Vanguard CEO Tim Buckley
How can advisors best serve their clients during these unprecedented times?
It's a hot topic in the industry and the focus of a a recent webinar for advisors and press held by Vanguard CEO Tim Buckley and Tom Rampulla, its managing director of Financial Advisor Services.
Here are some key highlights:
Engage with clients virtually, but don't forget in-person interactions for the future.
"Virtual has worked pretty well," Rampulla said. There's a lot of enthusiasm around virtual engagement but in-person still matters a lot."
He cited a Vanguard survey showing that 87% of retail investors were satisfied with their virtual interactions with advisors and 90% who had video conferences with advisors found them as good or superior to in-person meetings. Thirty percent expect to go virtual for most of their interactions with advisors.
"You're going to see a shift to virtual and we're all going to have to make that shift," Rampulla said.
He envisions advisors using a "dual mode of engagement" in the future, which will allow them to cover more clients, including those who aren't local, and use in-person meetings for the client's most important and sensitive topics.
But Rampulla cautions that, in a virtual environment, advisors "have to figure out ways to be more engaged with clients, to be more than a face on a screen."
"Embrace the technology," said Buckley. "Meet clients where they are. Virtual models are more than just a platform [and know] when to meet in person."
Vanguard is in the process of "re-architecturing" its virtual advisor platform and has been testing the new software with a couple dozen advisors over the past six months, according to Rampulla.
The firm is also in the process of mining data from 8 million retail clients over the past 45 years to learn more about how they invest — research that can help advisors better serve their clients.
Bonds still have value despite low rates.
