Next Generation Planner: December 2020
Hannah Moore, CFP®
Owner and Principal Financial Planner, Guiding Wealth
Podcast Host, You’re a Financial Planner…Now What?
www.linkedin.com/in/hannahmoorecfp/
Nathan Gehring, CFP®, initially wanted to talk about his ideas on the future of financial planning at the 2020 FPA Retreat. Of course, FPA Retreat was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, but luckily, Nathan was able to join me on a recent You’re a Financial Planner…Now What? episode. In the episode, we discussed the future of the profession, how the profession and technology are quickly evolving, “slow financial planning,” and where the value in our work lies.
What Will the Future of the Profession Look Like?
Nathan is passionate about talking about the future of financial planning and how the profession can adapt in a world where change is accelerating dramatically. He was inspired after reading Thomas Friedman’s Thank You for Being Late for an advanced financial planning course at Golden Gate University. Nathan realized that we talk about industry-wide change in professional circles, but don’t necessarily take the time to really think about it.
In our discussion, Nathan pointed out that the world he grew up in didn’t have internet available to the general public. Tech giants Apple and Microsoft were just a year or two old. It was a completely different world, and it was only 42 years ago. If he were to put together a plan for himself today—and project 42 years into the future—it wouldn’t look the same at all.
When it’s difficult enough as a person to keep up with the changing world, how can we adapt as financial planners? There’s no perfect answer (at least not yet), but Nathan believes that slowing down and focusing on the client is key.
Slow Financial Planning and Providing Value
Remove the numbers side of the profession, and what’s left? Working with clients. Helping them understand their situation and options. Having conversations with clients about uncertainty, alternatives, worst-case scenarios, being prepared—that’s where financial planners can shine, now and in the future when software can automate much of the process.
This is a main tenet of what Nathan calls “slow financial planning,” the idea that the numbers are secondary when it comes to the profession.
“More and more, it’s become the numbers don’t matter all that much; they’re not the central part of our jobs,” said Nathan. “It all doesn’t matter to the client if you can’t sit in front of them and be compassionate and help them understand what it means in their lives.”
That’s why the value is in the planning, not the plan, Nathan said. Financial planners have to go beyond the numbers; listen to your clients, understand their motivations and fears, and know that they have the autonomy to make the decisions—even when they run contrary to the numbers.
A Lifetime of Learning
Being open to communication and remembering that you don’t have all the answers (nor do you need to) go hand-in-hand with Nathan’s advice for new financial planners: prepare to work hard and prepare for a lifetime of learning.
“You have to take responsibility for your career yourself, and there are periods where it is extremely challenging work,” said Nathan. “The sooner you can get to being fully on board with continuing lifetime learning—and not just in financial planning, but a whole breadth of topics—the quicker you’ll become kind of proficient at it.”
Editor’s note: Listen to the full You’re a Financial Planner…Now What? podcast episode with Nathan at www.financialplanningassociation.org/keeping-rapid-changes-profession, or download the podcast on the Apple App Store or Google Play.
Hannah Moore, CFP®, is a Certified Financial Transitions™ expert. She is passionate about helping people understand their money in meaningful ways. In her spare time, Hannah can be found spending time with her husband, Charlie, chasing after her daughter, Alice, quilting, gardening, beekeeping, or cheering on the Baylor Bears.