The past year has proven to be a wake up call for financial advisors across the nation.  As the economy cautiously recovers, the way of doing business in the past may no longer be accepted.  Clients are paying closer attention to their investments than ever before and advisors need to adhere to a higher standard of fiduciary care in the interest of their clients.

Like every sound financial plan, advisors must also recognize the importance of conducting regular assessments of how well they are doing in servicing their clients.  Some advisors may tell you they have a pretty good idea but until they receive feedback first hand from their clients, nothing can be for sure.  This is why advisors are seeking out hassle-free ways of obtaining candid feedback from their clients in a timely fashion. 

DALBAR’S Financial Advisor Rating Program is one of the most unique ways available to advisors to obtain timely feedback from their clients.  An automated online survey is sent to clients at regular intervals, feedback is gathered, compiled, compared, and delivered to the advisor in an easy to understand format.  Areas measured include:  trust, satisfaction, performance in achieving expected results, and quality of advice.  Imagine what message it would send to a client if every six months, their advisor sends a quick questionnaire to obtain feedback to improve service.  Most clients cannot recall the last time their advisor asked for feedback on their ability to service them. 

Asking for feedback using different mediums can elicit varied responses.  Face-to-face feedback may not always elicit candid responses since the client may feel obliged to say something positive about the advisor sitting across from him.  Asking for feedback over the phone can be awkward enough.  In an era where online surveys have been essential in capturing people’s opinions about nearly everything, it is about time that financial advisors leverage this medium to obtain more timely feedback from their clients.  If you are or know of a financial advisor who would like to be part of this unique program, please contact Anita Lo, Vice President Strategy, 416-777-1103 ext. 223 or to sign up.