The Importance of Having A High Quality Toolbox
It would seem pretty well established that the Financial services industry is a people-intensive business, particularly in investment advisory. When you look at potentially hiring someone to guide you on life’s financial journey, it’s the people – their knowledge, experience and ethical standing – that forms the basis as to their suitability. After all, you are hiring someone that has a specialized skill set, where you rely on their judgement for guidance in order to achieve your financial goals. For advisors that actually do their own homework (vs. outsourcing it, which, believe it or not, many advisors do), it is also important for that advisor to have access to the proper tools to ensure success. Much like a carpenter that needs the right tools to build a quality table, so do advisors need the proper software to help guide the financial and investment planning process for their clients. And so the question becomes: “Why is it important for my advisor to have good software? I’m really hiring them and their expertise, not their technology.” This is true. No software can ever replace the experience and knowledge of any financial advisor. However, having the proper tools can make a good financial advisor a great one. And who wants good when you can have great?
The foundation for all types of decision making is based having access to information.Information that must be collected, organized, reviewed and communicated out.Without good information, mistakes inevitably happen.You can make the wrong call on the markets or you misjudge a client’s risk parameters.Ideally good information helps you spot opportunities and minimize risks – not to mention facilitating client communication.
Recently, we purchased a license to a program called Riskalyze.Riskalyze is a platform that helps us analyze a client’s risk profile to ensure they’re taking on the appropriate amount of risk to ensure their financial goals.It also allows us to “stress-test” how a portfolio would perform under certain market conditions, such as the downturn in 08-09, or when there is a spike in volatility such as Brexit or other political, economic or social upheavals. These events happen, and it’s important to be prepared.Its benefit is really two fold – it allows us to better understand where on the risk spectrum a client is and it helps the client to better understand the risks embedded in their portfolio to facilitate planning.Ultimately, it allows us to work closely with our clients to better prepare for those inevitable bumps in the road.
We’re excited to add this capability to our growing cadre of institutional quality tools, allowing us to provide the highest quality service to our clients.Again, no software can replace and advisor’s experience and insight, but it’s also important to recognize the importance of having the right software that supports the decision making process.
