Clearly, We’re Being Tested

At times like these, your clients need you more than ever. Are you anti fragile?

I’m not the most devout guy in the world. But on the eve of Rosh Hashana (Jewish New Year) and the 20^th anniversary of 9/11, it’s clear to me our resolved is being tested by a higher authority.

The COVID Delta variant continues to spread relentlessly. We’ve had horrific wildfires on the West Coast and record-setting flooding and continued power outages in the South and Northeast courtesy of Hurricane Ida. We finally admitted defeat in the 20-year Afghanistan conflict, the eviction moratorium has been lifted, women have been stripped of reproductive rights in Texas, inflation is resurfacing and the economy can’t get out of first gear due to a chronic shortage of workers and raw materials.

Whew!

Many of your clients (and employees) may be losing faith in the world and prone to reckless emotional decisions. And then there are there’s the Biden tax plan that’s likely to put a boa constrictor squeeze on affluent and successful people like your clients starting in 2022.

Bottom line: Your clients and team members need you more than ever.

Nietzsche famously said: "That which does not kill us makes us stronger." To that end, our client @KyleWalters (L&H CPAs) wrote a great piece in Accounting Today about becoming anti-fragile. According to Walters, there are three types of financial advisors:

1. Fragile advisors: You are fragile if you avoid disorder and disruption for fear of the mess they might make of your life. You think you are keeping safe, but really you are making yourself vulnerable to the shock that will tear everything apart.

2. Robust advisors: You are robust if you can stand up to shocks without flinching and without changing who you are.

3. Anti-fragile advisors: You are anti-fragile if shocks and disruptions make you stronger and more creative, better able to adapt to each new challenge you face.

Which one would you rather be?

First, make sure you’re communicating with clients consistently and frequently. Our annual CPA/Wealth Advisor Confidence Survey™ shows that firms expecting double-digit or greater growth over the next 12 months, are twice as likely as firms expecting flat growth to contact their clients multiple times per month.

During these difficult and unsettling times, why not shine the spotlight on the positive things in life?
COVID vaccines—developed in record time--have proven undeniably effective at preventing the spread of the virus. The financial markets continue to set all time highs. Those who listened to their advisors and stayed fully invested during the dark early days of COVID are up roughly 100% since mid-March 2020. And real GDP growth in the U.S. is poised to grow at a very robust 7% annualized clip in Q3. But wait, there’s more.

As bad as the California wildfires have been, drones and other advanced technology have made tremendous strides in predictive modeling which have snuffed out numerous potential fires before they started. Re: flooding and hurricanes, the Post-Katrina levee system in New Orleans held throughout Ida and at least where I live in the Northeast, utility crews have been showing up several days BEFORE major storms hit to cut down vulnerable trees and limbs.

Conclusion

Whether you’re on the way to the beach, barbecue, ballgame or synagogue this weekend, let’s take a break from the gloom and doom headlines and celebrate our progress during a time of tremendous adversity and uncertainty. Your clients need you. Your team needs you. Your family needs you. Your community needs you.

As former heavyweight boxing champ, Mike Tyson, liked to say, “everyone has a plan till they get a punch in the mouth.” We’ve taken a few to the face to be sure. It’s up to you how quickly you get off the canvas and get back into the ring.

What’s your take? I’d like to hear from you.