Sylvia Benito

While the computers pick stocks and access to investment opportunities become open to all, the traditional role of the wealth manager is becoming obsolete. The skills of connection, empathy, sensitivity, insight and intuition are the defining qualities of future success in the highly relational, trust-based world of wealth management.

The development and universal accessibility of AI tools is disrupting and transforming the role of the traditional wealth manager. Increasing volatility and decoupling of global economic drivers will bring major market corrections and disruptions. In this environment, the value exchange based on the typical fee structure is degrading - with AI tools accessible to all, human wealth managers are no longer needed to provide the analysis or access to opportunities. The exclusivity once the hallmark of wealth management has evaporated. Wealth managers and firms must pivot and adapt to retain current client relationships while building the funnel for the next generation of clients.

The financial industry has not faced dramatic external pressures to innovate like this before and Syvlia’s talk cracks open the traditional patterns of thought and brings a new awareness to the core of all relationships – curiosity, connection, and compassion. In an male- dominiated industry where soft-skills are shunned, it is time to consider the “feminine” skills of finance.

Key Takeaways:

• Deepen the appreciation for the uniquely human aspe cts of the trust-based, relational dynamic of true financial advising. 
• Learn new assessment tools for risk tolerance and inquiry into core values to use as a basis for decision making in volatile times.
• Cultivate curiosity and the root of nimble thinking to stay pivot ready.
• Elevate the goals of trust, understanding, and shared values that provide the nuance that only humans can provide one another.
• Consider why truth-telling in an investment advisory environment is so radically unusual and yet so important.

Inheritance often causes changes in both identity and relationships and decision-making can be compromised. This is especially true when the wealth holder faces a steep learning curve that is both emotional and technical at the same time. An advisor who can be an advocate for their client’s financial literacy and emotional well-being are the ones best positioned to help steward those assets successfully through the transition period and over time.

An unprecedented amount of assets will shift to the next generation in the decade ahead, representing over $50 trillion of new opportunities for thousands of beneficiaries. Beyond the ‘boomer wealth transfer’ we are all anticipating, the sudden wealth dynamic is in play for individuals such as widows, lottery winners, business owners. Managers and advisors who understand the emotional landscape of sudden wealth, and who established the core working relationship built on trust, are far more likely to have a client for the long-term.

Sylvia’s talk explores the emotional landscape and pitfalls common for recipients of sudden wealth and examines the components of a happy, satisfied life: i.e. all of the things money cannot buy. An advisor who steadily guides a client with both a technical education and support for the emotional, social, and relational aspects of a windfall is in an excellent position for anything the future brings.

Key Takeaways:

• Learn about the anxiety typical of “sudden wealth syndrome” and learn to read the signs of compromised decision-making.
• Build a toolkit of resources for the first 6-12 months, the most critical relationship-building window.
• Learn new assessment tools for risk tolerance and develop a set of core values to use as a basis for decision making.
• Understand how sudden wealth works on identity, and how it changes relationships and social dynamics.
• Become comfortable with inquiry that goes beyond the standard wealth-management script to build meaningful client relationships.