Financial advisors have a unique job. To be competent, they must deeply understand some highly specialized topics centered around finance. But to be truly great, advisors must understand the big ideas that are shaping the future. They can’t just coast on being financial experts — they must grasp the nuances of various governments, policies, and global trends. Some of these trends involve fields that are themselves deeply specialized. Artificial intelligence, for example, demands a profound understanding of robotics, automation, computer science, and even philosophy. For a practice to thrive, advisors must understand AI.
Advisors Must Be Well-Rounded
Having a diverse base of knowledge is every bit as important as having a diverse portfolio. Accordingly, advisors who maintain an innate curiosity will be better positioned to help their clients. But this means taking concrete steps to truly understand a variety of topics. When the pandemic began, lots of people became amateur epidemiologists without taking the steps to fully wrap their heads around the science. It’s not enough to read an article or two; to understand a topic you need to seek the experts and dig in. This makes the advisor’s job uniquely challenging, as clients will lean on their understanding of the big forces shaping the world.
