Financial advisers can help to allay their clients’ post-Brexit jitters by reassessing their attitudes to investment risk, according to a Russell Investments fund manager.
David Vickers, senior portfolio manager for multi-asset solutions at the asset manager, said re-evaluating clients’ capacity for loss helps them to make informed investment decisions following the controversial vote for the UK to leave the EU.
Speaking ahead of Financial Adviser’s Masterclass in association with Russell Investments later this month, he said: “It is all about how you communicate with your clients. They want to be reassured that their adviser is taking an active interest in their portfolios when a significant event such as Brexit takes place.
“Different clients require different levels of communication. Some clients constantly want their adviser’s reassuring arm over their shoulder, while others prefer to have as little contact with their adviser as possible. I would say that advisers should have arranged to speak with their clients shortly after the vote, to guide them through the current period of uncertainty.”
Mr Vickers said intermediaries should endeavour to educate them on the likely impact of the Leave vote and how their portfolio was constructed to mitigate the effects of either result.
He said: “If an adviser who had little or no communication with their clients before the vote, but is now all of a sudden actively repositioning their portfolios, it suggests that adviser is panicking. That would do nothing to calm the client’s nerves.”
The FA Masterclass, Calming Clients Post-Brexit, is being held on Tuesday 20 September 2016. The event, sponsored by Russell Investments, will be held at DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Edinburgh City Centre. Speakers at the event include Nick French, managing director of UK wealth management, and Brian Steeples, managing director of The Turris Partnership.
For more details, see www.ftadviser.com/masterclass
