The recent economic meltdown created a great deal of anxiety, and has left people with a variety of negative feelings. Many feel angry that their money was invested in places outside of their comfort zone. They came to rely on predictable stock market rates of return and assumed there was a baseline they could count on. When that was proven to be a false sense of security, many people felt betrayed and began to question why and where their money was invested.
As more and more people realign their risk/reward tolerance, they may also be questioning where and who has been providing them financial advice. While I've always advised my clients to do business with those people they trust and respect, and believe strongly that there is no need to get rid of old friends to make new ones, for many disappointment has motivated them to be more willing than ever to explore new relationships. They're open to working with a new financial advisor to help ease their fears of the future.
Making slight adjustments
At my office, we've made slight adjustments to our business to put ourselves in a position that makes it comfortable for people to reach out to us. We've hired a credentialed human resources associate who markets herself as being the company's back office support. She talks to the HR teams of other companies and quite often deals with the executive ranks to make them aware of the services our firm provides, thus creating the chance to work in new markets.
