The COVID-19 pandemic, national and international tension, and the economic impact of lockdowns have taken a big bite out of most retirement plans and portfolios. Millions of jobs have been lost, thousands of businesses have closed, and market valuations shift back and forth by the day.
It begs the question, “Who would want to be a financial advisor in 2020?”
Actually, there’s never been a better time to be a wealth manager, said Denis Walsh, President and CEO of Money Concepts International.
“Right now, I think clients are really confused, they’re anxious, they’re frustrated, they’re unsure of who to trust. And that’s a problem,” he said. “I think advisors who have a culture based on love and compassion and respect for their clients and their community are going to do extremely well.”
The truth is, trusted advisors are not only in higher demand, they’re navigating a higher level of complexity and fulfilling an even greater purpose for families, communities, and businesses than ever before.
What Does It Mean to Uphold ‘Committed Benevolent Interest’ (CBI)?
As financial firms navigate their own complexities in ever-changing regulations, a down economy, and a shifting and volatile market, the traditional approach has been to maximize transactions and minimize client “touch” as a means of accruing the largest possible commissions.
While efficiency is important, Walsh said the inherent focus of this model is wrong. The concept of revenue from commissions reduces clients to numbers and encourages advisors to “churn” to maximize earnings.
Implementing a people-first strategy increases the advisor’s value, their beneficial interest to clients, and maximizes mutual interest for both parties.
“It’s about having a Committed Benevolent Interest in someone else – where you want the best for them, and you’re committed to helping them get it,” said Walsh. “That doesn’t mean you do it for free, because that’s not really in somebody’s best interest to get something for free. It’s better to create a tremendous value and get paid for a portion of the value you create.”
To face challenges together with a trusting relationship, good communication, and a solid plan – that’s the culture that’s needed today. That’s the culture Walsh believes in. And that’s the culture he and his team have created at Money Concepts.
Technology is vital.
As a long-established leader in wealth management, Money Concepts offers turnkey technology and program solutions to more than 600 advisors in 170 U.S. locations.
Money Concepts provides practices of all size with the technology they need to be immediately operational and the flexibility to incorporate all additional demands. They allow the next generation of wealth managers to do what they love and love the benefits they can provide their clients.
Walsh’s father, John (Jack), envisioned a combination of innovation and independence when he started the company in 1979.
“He wanted to create this independent broker/dealer-type entity to help financial advisors and try to combine the best of both worlds – where they could be independent, but they had a lot of the systems and coaching and training and marketing support and so forth.”
A financial advisor himself, John Walsh built the company from that perspective. When Denis took over, he continued to build on his father’s vision.
“He could see the uniqueness and the talent and the skills of somebody sitting with him in a meeting or individually and he could convey that and get them to see it in themselves,” he said. “I want everybody to know what a true miracle they are and what things are possible for them because we can all do so much more than we do.”
A family business in a corporate world – over the years, Money Concepts has grown and evolved, but never lost the family feel.
“Our advisors are very close to each other because one of the most important things we did when we created Money Concepts – my father said from the beginning, he wanted a culture of sharing. He didn’t want anyone to join who wanted to be the one who knew it all but didn’t share. He wanted the leaders to come out and share what they were doing with everybody else because we’re not in competition with each other, we’re in competition to get new relationships.”
That culture is one of the things that sets Money Concepts apart. It’s also one of the things their advisors love most about the company.
“When you go to one of our meetings, it’s like going to a giant family reunion as opposed to a business meeting,” Walsh said. “You feel like you’re part of a family.”
Wealth management as a career?
With the ongoing pandemic and upcoming election, each month of 2020 brings new fear to the consumer and new uncertainty to the market – which is why financial advisors with a vested interest in the wellbeing of their clients are more valuable than ever before.
“In these times, we’ve got so much angst and so much division – what people really want is someone who will be there for them, who has compassion, who has their best interest at heart, who shows them respect,” Walsh said.
Client focused and advisor driven, Money Concepts is changing the way financial planning is done. They’ve built more than a company – they’ve built a culture and a community of like-minded professionals who love what they do, who they do it with, and who they do it for.
