Benjamin Franklin once said, “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” Since opening our doors in 2019, we’ve found this to be true in unexpected ways. Even though individually we have decades of experience in investing and financial planning, these past three years have presented us with new and insightful ways to help our clients meet their needs.
Here are four things we’ve learned.
There’s a Great and Unmet Need for Financial Planning
We’ve seen hundreds of mismanaged, misaligned, or simply inappropriate investment portfolios over the decades. Initially, our #1, #2, and #3 objectives for Grand Capital Advisors were to clean up these poorly designed portfolios. There’s been no shortage of opportunity for significant portfolio improvement. But interestingly, what surprises us most is our individual client’s needs for financial planning—needs which previously have gone unmet.
Ideally, investment management and financial planning should go hand-in-hand. Unfortunately, we saw a significant mismatch or no true planning. One of our favorite stories is from a client who came to us with assets at two large national brokerage firms. By our second meeting—following many questions from us—the client moved both accounts to Grand Capital. While previous advisors focused only on acquiring additional assets, we focused on their needs—specifically their plans for retirement.
Financial Planning is Project Planning
Each client has a different situation with different variables. This means our planning process can take different directions based on the client’s circumstances and where they/we are in the process.
We’ve learned that being organized is critical. In the past we used combinations of paper notes, electronic files, spreadsheets, financial planning software and our memory to keep track of progress. We’ve now become project planners. We’re more intentional about tracking to-dos and making progress toward goals. When we combine project planning with better communication, our service to clients is more effective, impactful, and easier to understand.
Client Communication needs Structure
Grand Capital has always known communication with clients is vital. However, in our early days, Grand Capital did not practice an official structure of communication. We quickly became busy with new clients, lists of to-dos, ongoing research, and day-to-day administration. Unfortunately, proactive communication with our clients fell below the high standard we aspire to. We pledge to do better.
Client Referrals are Powerful and Wonderful
Imagine our amazement - and delight - when we’re contacted by a prospective client who has already made the decision to work with us.
Client referrals are powerful.
Since many of our clients are connected, they share some amazing characteristics. Somehow, we’ve managed to attract some wonderful people. They are generous, kind, hardworking and loving individuals.
Client referrals are wonderful.
Through referrals, we’ve seen our client base grow well beyond the community where we live and work. We quickly attracted clients from different states and find we are able to serve them very effectively with the tools we have available.
When you hear any of us say we love our jobs, it’s because we work with some of the best people you will ever meet. For that, we are entirely grateful.
Thank you for your introductions! Thank you for sharing this journey with us!
Yes, we are always learning. And yes, the knowledge we acquire pays the best interest for you. We feel we owe it to all of our clients – both current and future – to always be learning and looking for ways to improve.
