I also gave her the opportunity to ask questions, reinforcing the point that she can ask anything she likes and that ther there are no silly questions. I wanted to create a safe space for her.
I also had to explain the correlation between risk and reward, covering the basics, such as how it’s essential to hold some cash as a contingency and for short term expenditures.
We also had to explain that one should be careful not to hold too much cash, due to inflationary pressures and the opportunities available through medium-long term investment.
We had to work slowly and carefully through the risk profiling process (to establish her ATR) and I had to explain how investment portfolios work, the different asset classes, and how we select the appropriate arrangements for different clients and assess suitability as a result of regular reviews over time.
It really was a case of starting from scratch on the back of a very challenging period for her, hence the need to be sensitive towards this and manage things appropriately.
How did vulnerability play into your process?
Because everything was so new to the client, we often needed to revert back to certain points to re-confirm understanding/cover queries that may have been thought of.
Of course, I was more than happy to do this and only wanted the client to proceed when she was fully comfortable to do so.
Assessing her vulnerability status and ensuring she was only making decisions in her best interest after due consideration and with a clear mind was a further consideration and challenge.
Part of the journey involved talking about how we are regulated, the protections available to her and dispelling certain misunderstandings-misconceptions regarding the industry. As a result of this process, I am certain the client will have gone from ‘sceptic’ to ‘advocate’.
Finally, the client had so many different accounts and arrangements, it was a large task to gather an understanding of what she had.
On top of that, we had to come up with a well-thought-out plan to reposition and consolidate these in line with her goals of simplicity, tax efficiency, and having the maximum available protections under schemes such as the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
We also had to find a balance of asset allocation that aligned with her risk profile/comfort levels.
Other challenges
The fact that most of her records were kept in paper form, and we had limited access to things like online accounts and online banking, together with the the lack of use of technology made all of this a further challenge.
Since we started working together, the client has purchased herself a new laptop, which I have helped with in terms of answering some technical queries.
