Qualitative Essentials For Success As A Fixed Fee Financial Planner

A lot is often said about the attributes required for aspiring and existing fixed fee planners to be successful. The most common attributes that are propogated include good communication skills, technical acumen, reasonable fees and a regular exhibition of expertise. These attributes can be controlled and honed over time. But there are a number of qualitative attributes that are just as important to the success of a fixed fee financial planner. These need to come from within the planner. They are very hard to teach and groom over time. And in today's post I am going to talk about these qualitative attributes in detail.

An Innate Commitment To Being Ethical

Being ethical is about doing what is morally right without being prompted to. And it is paramount to the success of a fixed fee financial planner. But making a permanent commitment to being ethical is not everyone's cup of tea. The right upbringing during one's formative years can contribute towards this to an extent. But unless there is an innate willingness to commit to ethics, one can never truly be ethical.

The innate willingness to commit to ethics can come in different ways. For some the commitment to ethics comes naturally. Some others may have a transformative experience in life which induces them to make the commitment. But for some this innate willingness may never arise. Becoming a fixed fee financial planner without the innate commitment to being ethical may leave the planner feeling unfulfilled. This would make it hard for them to sustain in the profession.

Undying But Controlled Ambition

Ambition is an essential prerequisite for success. Ambition gives us something to strive for. And it is the constant effort to achieve what we strive for that ultimately sees us succeed. But ambition becomes a big problem if it were not to be controlled. Uncontrolled ambition knows no boundaries. And in such a case we would be willing to do anything and everything to achieve what we want. And this includes forgoing our values and ethics. Uncontrolled ambition may bring instant success. But it is certain to have disastrous consequences over the long term.

Ambition must therefore be adequately tempered. This facilitates success while ensuring that one does not transgress the limits of ethics and morality. Of course any success achieved in such a case would not be instant. But it would be a lot easier to sustain. And success that is sustained over long periods of time is much more fulfilling than success that is instant but fades away. This is very important for any fixed fee planner to understand.

Willingness To Learn And Educate

A fixed fee planner primarily plays the role of a financial coach and educator when working with clients. But a coach and educator must first train an educate themselves. Therefore a planner must constantly strive to learn about various aspects of financial planning and money management. This would in turn help them serve and educate clients better. This aligns with the essence of a saying from the Upanishads which goes as shown in the graphic below.

The statement essentially translates to 'Earn with a hundred hands, but donate with a thousand'. It emphasises the importance of sharing the money or resources we own with the society at large. A fixed fee planner's primary resource would be the knowledge and insights they possess. The saying can therefore be paraphrased for fixed fee planners as follows :

Learn a hundred lessons, and educate a thousand

Drive That Is Born From Purpose, Not Material Desire

A fixed fee financial planner's ambition to succeed must stem from the right source. It must not be driven by the desire for recognition or material well being. It must be driven by a purpose to serve the greater good. And there is a very noble purpose that any fixed fee planner in India today can strive towards.

Almost every Indian individual today lacks basic financial literacy. Also, the majority of India's population falls within the middle class and lower middle class. The smallest mistake with their money can set them back significantly. This section of society is in dire need of both financial planning and financial education. And fixed fee planners would be perfectly positioned to address this need. Addressing this need would uplift the financial awareness and well being of the Indian population as a whole.

This would be a truly rewarding purpose for any fixed fee planner to serve. Of course, fixed fee financial planning may not be as remunerative as most other jobs in the financial services industry. At least not in the short term. But there would be greater job satisfaction in knowing that a virtuous purpose is being served. And that is reward enough in itself.

To my common sense, one can consider themselves successful if they impact the lives of others positively. Fixed fee financial planning offers one the opportunity to do just that. So there is success to be enjoyed as a fixed fee planner. And material benefits would naturally follow the noble work one does as a fixed fee planner over time.

Absolute Professionalism

In an advisory relationship with a client, the fixed fee planner is the professional. It is therefore fair to say that planners must hold themselves accountable to the highest standards of professionalism. Being professional simply requires the planner to do a few simple things right. They are listed out in the graphic below.

These things may seem insignificant. But making the effort to constantly do them greatly improves the advisory experience. It is natural for the planner to expect the client to adhere to professional standards during the engagement. But the expectation would be justified only if the planner adheres to professional standards themselves. Therefore a planner who is professional would ensure the best possible advisory experience, both for the client and themselves.

The Parting Shot

Let me be the first to admit that this article may come across as being sermonist. I also admit that the tone of the article may sound idealistic. I would even go as far as to admit that I have a long way to go in order to truly adhere to the principles laid out above. There may even be instances where my actions contradict the principles that I myself have expounded here (I am human after all).

So one could question my right to expound these principles. And that would only be fair. But I make a constant effort to try and do my best adhere to these principles. And that is the best that any existing or aspiring fixed fee planner can aim to do. As long as the effort is made the planner would remain on the right path and progressively improve over time. And that would be more than a satisfactory outcome.