Risk, Fear and Greed

These are emotions, many times inexorably linked to the attainability of sought-after goals.   Wonderfully informative books have been written on behavioral approaches.   Experience teaches us that emotions move us to do things, many times that are not the best decisions.    In many instances, fear and greed can be linked relative to the decisions made in goals sought and their attainability.   I am always curious as to which of these two human emotions, relative to the element of risk, is the more powerful?   And therefore, must be dealt with more effectively.  As advisors, we are often called upon to be problem solvers and one of my own visceral fears was not having an answer when the question was asked.   Being prepared to address a myriad of emotional questions with answers, based upon thoughtful analysis and careful review, becomes a critical strength advisors seek to excel at.   Communicating that information with empathy, in an educational manner to help clients make informed decisions is truly one of the most impactful skills I have observed in the best advisors.  

I have always felt that one of an advisors’ primary responsibilities is to help liberate their clients from fear by providing proper risk management analysis and fulfilling that across the design, implementation and monitoring of the clients’ portfolios and financial plan.   This helps mitigate a prime source of anxiety in their clients’ lives, which is fear.   Fear of not having the resources in their lives, when they need it most.  In my past role, serving advisors and also my own clients, I expressed one of my key responsibilities is to tell you what you need to hear, when you need to hear it the most, which is usually at a time when you least want to hear what I have to share.

Looking back now I know it was sometimes the most difficult part of the job, but also the most fulfilling.   Especially when it was later expressed by those I helped, that those were the moments when the value of my services was treasured most.

I would love to hear from other advisors about some of their most rewarding moments in helping clients to make informed decisions as they cross the thresholds of fear and/or greed.   My hope is that it helps us all in being better advisors taking more comfort in our roles as we hear how we tackled those types of challenging moments.