Opinion: for Family Lawyers

By Simon Yates, CFP DipPFS CertsCII(MP&ER)

Who cares about your client's emotions?

We all know from our work with matrimonial clients that divorce can be an emotional time.  This can obviously affect clients' judgement and ability to make decisions about their lives and their finances.

Traditionally, professional qualifications in financial advice haven't taught financial advisers how to cope with all of this emotion.  However, as a Certified Financial Planner^TM, I have been trained and assessed by the Institute of Financial Planning in applying a wide range of skills to clients' circumstances.  One of the 11 CPD areas prescribed by the Institute is "behavioural finance".  This involves understanding the psychology of why people make certain financial decisions.  We know that many decisions are made emotionally and that logic only comes later, often when it's too late.

This interest in emotional intelligence - when combined with financial planning skills - makes a real difference to the results that we achieve with clients.  They often leave our offices with big smiles on their faces, with confidence in their financial futures and a greater feeling of control.

As I've often said to clients, "you are my client, not your money".  It might sound like a subtle difference but this different perspective can make all the difference to clients' peace of mind about their finances.