We are experiencing an unprecedented time of market volatility and rapid change, with some of the country’s oldest and most respected firms struggling to survive, going bankrupt or being taken over by government regulators.

Often in volatile markets, investors have a tendency to become nervous and raise questions about their portfolios and the health of their investments, creating additional needs for their financial advisor to address. Add this on top of the already busy days for financial professionals and you have a situation that is putting stress, strain and fatigue on staff and infrastructure, creating a very difficult environment for financial advisors to effectively grow and manage their businesses.

In our practice of over 300 clients, however, we have received less than a dozen calls from clients with concerns about their investments. Why so low? We believe that this is due in large part to the use of Investment Policy Statements (IPS) for our clients.

The IPS process educates clients to the ups and downs of the markets, their risk tolerance levels and what to expect over time. Additionally, by having a written IPS in place, they know that they have a disciplined and diversified approach to their asset allocation and that their financial advisor has a plan in place to help them navigate these turbulent times. This confidence level translates into fewer phone calls; less stressed clients and frees us up to continue to enhance our practice, meet with new prospects, network and attend industry events.

As financial advisors, we focus on putting IPS’s in place for all of our clients and we are clearly seeing the benefits in these volatile markets. With over 10,000 IPS’s completed through IPS AdvisorPro in just the last two years, we are seeing a dramatic difference for IPS AdvisorPro users across the country. These financial advisors are also reporting to us a similar decrease in phone calls from nervous clients and are increasing their use of IPS’s in their practice.

We can help! We know that in times like these, your experience and expertise show the true value of what you bring to helping your clients manage their financial affairs. We invite you, whether you are an existing user or someone who is new to IPS’s, to learn more about IPS AdvisorPro and how it can help you and your clients in this amazing period we are seeing in the markets today.

Tags: Investment Policy Statements, volatility

Posted on Tuesday, December 16th, 2008 at 8:46 pm under Investment Policy Statements
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Norman M. Boone, MBA, CFP® is the Founder and President of Mosaic Financial Partners, Inc. Along with Linda Boone, Norm is also the co-author of “Creating an Investment Policy Statement: Guidelines and Templates” published by FPA Press and the co-creator of the online software system IPS AdvisorPro® helping financial advisors efficiently create fully customized Investment Policy Statements Norm has been regularly recognized as one of the nation’s best financial planners. He has been cited as one of "America's Best Financial Advisors" by Worth magazine every year since the list’s inception in 1994, and as one of the "Best Financial Advisors for Doctors" by Medical Economics magazine four times. Mutual Funds magazine named him one of the “100 Best Financial Planners.” Financial Planning magazine named Norm one of 2007’s eight “Movers and Shakers” of the industry. Barron’s named Norm one of the Nation’s Top Financial Advisors in 2007.