Quality financial advice is continually proving to be so much more beyond ‘where to put money’ or ‘how to protect your wealth’. Nathan Richardson, chartered financial planner and investment director at leading East Midlands law firm Nelsons, discusses why advice really begins with understanding a person’s life, values and aspirations.
While market volatility can often trigger reactive measures, true financial resilience isn’t found in a specific product, but in a robust strategy. After a turbulent period for the UK economy, financial advice should be focused less on economic pressures and more on trying to future-proof a person’s aspirations.
Understanding people; not portfolios
Any good advice starts with listening, to truly understand a client’s needs. This will involve mapping out their current financial situation, long-term goals, and significant milestones. This then helps to create a framework for all subsequent planning rather than reacting to short-term market changes.
Early conversations with a financial advisor will help to determine personal goals – from lifestyle aspirations to family plans and retirement dreams. Advisors should take a holistic approach to assess everything from pensions to estate considerations, making all recommendations or queries through the lens of what matters to the client first.
It is important to remember the emotional side to money, and its ability to provide reassurance, confidence and clarity for the future.
A holistic framework for long term success
When choosing an advisor, the distinction between ‘independent’ and ‘restricted’ is vital. An independent advisor acts as a true fiduciary, surveying the entire market to find the right fit for your specific life goals, rather than fitting your goals into a pre-selected box.
To successfully build a proactive strategy that aligns with clients wants and needs, it is integral to cover the following areas;
1. Establishing direction and ambition
Some of the first conversations clients will have with their financial advisors should be about where they want to be in five, ten or 20 years’ time. This helps to support cashflow planning and plot out where key investment decisions need to be made. Without having these markers, it is incredibly difficult to stay on track. This can, of course, be adapted with life changes, but it acts as a long-term guide that helps to inform financial moves.
2. Building resilience and flexibility
The beauty of financial planning is that when it is done well, it ensures clients can weather financial shocks using the emergency buffers that have been put in place. Realistically, because the focus is usually on the future, short term impacts should not cause too much to change, which helps clients to feel confident and secure about their finances.
3. Aligning money and values
One of the most important factors that defines true, holistic financial planning, is the ability to see that sometimes the best financial decisions are not about aggressive saving or risky investments – it’s often about offering back the freedom to spend, gift or enjoy money and life without regret. It’s about understanding genuine client priorities, which sometimes is about having a well-earned holiday once a year, supporting children with their first car, or selling off property to set up grandchildren for the future. As part of a structured, personal approach, a financial advisor should encompass cash flow modelling alongside retirement goals, inheritance plans and anything in between.
This holistic approach often uncovers opportunities that a siloed investment view misses – such as aligning Inheritance Tax (IHT) mitigation with a client’s desire to see their grandchildren benefit from their legacy while they are still around to see it.
Collaboration and continuity
Instead of clients asking, ‘what’s the best thing to do for a return?’ a financial advisor should be asking ‘what do you want your money to enable you to do?’. This mindset helps clients to make confident decisions because they understand the purpose behind them. Advisors should not be one-off consultants – but ongoing partners, supporting through annual reviews and building adaptability into the plans as life circumstances change.
Additionally, money doesn’t exist in a vacuum. The most effective planning happens when your advisor works in lockstep with your solicitor and accountant. Whether it’s navigating the complexities of the Trustee Act 2000 or structuring a business sale, a joined-up approach ensures no part of your financial life is left to chance.
The overarching goal is for advisors to offer peace of mind and transparency to their clients, that help them better prepare for life’s events and know that all their decisions are built with their personal priorities. It is the aim for advisors to bring clarity, context and confidence to individual financial journeys. A good financial advisor is a partner in life planning, not just a strategist for savings.
When financial planning sits alongside legal expertise – as it does at Nelsons – it creates a seamless bridge between building for the future and securing your legacy.
For more information, visit: https://www.nelsonslaw.co.uk/independent-financial-advice/