market volatility Archives - Don Connelly & Associates

Three Analogies to Use in Volatile Markets

/ by Don Connelly / Storytelling, analogies and power phrases / 0 comments

Obviously, the stock market’s volatile and you’re going to encounter volatility your entire career. It’s the normal part of the market. Even though volatility is normal, it makes clients very nervous. Fear is a bigger emotion than greed.

One of the challenges for you in volatile markets is that clients can slip into a behavior called anchoring. When clients give you a specific amount of money, that becomes the anchor amount of their portfolio. They refer back to that initial amount when evaluating any ups and down in value. Let’s say hypothetically that a $100,000 portfolio falls in value to $90.000. Right away, they think to themselves, “Oh, it’s broken.” Something’s wrong.”

Understanding Why Clients Might Seek a Second Opinion in Financial Planning and How to Avert It

/ by Don Connelly / Managing the Relationship / 0 comments

If you’ve been in this business long enough, you’re bound to encounter a client who wants to get a second opinion on some of your advice or a strategy you’ve developed. There’s no sugar-coating it—that can feel like a low blow—questioning your expertise and even your integrity.

While it might feel like a vote of no confidence, it’s often a symptom of a deeper need. Understanding these reasons and fostering a solid client relationship can help advisors minimize the need for external validation.

What Is an Initial Benefit Statement and How to Use It

/ by Don Connelly / Presentation Skills / 0 comments

As I have mentioned already on the Don Connelly 24/7 learning center, I was taught a method of selling called Professional Selling Skills (PSS) many years ago. It was and still is the bestselling course in the world. Let’s talk about the first step in giving a Professional Selling Skills presentation. That step is called the Initial Benefit Statement.

Watch this video episode or read the transcript below to hear Don explaining what it is and how to use it.

Put Risk in Perspective: What Do Going to The Dentist and Investing Have in Common?

/ by Don Connelly / Investing Wisdom, Storytelling, analogies and power phrases / 0 comments

Put Risk in Perspective - What Going to The Dentist and Investing Have in Common

I’ve got a good story about how two Advisor friends of mine, Eric and Lisa, deal with their clients when the markets become unsettled. They help their clients put risk in perspective. When times get tough, keep this story in mind.

6 Essential Investment Tenets to Instill in Your Clients for 2024

/ by Don Connelly / Investing Wisdom / 0 comments

The stock market has taken investors on another wild rollercoaster in recent years. The market recovered from a bear market in 2022, and after a solid up year in 2023, there’s bound to be another one at some point. Going into 2024, the market will keep investors guessing, which is why helping your client maintain a long-term perspective is essential.

We can’t know what stocks will do today, next week, or next month. But we know that, over the long term, stocks will continue their century-long advance. Reacting to short-term swings in the market means moving in and out of the market at the wrong times, locking in permanent losses, and often missing out on the biggest gains in the market.

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.

How to Help Clients Through Their Financial Anxiety

/ by Don Connelly / Managing the Relationship / 0 comments

Who among us has never had worries about money? You can expect that many of your clients have experienced money worries from time to time. We know that clients can become stressed during periods of increasing market volatility or economic distress. And we’ve shared how financial advisors can help clients deal with that stress and confront fears to prevent their emotions from controlling their decisions.

But what about financial anxiety? Not only is that different from stress, but it can be much more debilitating to the psyche, causing mental paralysis in the face of important financial decisions. While stress is typically caused by external factors, such as a crashing market or rising unemployment, anxiety tends to rise internally over fears or unhealthy attitudes about the world around us.

How to Talk to Clients About Market Volatility

/ by Don Connelly / Investing Wisdom / 2 comments

You don’t hear people talk much about market volatility until stock prices suddenly sell off. But when your clients watch their portfolio value decline unexpectedly, it can be terrifying, leading many to make potentially costly mistakes, such as selling into a steep market decline. Though we’ve experienced many volatile markets over the last 20 years, advisors must help clients understand that volatility is not their enemy.

Overcoming Information Overload: What Advisors Can Do to Help Their Clients

/ by Don Connelly / Best Practices / 0 comments

Living in the digital world, with its instantaneous access to information, has made us smarter and more empowered. In many ways, it has leveled the playing field for clients who now have access to much of the same information once only available to investment professionals. Information is so highly valued that it is churned out 24/7, accessible on any number of devices people carry around. For clients especially, this should be a good thing, right?

The barrage of headlines and hype around market events often leads to behavioral mistakes, like following the panicky herd over the cliff during a market selloff or frantically trying to buy into the market after a massive rally. Studies show it is the primary reason why investors consistently underperform the market.

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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