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The coronavirus pandemic has presented challenges across all walks of life. When it comes to investing and wealth management, its impact on global markets and economies created one of the greatest periods of tumult and uncertainty in a 
generation.
In any crisis, the most important thing is to come back to your core values and center your actions on them. For our firm’s wealth management clients, this meant centering our strategies to manage a “new normal” around the steady stewardship and trust that our clients have always expected.
As we did that, I saw four critical challenges from the pandemic: greater distance from our clients, new client needs, major uncertainty, and a shift to looking at now instead of focusing on the future.
Here’s how we’ve been solving those four challenges.
In a time of distance, find ways to get closer
The first priority for our team when restrictions were introduced was to find ways to stay close to our clients, even from a distance. That meant more person-to-person calls and investing in new technology – quickly – to make sure we could stay in touch.
Even as restrictions eased, many clients still didn’t feel comfortable with visiting our offices, so we went to them. Their driveways and decks became our new “mobile offices,” allowing us to have that important face-to-face interaction while making sure they felt at ease in their own homes.
In a time of need, find ways to do more
These challenging times also required us to go beyond our job descriptions to meet the needs of our clients. In the early days of the pandemic, we even helped one client move across state lines.
With plans in place to move into a retirement community in New England, this client’s family was suddenly grounded halfway across the country and unable to help with the move in person. Our team stepped in to help make arrangements in a way that kept our client safe and comfortable, and ensured that their move wasn’t greatly impacted by the incredible disruption that was facing all of us.
That extra effort put their minds at ease in a time of incredible need. Doing more means understanding all aspects of your clients’ lives, and helping them to navigate difficult times in a variety of ways both small and large.
By doing more than expected, it reinforces the trust your clients have placed in you.
In a time of uncertainty, find ways to inform
The firehose of news reached new intensity this year as the pandemic worsened and markets took major losses. There was no shortage of opinions and calls to buy this or sell that, from cable news hosts to social media influencers to our own important circles of friends and family.
Amid that deluge of uncertainty and information, we knew it was important to give our clients the facts – and our perspective – in ways they wanted and needed. Through a pipeline of informative and well-timed content, we have given our clients a window into what our team is thinking amid a rapidly changing news cycle.
We increased our communications with clients by organizing conference calls, sending email updates, and distributing a weekly Featured Insights publication that addresses market and investing topics impacted by COVID. And we made sure to stay available to our clients as they reached out to relationship managers for guidance.
This steady stream of facts and advice offered a contrast to breaking news chyrons and always-on social media feeds. We were able to break away from the conversation about “what just happened” and focus our clients on what we could see happening next – and what they could do to prepare.
Clients need to know they can rely on steady stewardship; giving them insight into your team’s perspectives is crucial to show you have firm hands at the wheel.
In a time of now, keep an eye on the future
The pandemic has drawn all our eyes to the now – what needs to be done to make it through the short term. But as the next year draws closer, think about how things will change in a future, post-COVID world.
We predict four major shifts in wealth management as a direct result of the pandemic.
- Markets will consolidate, driving the survival – even strengthening – of already-strong advisory firms.
- Clients will continue to expect the high-tech, high-touch approach from their wealth management teams that they’ve gotten used to in 2020.
- As we fight back the pandemic in 2021 and begin to look forward, wealth management teams should expect their clients to review their portfolios. In doing so, they’re likely to reassess their risk tolerances, having been put to the test in 2020.
- As investors take stock of this once-in-a-generation event, we’ll see sustainable and responsible investing come into view. Investors, particularly Gen Xers, will begin to consider new ways to grow their money – ways that represent a new take on the world around us.
Wealth management teams need to stay ahead of these trends: Keep those practices that have worked and evolve to meet what will be a very different market post-pandemic. This is crucial to maintaining clients’ trust, by showing that their investments are in the hands of a team that can see where the puck is heading next.
A time of strength and resilience
When the COVID-19 pandemic subsides, the advisory industry will look back on a time of uncertainty and tumult. We will also look back on challenges overcome, because of a dedication to client needs, the ability to adapt, and the focus on core values of trust and steady stewardship throughout the storm. And, with the right approach for the future, we’ll be able to view the events of 2020 as a catalyst for an industry strengthened by our response to these unprecedented events.
Jennifer A. Pline, CFA is executive vice president, head of wealth management at Cambridge Trust.
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