You can tell the difference between an advisor who is casually engaged with their clients, and someone who is deeply committed to their client’s holistic financial wellness.

Most of our clients are going through a lot of challenges in their lives. No matter their age or life stage––whether they’re raising children, taking care of aging parents, or tending to their own aging bodies––they will almost always have something besides money taking up most of their energy.

As our clients pass through many various challenging life circumstances, their partnership with a deeply committed financial advisor is a truly unique gift in their life. The advisor can carry the weight and responsibility of helping them put their financial matters in an orderly and restful state, allowing their clients to be focused, present, and more attentive to the other urgent activities in their lives.

It takes a particular type of advisor to truly care for overall financial wellness and not skip essential areas of comprehensive planning. A true advisor won’t just fulfill requests, facilitate trades, or do what they’re told at every turn. A true advisor will genuinely organize, analyze, mend, and monitor all of the elements that need attention. A true advisor will care enough to thoughtfully and gracefully push back when they hear something from their client that feels dissonant or damaging to their client’s overall personal and financial development. A true advisor will find deep fulfillment in the responsibility that is their’s––to lead their clients to a place of financial wellness where they could not arrive on their own.

A friend of mine taught me a principle that has been integral in my life, and I’d like to share the same advice: lean into the discomfort. Be willing to work through difficult issues with people and truly lift them to a place beyond where they could go without your assistance. Engage and struggle through challenging conversations. Be there for your clients at every turn, helping shoulder the burdens of financial stress and decision-making that so often weigh people down.