Millenials, why and how?

Sophia Bera from Gen Y Financial joins me for this week’s episode of the show.  Sophia is a millennial advisor who focuses on millennial clients.

Often millennial clients aren’t ideal or even probable AUM clients.  That doesn’t mean that they aren’t willing to pay $2000-$4000 for a financial plan and keep you on a monthly retainer.  As each generation unfolds they are going through the typical set of financial planning concerns, though they haven’t had time to accrue assets.

They need your help too.

Implications for the Profession

As financial planning expands and serves more of the full spectrum of wealth we need to innovate on new and better ways to serve these clients.  They see the value and are willing to pay for your services long before they have several hundred grand in the bank.

This reminds me of E02 | John Buerger finds clients on Twitter (part 1) and John’s comment that we will be a True Profession when we are serving the financial needs of everyone, not just those who have six-plus figures in the bank.

The advantages of automation have changed the way we are able to do business.  It is core to my work as a digital marketer, but Sophia demonstrates how she uses automation to keep the ball rolling with her clients, even if they procrastinate on some of the elements of implementing their plan.  She uses her role with her client sto set expectations and create guide rails that help her clients achieve their ideal financial lives.

Sophia’s Practice management

Sophia doesn’t tell her clients what they should be doing with their money.  she feels her role is about helping them discover and best allocate their income to acheive their goals.

“No one ever regrets paying off their student loans” ~Sophia Bera, CFP®

Even if there are other ways to create a similar financial impact, the emotional impact of having that account closed there is a unique satisfaction when the client completes paying for their education.

The thought of a quarterly report sounds like a huge investment of time that her clients won’t actually want or read.  She says that her purpose is to help her clients set financial expectations.  To encourage them to “stretch” their financial goals to align their money with their values.  One great example of this is encouraging a client to opt into a 15 year, rather than 30 year mortgage.  We know that there is a huge savings with the shorter mortgage.  Sophia tells her clients that it will be rough for the first three months, then they won’t notice it in your day to day lives.  Her clients are thrilled when they see the additional equity and paid off principal when she meets with them to review their results.

She suggests that planners should slow down their process and ask lots of questions rather than jumping to recommendations.  This helps the client understand their priorities and how they conflict so they come to their own conclusions about how to create their ideal financial life.

Check out part 2 of our conversation E22 | Off Time Managment