CoronavirusMar 24 2020

Advisers are our front-line defence right now

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Advisers are our front-line defence right now
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What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. But it is hard not to give into the panic, even a little bit. 

When you go to buy another pack of nappies, and the shelves are bare, it’s hard not to grit your teeth and stock up at the next nearest opportunity. 

When you visit your Isa and it’s down £3,000 and you laugh ruefully, despite knowing it will come back again in a couple of years’ time; that, too, is hard. 

So there is no surprise that advisers, despite all the amazing work you do to communicate with your clients and provide reams of information on your websites, are still getting calls from nervous clients. 

Many of them may be on the cusp of retirement, only to find their defined contribution pension funds have slumped.

Are we in for another lost decade, similar to that we wrote about in 2008, when any market gains made between 1998 and the run on Northern Rock were completely wiped out?

It is relatively easy to assure the investor with time on their hands and a long-term plan that balance will be restored. 

It is not so easy to reassure people whose valuations have taken a nosedive, and who may have to put off retiring for a few months – even years – in order to recoup that balance. 

But reassure you must. Whether you’re still open for business as usual, or you are doing more phone or skype meetings, your clients really need you right now.

This is where you demonstrate clearly you are worth every single penny they spend on your advice. This is where you help shore up portfolios, revisit retirement plans, recommend good income protection plans and make your clients feel their money is in safe, sanitised hands. 

After all, you’ve seen it all before. There’s nothing new under the sun – until it happens to a nervous client, and then you are their frontline defence.

Simoney Kyriakou is editor of Financial Adviser