“Love of bustle is not industry – it is only the restlessness of a hunted mind.” Seneca said this, all the way back in 4 BC.
Hundreds of years later, we are learning that lesson all over again. The forced slowing down of our business world due to the pandemic has shown many of us that being busy isn’t necessarily being productive.
The value put on “hours put in” has way exceeded our measurement of output. And the fact that many businesses go on to prosper in tough times makes me think of that old Warren Buffett line – “you only see who is swimming naked when the tide goes out.”
Of course, there are complete industries like tourism and hospitality that have been decimated, and no amount of preparation could change the devastating financial outcomes. I know many friends who are advisers ,accountants and bookkeepers who have been manic helping their clients navigate the changes and government support packages.
It has really highlighted to me more than ever, that those with access to quality advisers get a better outcome. I personally want to say thank you to all of you who have spent huge amounts of time with your clients helping them get a better outcome. While the medical industry (rightly) gets much credit for risking their life to save others, the work of quality advisers in the financial world is also critically important – and deserves our gratitude and thanks.
Once the dust has settled post this pandemic crisis, we all understand that things will never be the same. And most of us agree that is not necessarily a bad thing. It gives people the opportunity to reset, and think about what they want from their lives. We have kept ourselves busy for so long, that this unique forced pause has created space for more life analysis.
And while all of us need to think about what we want from life, we also need advice on how to get there. That’s where the adviser becomes even more important. As we get older, most of us realise you cannot steer your life in a successful direction, without having a financial plan.
A skillset that comes naturally to those in the advice business, but to most others, is a skill that needs to be learned.
This is where the advice industry has a unique opportunity to fast track reputation repair from the Royal Commission, and increase acceptance of paying for quality advice, with a quality outcome. Here is where the value of advice will never be more obvious. It could well be the beginning of the original vision held by Mark Rantall with the FPA – to make financial advisers “trusted advisers” to the level that the medical profession is.
So keep giving your quality advice and service – and I hope when the dust settles you can work on increasing your capacity to take on new clients with the help of new technologies and a community far more accepting of online communications.
The golden age for financial advice could be closer than we ever thought.
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