Traditional financial and investment planning has "gone out the window" due to the coronavirus crisis, according to the Lang Cat's Mike Barrett.
Speaking on the FTAdviser Podcast, Mike Barrett, director at the consultancy firm, said the normality of financial and investment planning was out the window as "nobody really knows what the answers are".
He said: "A few advisers have been putting a brave face on this, saying their clients had a robust financial plan.
"But that's disappeared in the past week or so as reality is starting to slap home and nobody really knows what is going on."
Mr Barrett added indices dropping this significantly would have been talked about as a "once in a lifetime event" before the pandemic had taken its toll on the markets.
The FTSE 100 has lost 30 per cent since the start of the year, partly as a result of the spreading pandemic.
Mr Barrett was discussing how the coronavirus pandemic was affecting advisers with Steve Kenny, chief commercial officer at Square Mile Investment Consulting & Research.
Mr Kenny said it was important for advisers to present a "sensible and honest" overview of the market due to the "incredible deluge of information" from TV and online media.
He added: "Communication becomes paramount. In times like these, there is no such thing as over-communication."
Mr Kenny and Mr Barrett also discussed how regulation was holding up against the crisis as well as how platforms and discretionary managers were dealing with the tumbling markets.
To listen to the full podcast click on the link above. FTAdviser's podcasts are available on Acast and are also available to download on iTunes and Spotify.
imogen.tew@ft.com
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