and dignity, almost invariably exceeds any possible gain you might have achieved by making the switch.
The stakes for investors seeking bigger gains or cutting losses by timing the market are much higher.
Financial advisors know that few people, if any, are adept at picking winners or predicting the market’s direction. Yet many still try, often driven by the powerful emotions of fear and greed.
Read more
It’s Time to Have Another Conversation with Your Clients About Risk
/ by Don Connelly / Investing Wisdom / 0 comments
With the stock market setting its sights on new highs, is it time for advisors to have another serious conversation about risk?
With all that is going on across the globe—war in Ukraine and the Middle East, persistent inflation, rising interest rates, a looming recession, and a divided government likely headed to another fiscal cliff—the stock market appears to be climbing a wall of worry. But how long can that go on? When will it end?
As the market nears new highs, that is the question being asked with increasing regularity by market analysts, media pundits, nervous investors, and financial advisors alike. While the question is palpable, the answer is not so obvious.
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Winning the “Why Do I Need a Financial Advisor” Argument
/ by Don Connelly / Best Practices / 0 comments
Long before it became a field of academic study, legendary investor Benjamin Graham knew a thing or two about behavioral finance. Graham went on to say, “In the end, how your investments behave is much less important than how you behave.”
For financial advisors, understanding how emotional and intellectual processes combine to influence investors’ decisions offers the opportunity to help their clients avoid costly mistakes and optimize investment outcomes.
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Financial Advisor Do’s and Don’ts During Extreme Market Volatility
/ by Don Connelly / Investing Wisdom / 0 comments
Financial advisors play a vital role in helping clients achieve their most important financial goals. But where they really earn their fees is during times like these, when helping clients navigate the choppy waters of extreme market volatility. Clients look to their advisors to guide them through scary times and reassure them that everything will be okay.
Emotions run high when the market turns volatile. When stressed, humans instinctively want to do something and take some kind of action to reduce or eliminate the threat. That’s when mistakes typically occur. The value of a financial advisor rises in direct proportion to the anxiety levels of their clients, who look at volatile market swings as a threat to their financial security. The critical role of financial advisors is to keep their clients from making costly behavioral mistakes. During periods of extreme market volatility, there are some things advisors must do and things they should avoid doing to maximize their value to their clients. Here are a few.
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