My Four-Initiative Plan for Client Service in 2024

As we traverse into 2024, it’s that time of the year again where our fridges get filled with salad, gyms see a spike in memberships, and our savings accounts (we promise this time) will hold more than just dust. Yes, you guessed it right, it’s resolution time. I look forward to hearing about your resolutions for 2024, and to sharing my team’s resolutions and initiatives for the year, as well.

I always find it humorous that as we switch to a new calendar year, expecting a reset button on everything, the world we live in subtly whispers, “Not so fast!”? Yes, we might step into 2024 with renewed energy and a list of resolutions, but alas, the world doesn’t share our enthusiasm for a fresh start. With the New Year, we inherit the following (and more!):

• Ongoing trade tensions between major economies continue to set a tense global atmosphere.
• Climate change remains a stern challenge, with episodes of extreme weather becoming more frequent.
• The cybersecurity landscape continues to be a battleground, with increased sophistication and frequency of attacks.
• Political unrest and conflicts persist in various regions globally, impacting stability and peace.
• The world economy, while recovering from the pandemic, continues to grapple with uncertainties.
• A large national deficit that continues to grow.
• An election year that promises, at the very least, to be “interesting.”

Despite all of these inherited challenges in 2024, it’s essential to remember that we can still thrive in the face of uncertainty and unpredictable events. We are more resilient than we think, and with the right perspective and strategies, we can turn these challenges into opportunities.

Nassim Nicholas Taleb, in his book “Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder”, discusses how certain systems actually benefit from shocks, volatility, and uncertainty. He presents the concept of “antifragility”, which goes beyond resilience, allowing not just survival in uncertainty, but growth and improvement.

This landscape brings us to our focus (and subsequently our initiatives for 2024): Helping you get and stay on the path to becoming, as Morgan Housel states in his book “Same As Ever”‘, financially unbreakable. Or, in the words of Taleb, “anti-fragile”. In the face of all the challenges in the world, how do we help you not only survive the chaos but actually get better through it? Our resolution for 2024 is to work through that question with you on an individual basis.

To move us toward this goal of helping you build your financial resiliency, you are going to see several additions and improvements to the services we provide to you!

Initiative One: Empowering You Through Increased Focus on Financial Planning

For those of our you who have not had a chance to meet our Certified Financial Planner, Kristen Mackenzie, we want to introduce you to her! Kristen has been a member of our Prosperion Team for three years now and has been a Certified Financial Planner since 2000. She brings over two decades of planning experience to your financial team. In 2024, Kristen will be reaching out to you in advance of our meetings to make sure that we have all of the information in your financial plan up to date PRIOR to our meeting, so the time that we spend together either by phone, zoom, or in person is solely focused on helping you analyze and make decisions that build your financial anti-fragility. The more we understand the totality of your financial picture, the more confidence we will have in helping you plan for life. So, for those of you who have not engaged with us in deep financial planning heretofore, expect a lot more questions from our team in 2024.

Initiative Two: Empowering You Through Increased Focus on Investor and Financial Education

Now in my 20th year of financial services and portfolio management, I can honestly say that building wealth is far more about your investor behavior than your investment returns. Because we know this to be true, we will be increasing the frequency of our communication and education on the attitudes and actions that will help you become financially unbreakable. Be on the lookout from our team for education emails as well as invitations to events throughout the year.

Initiative Three: Empowering You Through Increased Transparency On Your Investment Strategies

Based on a lot of the questions that we received in 2023 about market performance, doomsday scenarios, and other unknown and unpredictable future events, we realized the need to better educate on how we think about markets, investing, and portfolio construction. We realize, too, that you are bombarded every day from every angle with the apocalypse de jour and with the prevalence of social media, the 24 hour news cycle, and increasing deep fake “data.” We want you to know and have confidence in how your investment strategy is constructed and how it has weathered the test of time.

An educated investor is a confident investor. We believe that increased transparency in your investment strategy can contribute significantly to your financial confidence and moving you towards anti-fragility. Our goal is for you to fully understand the thought process behind our investment decisions and how it aligns with your individual financial goals. In 2024, we will enhance our communication strategies, making our investment process more transparent, and providing you with the tools and knowledge to become a more informed wealth builder.

Initiative Four: Empowering You Through Technology

Artificial intelligence (AI) is creating quite a buzz, promising to revolutionize our world with its capabilities. It is important to clarify that, as financial advisors, we view AI as a tool to augment our services, not to replace us. We will continue to analyze and adopt new technologies to bring you a better client experience. AI can help us process vast amounts of data more rapidly and accurately, allowing us to spend more time on strategic planning and personalized interaction with you.

The Things That WON’T Change

While these initiatives underscore our dedication to enhancing your experience and empowering you as a Wealth Builder, we want to reassure you that our core commitment to providing unparalleled, personalized human service remains unwavering. We recognize that the cornerstone of our relationship with you is trust, and from that springs the concept of stewardship. We see ourselves not merely as your financial advisors but as stewards of your wealth. We are committed to acting in your best interest, protecting your assets, and guiding you through your financial journey with wisdom and integrity.

No matter how much we leverage technology or increase transparency, the human element of our service – the personal understanding, the listening, and the tailored advice – will always be at the forefront of what we offer. It’s the promise we make to you as we continue this journey together.

Thanks for trusting my team and me as we help you grow and steward your financial resources. We don’t take that trust lightly and will be hard at work again in 2024 to grow and maintain that trust.

If you know of anyone in your sphere of influence who would benefit from the services and Care Beyond Advice that we provide, a referral is the highest compliment you can pay us, and we’d be honored to serve them as we continue to serve you.

All the best to you in 2024!