Meeting the Complex Needs and Expectations of Today’s Financial Services Clients

When it comes to client expectations, the financial services industry has seen a noticeable evolution. “Advice has changed a lot over time,” says Deborah Boisselle, Vice President, Investments at Citizens National Bank. In the past, for instance, there was much less in the way of personalization, Boisselle explains. “Everybody got the same mutual funds, the same stocks. It really was more about having some kind of investment versus the investment that was best for that client,”

Financial services clients of the past also tended to seek a more limited set of investment options. “When I first started in the industry, people were looking for solutions, be it IRA rollovers, planning for their kid’s education,” says Anne Marie Hamilton, Senior Vice President of Wealth Management at Orange County’s Credit Union. But it’s a different story today, Hamilton and other financial leaders note. “While clients still have those needs, they really want us to look at them from a full picture.”

“The way that our clients’ expectations around financial advice is evolving is in a number of different ways,” says Yama Jamili, Senior Vice President and Western Regional Head of BMO Investment Services. “First they are a lot more knowledgeable," and since consumers can access financial advice from many different sources, Jamili says, clients expect their own advisors to be subject matter experts — to add value beyond what they can find through their own research. That’s why financial institutions need to “continue to learn, come to the table with new ideas and strategies and opportunities for our clients,” Jamili says.

Jamili and other leaders like Steve Hever, Director and Program Manager of Wellby Financial, agree that those strategies should include customization. Hever says the industry demands it and it’s expected by clients.

Customized solutions can include consideration of “what if” scenarios — like having to take care of elderly parents, or their children living with them well into adulthood, says Jamili. Clients want advisors to “walk them through,” Jamili says, what impact such scenarios can have on their financial plans.

It’s also important, she says, to create plans that will work for clients as their retirement and expectations of retirement change.

Visionary financial institutions are working to ensure that clients are provided the tailored solutions they’re seeking — but they’re not doing it alone. BMO, Citizens, Orange County’s Credit Union and others are partnering with LPL Financial, integrating our innovative wealth management platform into their existing services. LPL’s award winning Meeting Manager* program enables advisors to spend less time on administrative tasks, and instead more time with their clients. Designed to help institutions streamline scheduling, enhance compliance and give program managers better visibility into advisor activity, Meeting Manager transforms client engagement from a manual process into a strategic advantage.

Meeting Manager helps program managers take a more proactive approach to engagement, so that they don’t just react to client needs — they anticipate them. Meeting Manager provides a centralized view of advisor-client meetings, making it easier to track activity, analyze trends, and optimize engagement strategies. It maintains a clear record of client meetings, helping your institution meet regulatory standards with confidence. And it integrates with other key technology solutions such as ClientWorks and Redtail.

“The more that we can use technology to streamline our processes and procedures, the better,” Boisselle says. “Then we can really focus on the personalized advice and recommendations to our clients.”

Connect with your LPL Success Manager who understands your unique needs for the right combination of experts, technology, and scalable solutions.