“I prefer innovation that comes from current advisers rather than people coming in from the technology world claiming they have the solution. We have seen people in the past coming into the industry claiming ‘I will turn it on its head’, but they have been unable to do so.”
High net-worth clients
Meanwhile, the next presentation, given by Mr Boni’s colleague Nick French, managing director, head of UK wealth management at the investment firm, explored ways in which advisers could preserve and grow the number of high net-worth clients on their books.
Mr French said advisers could achieve this objective by encouraging clients to refer them to a friend, family and their associates.
However, he claimed that high net-worth clients are reticent about recommending individuals of similar levels of wealth as themselves for two reasons.
The first is because they are fearful of the potential fallout if the advice process yields negative results for the person who took their recommendation. Second, the client may not be significantly impressed with the level of service they receive currently.
However, advisers can remedy both areas of concern by implementing a number of initiatives – dubbed “touches of wow” by Mr French.
Hosting client appreciation events is one of these. They should be informal and provide ample opportunity for clients to give feedback on new and existing propositions.
Some of the more notable initiatives include providing agendas to clients ahead of a meeting, producing and distributing educational literature on topical financial issues, and even placing bouquets of flowers in meeting rooms.
Expanding on the latter, Mr French said high net-worth clients are heavily influenced by factors that may be considered superficial – such as the appearance of an office and the type of stationery used.
He added: “Have you ever seen what a client sees when they walk into your office? What I mean by that is, go to the car park and walk towards your office and see what they see and then go and sit in the seat they sit in. When you do this exercise, it seems so small, but what you actually see is that there are loads of things that look untidy.
“Ask yourself, if a client referred your business, what would they say? Give them the words to describe your business.
“Language is so important, talk to clients in their own language. Cut out the jargon.”
Trust
Simon Read, journalist and personal finance editor at The Independent before its print version closed earlier this year, also delivered a keynote address, which centred on trust in an adviser-client relationship.
