Arjun Gupta of Client Associates looks at the role that financial advisers and other wealth managers should play in helping clients manage and make decisions around their wealth strategy.

Date: Oct 2011

Tags: Expectations, Relationship

• For advisers in India to be able to help guide clients through the decision-making process in selecting a wealth manager, they have to be open and transparent with the client
• There are a lot of soft skills in this business which advisers need to understand – often it is about the emotional connect that an adviser has with an individual which ultimately develops the relationship
• When advising clients on their portfolios, advisers often don’t look at what has happened to the client in the past

For advisers in India to be able to help guide clients through the decision-making process in selecting a wealth manager, Arjun Gupta said in an interview that they have to be open and transparent with the client.

Yet it seems that some advisers aren’t as open and transparent with their clients as they should be, he said, because when Gupta said he meets clients, he asks them to evaluate advisers on various parameters – and this seems to open up a client’s eyes.

Required skills

According to Gupta, there are certain skills that a wealth manager in India needs to get a deeper share of wallet from a client.

In particular, there are a lot of soft skills in this business which advisers need to understand.

A lot of times, for example, he said it is about the emotional connect that an adviser has with an individual which ultimately develops the relationship, and then the relationship grows around that.

However, too many wealth managers look more for where they can get their next rupee from, he explained, rather than focusing on building these bonds and strengthening those relationships they already have.

Common mistakes

When advising clients on their portfolios, Gupta said advisers often don’t look at what has happened to the client in the past. Instead, they look to sell him what is available today.

As a result, they don’t take into account the client’s feelings or sentiments towards a product, investment or asset class.

For example, if a client has been sold a bad insurance policy, the adviser needs to sit down with the client and point this out. Then they need give them the options and explain possible ways to restructure it – including all the associated risks with the various options – so that the client can then make the final decision through being properly informed.