By Lara Austin
Type the word “stocks” into Google and you get 150,000,000 results. Type “financial plan” and you get 110,000,000 results.
Back when I started in the industry, the role of the investment adviser was to provide access to information, be it research on individual stocks, tax changes or planning strategies. But over the last 15 years, with the advent of the Internet, it has become more a role of filtering and interpreting information.
Some clients take pleasure in “following the market” and delving into individual stock stories. They also have access to so much stock and mutual fund research that just one day of posted research can provide enough reading material to fill five full days of reading!
For both the investor and advisor, it is important to develop strategies to scan through various information streams and not only “pick out” what should be attended to immediately, but to “back pocket for future reference” the material that may be necessary to know about in the near future.
Develop resource “port holes” for various topics so it is easy to reference information when you need it. Information overload can cause investors to become overly fixated on day-to-day performance, causing stress and leading to underperformance. Solution: be more selective in your information sources and tune out some of the “noise.”
Doing research on a planning or investment topic for one client means I now know who to go to or how to access that information if I encounter a similar scenario with another client.
Whether clients choose to participate fully in the details and nuances of their financial lives, or rely more deeply on their trusted adviser for advice, it behooves them to have open, regular and realistic conversations with their professional – after all, that is what they are paying for.
Lara Austin is an Investment Adviser at the Courtenay office of RBC Dominion Securities (Member–Canadian Investor Protection Fund). This article is for information purposes only. Before taking any action based on information in this article, consult with a qualified adviser.
d on information in this article, consult with a qualified adviser.