‘Clients Want Advice and a Partner’

Lamar Hudson, who runs his eponymous financial advisory firm in Woodland Hills, provides financial advice to a variety of clients – individuals, business owners, nonprofits and charities. And his service is comprehensive, meaning he does all manner of retirement planning, investment management, tax planning and even insurance planning. His firm is affiliated with a subsidiary of LPL Financial Holdings Inc., in Boston, reportedly the largest independent broker-dealer in the U.S.Question: What do clients want now that maybe they did not want a few years ago?Answer: In the past, most clients wanted investment products that would help them make more money than they could by leaving funds in bank accounts. Today I believe clients want advice and a partner that will help them achieve their long-term goals. Clients want someone that will listen and understand their unique situation. They want someone that will educate them and stay in touch. Clients want relationships, not someone that only calls when they have something to sell.I believe that clients realized that simply being sold investment products rarely helped them achieve their goals. Also, there is so much information out there, clients want someone they trust to help simplify things.What do clients most frequently need to be counseled about?My title is financial advisor/certified financial planner, but “counselor” may truly reflect what I do. My clients view me as their trusted advisor. While most of my time with clients is spent discussing their financial matters, we also talk about many other things. It can be as simple as whether they should get a dog, vacation planning, car purchasing, employment, marriage, divorce, etc. So, we discuss many things, but financial matters and family dynamics are the most common topics.What do you think your industry will look like 10 years from now? When I entered the industry over 30 years ago, it was a simple business.  Advisors/brokers contact people via the telephone and pitched a stock or product.  If you made enough calls, you had a good chance of finding someone that would buy a product. Shortly after entering the industry, it started to evolve into a financial planning business. Investment product salespeople still made up the bulk of the industry, but it was evolving. Today it has evolved into a more advice-driven industry. I believe over the next 10 years it will continue to move in that direction.  I believe the advisors that are product salespeople only will no longer be in the industry. Clients can buy investment or financial products directly from several places, like Costco Wholesale Corp. and Automobile Club of Southern California. So if that is all you offer, you are not needed. Currently, 95 percent of my client base consists of people who come to me for financial planning and advice.– Mark R. Madler