Blue Chip Issue 96

BLUECHIPCLIENT

BLUECHIPCLIENT ENGAGEMENT | Behavioural financebetween money and happiness. And interpersonal skills(more on this later).A case studyLet us take a client of a financial advisor. They have receivedtax planning and investment advice, started savings and setup protection plans. They are a happy client. Suppose thatadvisor then retired, and the client moves to someone who, inaddition to advice, also does financial planning. The client nowgets a cash-flow forecast and a path to their future. I wouldsuggest that this client is very unlikely to go back to justfinancial advice.This financial planner also then retires. The client moves to anew planner, one who adopts a financial wellbeing approach.Now, they get an advisor who is also knowledgeable andskilled in helping them understand what is likely to bring themwellbeing in the future.They may review their objectives, widen those objectivesfrom just a bucket list, increase their connectivity with lovedones and enable an increase in meaning and purpose. Now thefinancial plan creates a path to a future that the client didn’tknow was possible before they went to see the planner.I would suggest that someone who goes to a financialwellbeing-oriented planner is unlikely to go back to just a planneror advisor.The howThere are two areas of development that a financial plannerneeds to upgrade to a financial wellbeing approach.The first is education. This should be for themselves, tounderstand the research about the sources of wellbeing in ourlives, and how money both helps and hinders this. It is alsoimportant to educate clients. Clients need to be prepared fora conversation with their planner which is about theirwellbeing, not just their wealth. Helping clients to changebehaviours and understand their self-limiting beliefs. Thisstarts with understanding why they act in ways that may becreating poor financial outcomes.The second is for advisors to develop their listening andquestioning skills. Clients very often do not understandthemselves and being better at these coaching skills will helpadvisors to help clients recognise those identifiable objectives.ConclusionBeing happy is not easy. Wellbeing takes effort, both to achieveand maintain. Money has a crucial part to play in this process.This is why I believe that financial wellbeing, in its broadest sense,is the direction of travel for financial planning.Chris Budd, former financial planner and founder ofOvation Finance Ltd, author and founder of the Institutefor Financial Wellbeing.Chris Budd has written two books on money andhappiness, the original Financial Wellbeing Book and TheFour Cornerstones of Financial Wellbeing. He also foundedthe Institute for Financial Wellbeing and has developedtraining courses for advisors on the subject. Budd willbe speaking at the Money Maestros Conference in SouthAfrica in October.74www.bluechipdigital.co.za

CLIENT ENGAGEMENT | Behavioural financeGoosebumps, growth and thefuture of financial planningWhen was the last time you got goosebumps while working with a client?BLUECHIPNot from a market swing or a big product win, but fromsomething deeper. Something human. Something real. Forme, goosebumps have become the unofficial measure ofsuccess. Not revenue. Not returns. But resonance. Becausewhen you hit that moment with a client – where money becomes amirror for something more meaningful – you’re not just ticking boxes.You’re transforming lives.And that’s where the future of financial planning lies.The shift we didn’t know we neededFor years, I followed the rules. Study hard. Learn the products. Buildthe practice. And I did. I grew a career, advised clients and earnedmy stripes. But there was a point where I started to wonder: is this it?I wasn’t burnt out. I was disconnected.Then something changed.What started as personal growth began to ripple into how I workedwith clients. The more I grew myself, the more I saw clearly: we can’thelp people build true wealth if we don’t help them understandthemselves first.At Growth Financial Planning, we believe your relationship withmoney reflects your relationship with yourself: your patterns, fearsand unspoken values. If those things don’t evolve, your financial planwon’t either – no matter how technically sound it is.A new measure of successThe profession tends to reward scale, assets under management,technical mastery. But what if we started celebrating something else,too? Clients who shift from fear-based decisions to value-alignedones. Conversations that go beyond tax and trust structures and intopurpose. Families who start talking about money differently – morehonestly, more consciously.This doesn’t mean we abandon rigour. It means we acknowledgethat financial planning is deeply human. Real change requires bothlogic and emotion, both spreadsheets and soul. This approachchanges everything. It’s impact. It’s legacy. It’s what lights me up.meaningfully into your practice. Here’s what we’ve done differentlyat Growth:We ask clients about their money stories before we ask about theirrisk profile. We invite reflection as part of our reviews. “What’s changedin your life?” is as important as “What’s changed in the market?” Weoffer tools that focus not just on returns, but on alignment. Does yourmoney reflect your values, season of life, future vision? This kind ofplanning gives clients clarity and calm. And it gives us, as advisors, asense of purpose that goes beyond performance graphs.The rise of the authentic advisorIn her book Present with Power, Verity Price speaks about thepower of authentic presence – how owning your voice, truth andstory is what moves an audience. I believe the same is true in financialplanning.When you show up real, your clients will too. You don’t need to bethe loudest, most polished or most technical person in the room. Youjust need to be you – clear, grounded, curious. That’s what peopleconnect with. That’s what builds trust. That’s how you create momentsthat matter. The goosebump ones.An invitationIf you’re a fellow advisor reading this, I leave you with these questions:• What lights you up?• What kind of planner do you really want to be?• What kind of impact do you want to leave behind?Because if you’re willing to grow yourself – your voice, presence andperspective – I believe you can change this profession. One honestconversation at a time.Why financial advisors should be mentorsClients don’t just want to know what to do with their money. Theywant to understand why they behave the way they do. They want toshift the patterns they inherited. They want to feel secure and alive.They want balance. They want to grow themselves so they can growtheir wealth. And when we meet them there – at that intersection ofself and strategy – that’s where the magic happens.What this looks like in practiceIt’s one thing to talk about mindset; it’s another to integrate itBronwyn Waner, CFP®, Growth Financial Planningwww.bluechipdigital.co.za75