How Do You Ensure a Client's Investment Portfolio Aligns With Their Long-Term Goals?
To help you ensure that a client’s investment portfolio aligns with their long-term goals, we asked finance professionals for their best strategies. From designing financial plans around client values to tailoring portfolios to client risk tolerance, here are the top five insights shared by these experts.
- Design Financial Plans Around Client Values
- Prioritize Goals With Quantifiable Measurements
- Integrate Financial Information for Comprehensive Strategy
- Reflect Client Individuality in Financial Plans
- Tailor Portfolio to Client Risk Tolerance
Design Financial Plans Around Client Values
Financial Planning By Design was created to offer a customized, concierge-style approach to financial planning. Our firm's process starts with deeply getting to know who our clients are and what's most important to them. We see our role as our clients' 'Financial Director,' meaning we design our clients' financial plans around their values, lifestyle, and priorities. One of the first meetings that we have when clients come to us is a 'Vision and Values' meeting.
We want to know everything we can about our clients' lives so we can create a personalized and meaningful relationship with them. Once we've gotten to know all about our clients' goals, values, assets, and family, we have an investment collaboration meeting where we outline the investment plan and make sure it lines up with the clients' long-term goals and needs. We feel strongly that financial planning and asset protection principles drive the investment strategy, so we always start there and move into the investment strategies. This helps to ensure that our clients' investment portfolios will align with their long-term goals.
Prioritize Goals With Quantifiable Measurements
Long-term goals are personal. Starting with an intimate approach to working with clients, focusing on the human elements, being down-to-earth, and establishing a legitimate rapport is always the best place to start. In my experience, it is extremely rare to be operating under the exact same set of assumptions unless we get all of our cards on the table. In other words, that means truly establishing what the goals are, then assigning quantifiable measurements to determine if we are on track to achieve those goals.
Since money is finite, we typically will have to prioritize the goals by assigning a ranking of importance. Then, if for any reason we are not on track, we know which goal to prioritize and which to put on the back burner. My clients know a few of my favorite sayings: hope is not a strategy, investing is not a plan, insurance does not manage all risks, and many more. The point being that getting granular is mandatory. Details matter!
Integrate Financial Information for Comprehensive Strategy
The key to making sure everything is aligned with a client's goals is to fully understand their financial situation, family history, family dynamics, and have clearly defined goals. This is best handled through a thorough financial-planning process that integrates all of their financial information to have a comprehensive strategy to address short-term needs and risks, so that the long-term goals are set up correctly.
Clients receive a lot of satisfaction and peace of mind from creating a strategy that integrates short-term needs, concerns, and risks, so that they can be patient with the long-term goals. The most effective method to accomplish this is to set up a buckets-of-money approach with three buckets: one for short-term needs, one for medium-term needs, and lastly, one for long-term objectives. This allows them to step back and not have to worry about the long term because their final bucket always has time to recover from volatility while we focus on planning for the short term.
Reflect Client Individuality in Financial Plans
Money is an incredibly personal subject. As a financial advisor, we need to always remember that a person is behind these numbers, and each person has their own unique set of ideas, beliefs, fears, preferences, and habits. Working with a financial advisor is a partnership, and we need to make sure that our client's plans and investments reflect their individuality.
This process starts with an in-depth review of the client's current life and future goals. In our first meeting, we barely talk numbers because I want to get to know the human side first. Then, I build a detailed financial plan with their account statements and expenses. This plan is our roadmap for the future and can easily tell us how we need to save and invest to meet our future goals. We don't expect life to move in a straight line, so we frequently meet with our clients to update their financial plan, which, in turn, drives our investment recommendations.
Tailor Portfolio to Client Risk Tolerance
Aligning a client’s investment portfolio with their long-term goals starts with a conversation that goes beyond finances. I want to understand not just where they want to be in 10, 20, or 30 years, but also what motivates them, what keeps them up at night, and what success looks like in their eyes. It’s important for me to get a holistic view of their life because investment decisions aren’t made in a vacuum—they’re deeply connected to personal values and life goals.
From there, I take a tailored approach. We design a portfolio that’s in sync with their risk tolerance and time horizon. If someone is focused on wealth accumulation and is comfortable with volatility, we might prioritize growth-oriented assets. For others who are more risk-averse or approaching retirement, we lean towards income-generating investments and capital preservation. The key is to strike a balance that feels right for the client—one that allows them to sleep easy at night while still making meaningful progress towards their goals.
And this isn’t a set-it-and-forget-it scenario. We regularly review the portfolio to ensure it remains aligned with their evolving goals and market conditions. Life changes—whether it’s a new job, a new addition to the family, or even a shift in personal priorities—can all impact what’s best for their portfolio. By keeping the lines of communication open and being proactive, I help ensure that their investments stay on course, no matter what life throws their way.
