Financial advice, more so than other wealth management professions, relies deeply on a well-functioning and collaborative relationship between professional and client.
Because of this, advisers are often privy to more personal aspects of their clients’ lives, such as lifestyle ambitions, retirement goals and more. Trust becomes core to an effective adviser-client relationship, and that trust comes with emotional intelligence (EI).
“Clients want someone they can trust, someone they feel cares and has their best interests at heart. That’s the foundation of a lasting relationship,” Shelly Lobartolo, client service officer at Complete Wealth, said on the latest episode of the ifa Show podcast.
“Most of the time, clients’ problems have emotions attached to them. It’s about bridging the gap between being a technical decision-maker and being someone they trust. You can have the best strategy in the world, but if the client doesn’t feel safe implementing it, it won’t happen.”
Adjunct professor at Central Queensland University and adviser at Complete Wealth Dr Ben Neilson agreed.
“If I trust you — if I think you’re a good human being — I’m four times more likely to go with you than if you tell me something just makes economic sense,” he said.
“What we’ve found is that when people feel emotionally connected to their adviser, the quality of their decisions improves and they’re far more likely to stay the course.”
Without strong emotional intelligence and an ability to ease clients, the purpose of advice (providing clients with the tools and confidence they need to manage their money) is defeated.
“You don’t make smart decisions when you’re anxious. If clients aren’t calm and settled, the default is doing nothing,” said Neilson.
“We can get through anxiety and uncertainty by doing things like active listening, empathetic questions, and normalising the situation. That’s how you build psychological safety.”
However, Lobartolo highlighted this can be difficult for some advisers to achieve.
“It’s easy for an adviser to sit behind a desk and treat cases as tasks. But the difference comes when you treat people like people — with fears, hopes, and baggage,” she explained.
“Most advisers are quite analytical. But if they can understand what clients are going through emotionally, that’s where the next stage of trust begins. It’s not about being less technical — it’s about adding empathy to the mix.”
She added: “When clients feel seen and heard, they’re more willing to take the advice that’s in their best interests.”
