Staying Relevant in Wealth Reporting In today’s world of social media bombardment of information, how do wealth advisors stay relevant and grab their client’s attention through reporting? How to stay relevant: To stay relevant, we must understand how information today is delivered and processed compared to 20, 10, even five years ago. Over the past two decades, information has been widely abundant; however, we had to go out and seek it. The good news, the Internet greatly improved the process of obtaining information, so we did not have to wait for newspapers, thumb through an encyclopedia, or take a trip to the library. When we found what we were looking for, we then had to read, decipher, and understand what was important to us. Traditionally, wealth managers use this same process when delivering reports to clients. We gather as much information as possible from financial institutions, fund managers, bank statements, economic experts, etc. and then compile all this information into a report book the size of an investment prospectus; and just as interesting. Then we may “boil it down” into a “standard” consolidated reporting package that highlights the investment returns, cash flows, and asset allocation. However once all the information is presented to the client, they are responsible for sifting through the information to decipher what is really important to them. With social media and web browsers a dramatic shift is occurring; information is now spoon fed to us and it’s provided to us based upon our interests. When we search the web, companies gather information on our interests and then fire back information that is directly relevant to us. This information is sent through all areas of social media, web browsing, advertisements, and forums. After enough time, information is provided to us based upon our entire lifestyle. If I enjoy mountain biking, mountain biking information pops up, if I enjoy vintage cars, information on vintage cars is showing up everywhere in my searches and social media. We no longer have to go out and seek information. Based upon our lifestyle, information is now being put in front of us, deliberately, sometimes subliminally. Now that we understand how information is delivered and received we can provide the information in a way that is relevant. Grabbing your client’s attention: In today’s technological environment, many will debate if it’s useful to provide “on-demand” information and reporting provided in a flexible on-line medium. One thought is, “If they have access to everything from anywhere, they will have everything they need.” It is true, there are new technologies that allow our clients to slice and dice their financial information any way they want, any time they want, right in the palm of their hand. However, can this much accessibility and data be distracting? Will it hold your client’s attention? We must provide them with great content. We haven’t stopped watching feature films because we can access millions of hours of video content through YouTube. In fact, more and more we are turning to non- traditional delivery channels for our “traditional” entertainment content; Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime have challenged established television networks, not because of the flexibility or customizability of our entertainment choices, but simply because they have created great new content like House of Cards and Orange Is the New Black, AND they allow us to consume this content when and how we choose; over time or all at once; through our television, our computer or even our phone.