Your Role in Financial Success: How to Partner With Your Advisor

Investing is typically a good way to help build long-term wealth and achieve financial security for the future, but it can often feel like navigating a complex maze, filled with uncertainty and ever-changing variables. With so much complexity and so much at stake, it’s no wonder that many investors turn to financial advisors for guidance.

However, simply retaining an advisor’s services isn’t enough to guarantee financial success. Some clients will engage with an advisor but take a hands-off approach, delegating their decisions and choosing not to fully participate in the planning process. Other clients will engage an advisor but be so hands-on that they spend their time dictating and directing next steps, instead of listening to and integrating the advice being offered. In each case, an advisor’s impact on the client’s financial wellbeing will be limited. The resulting dynamic could be compared to an advisor and client rowing in the same boat but in opposite directions. It makes favourable results much harder to attain.

The best outcomes for clients are often achieved when investors actively collaborate with their advisors and take a partnership-centric approach to the relationship. By working together, you can align your personal goals with your advisor’s strategies and better position yourself to reap the benefits of a more tailored, impactful financial plan.

Let’s explore three ways you can partner effectively with your advisor to help maximize your financial success.

1. Set clear, aligned goals from the start

The first step in creating a successful long-term investing strategy is making sure your goals are clear and that you and your advisor are on the same page. Without a solid understanding of your financial status today and your future aspirations, your advisor won’t be able to craft the plan that’s truly tailored for you.

Think of it this way: a financial plan that fails to acknowledge your unique circumstances would be like buying a tuxedo off the rack – it may ensure you’re clothed but wouldn’t fit you as well as it could. To fit you best, a tailor would need your measurements. Similarly, holding back important pieces of who you are and what you’d like your life to look like in the future prevents your advisor from tailoring your financial plan to suit you best. Simply instructing your advisor to “take care of everything” could result in missed opportunities or a plan that doesn’t fully align with your long-term needs. On the other hand, assuming that you already know best could prevent you from seeing the bigger picture and benefiting from professional, objective advice. To prevent either form of miscommunication, it’s important to identify your goals and then communicate them to your advisor.

Start by clearly outlining what you want to achieve in the short, medium and long term – whether it’s funding a child’s education, buying a home, saving for retirement or something else entirely. The more honest and detailed you are about your financial picture, the better your advisor can tailor their strategies to your unique needs.

Remember that your financial goals and circumstances may change over time, so it’s important to regularly revisit them with your advisor. Life events like career changes, a growing family and estate planning may alter your financial priorities. By consistently communicating with your advisor while your life evolves, you can help your advisor ensure that your financial plan evolves with it.

2. Take an active role in understanding your investment strategy

A partnership is more than just delegating the work; it’s also about mutual understanding and trust. While an advisor can provide the expertise and insight needed to help navigate the markets, investors should take an active interest in understanding the strategies being implemented on their behalf. This is where you, the investor, can truly play an active role in your own finances.

Strengthen your financial literacy by making a genuine effort to understand the underlying rationale behind your advisor’s investment recommendations. Whether it’s asset allocation, diversification or tax-efficient strategies, asking your advisor for clarity and context as needed will give you more confidence in your plan and ensure that it continues to align with your personal goals and preferences. When your advisor offers financial literacy education, take advantage of the opportunity to broaden your knowledge.

This spirit of collaboration also extends to communicating the risk level that best aligns your goals and, most importantly, your comfort level. Being honest about how much risk you’re comfortable taking on – and understanding how that risk fits within your overall strategy and time horizon – can help both you and your advisor create and follow a plan that’s effective and feels right for you.

3. Communicate openly about your concerns and preferences

Successful collaboration with your advisor extends beyond setting goals and following through on strategies. It also requires fostering an open and ongoing dialogue to help promote alignment. You should feel comfortable sharing your concerns, preferences, and even your uncertainties. The better your advisor understands your mindset, the better they can tailor their approach to meet your needs. It’s not unusual for your logic to sometimes be at odds with your emotions and in these moments it’s incredibly helpful to have an experienced financial coach in your corner who can assess your circumstances rationally and offer suitable, unbiased advice.

If you find yourself concerned about news headlines and the level of risk you might be taking on, or if a particular market trend is worrying you, bring these concerns to your advisor before making financial decisions. When you create a new lifestyle goal for your retirement, such as taking one big trip a year with your family, allow your advisor to plan accordingly and help make it happen. If there are specific values that influence your investment decisions, such as a focus on sustainable investing, let your advisor know your preferences. By communicating openly, you can ensure that your advisor is aware of your key priorities and, together, you can adjust your financial plan so it aligns with your comfort zone and overall objectives.

Keeping a consistent dialogue about what’s working, what’s not and what your priorities are can allow you and your advisor to row together in the same direction, helping to ensure that you’ll stay on course.

Position yourself to succeed

Financial success is typically not a result of passivity – it’s more a byproduct of collaboration. Investors who work alongside their advisors, set and refine their goals consistently, take an active role in their financial picture and communicate openly with their advisor are far more likely to realize the financial success they envision. By recognizing that the advisor’s role isn’t just to execute on decisions but also to guide and educate, you can create a powerful partnership designed to result in better outcomes over the long term.

Your financial journey is uniquely yours and when you take ownership of that journey by partnering effectively with your advisor, you can unlock your full potential as an investor and help make your financial goals a reality.