The article starts off with one investor relaying that he had mainly had only conversations with his FA about the markets and investing, but not much else. The investor was skeptical his FA could help with his retirement planning since he had barely spoken to his FA about it and every time estate planning did come up the FA failed to follow through. “And he’s met my wife only once,” the investor explained.
Surveys show that this scenario is more common than you may think. Investors often complain their advisor fails to include their spouse in planning. Also, retirement income is the top item clients want to discuss with their advisor, according to many surveys.
The disconnect arises for a few reasons:
- Clients often don’t ask about this topic
- FAs don’t proactively bring it up early
- Many clients don’t keep all or most of their assets with a single advisor
However, it is important to remember that most clients will consolidate their assets at some point, and you want to be the one they choose at that point. Here are some basic, yet important, question you should be ready to field if you want to position yourself for success:
- How much money will I need in retirement?
- How will I pay for healthcare?
- How do I decide about Social Security and Medicare?
- Can I stay in my home?
- How can I keep my independence when I get older?