Just like you wouldn’t wait for your car to break down before getting an oil change, financial advisors shouldn’t wait for clients to “tap in” with market worries before checking on their plans. Clients have busy lives, and sometimes they forget to let you know about major life changes — until it’s crunch time. That’s why regular check-ins are essential.
These days, people expect their services on demand — whether it’s streaming a movie, ordering groceries, or investigating their finances. Mimicking that level of availability or creating a similar “on-the-go” approach can help you meet clients where they are. Plus, when you dedicate time during meetings to show how your recommendations align with their long-term goals, you help them feel confident and grounded, even when the market gets bumpy.
Annual portfolio reviews are your chance to dig deeper. Are clients moving toward their financial goals? Are their accounts performing as expected? What’s changed in their lives over the past year? FINRA suggests conducting reviews at the same time each year to ensure portfolios stay aligned with client needs. These conversations not only keep plans on track but also give clients the confidence that their financial future is in good hands.
Check on Lifestyle and Personal Changes
Before jumping straight into the numbers, take time to chat and connect with clients, especially about any changes that occurred in the last year. Ideally, you already know about these changes from your periodic check-ins with clients throughout the year, but this is the time to pull them all together and make sure you have the most updated view of your client’s lives.
A client may not realize that a change is worth sharing with their financial advisor, so this area may require asking the right questions about things like:
- Job or salary changes
- Marriage, divorce, or the death or illness of a spouse
- New children or grandchildren
- Large purchases or outside investments, especially real estate
Understanding a client’s lifestyle, especially the changes in the past year, helps advisors create a plan that aligns with their personalities and financial needs. At a portfolio review, it’s important to understand the client’s current state to make sure the original portfolio plan still aligns with the client’s lifestyle.
Review Finances
The bulk of a portfolio review should be around the actual portfolio. The goal isn’t necessarily to showcase the balance and growth of various accounts and investments but to compare progress to a client’s financial goals and evaluate whether the current financial plan is still the best fit.
As you review their portfolio with the client, be sure to cover these important topics:
- Check the balances and progress of the accounts and evaluate if they are in line with the client’s goals. If the market has changed throughout the year, funds may need to be reallocated to hit the right balance and risk levels. If income has changed throughout the year, transfers and transactions may also need to be adjusted.
- Tax planning. Tax law changes regularly, so be sure that the client’s current portfolio is optimized for the most current tax year. This can include moving funds to other accounts or making income-based adjustments.
- Estate planning. Check that the client’s life insurance, beneficiary preferences, and will and trust are accurate. Changes throughout the year may lead to adjustments, such as adding or changing a beneficiary. It’s especially important to evaluate estate planning if the client faced family changes during the year.
- Retirement planning. Retirement is a major goal for most clients. During a portfolio review, check if they are on track with their retirement savings goals or if anything needs to be adjusted to get them back on the right track. A client’s view of preparing for retirement may change as it gets closer, so listen to their concerns and answer any questions as needed.
An annual portfolio review keeps advisors connected to clients and ensures that clients stay on the right path to their financial goals, even as life changes.
Next to onboarding, annual reviews are one of the biggest use cases for PreciseFP. By sending clients a pre-filled fact finder with all the information you already have on file, you make it easy for them to review and update any changes — like a new address, a new addition to the family, or any other life events.
This strategy isn’t just convenient; it’s smart. Gathering updates before the meeting allows you to focus on what really matters during those precious face-to-face moments: discussing the impact of these changes and mapping out the next steps for their financial plan. Plus, with PreciseFP’s pre-made templates, you can seamlessly introduce important topics like estate planning to elevate the conversation even further.
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