After more than 40 years in the wealth management industry, including navigating Black Monday (October 19, 1987, when the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 508 points, a 22.6% single-day drop), the dot-com collapse, the 2008 financial crisis, and the COVID-19 pandemic, one lesson stands out: when markets break, clients do not call to discuss beta or duration. They call because they are scared. The fundamental question they ask—"Am I going to be okay?"—defines the advisor-client relationship.
Behavioral finance has moved from an academic concept to a practical necessity. While portfolio construction and asset allocation are critical, the real work during volatile markets is managing fear. Clients are not rational actors; they are human beings shaped by emotion, loss aversion, and the anxiety of watching their savings decline. The advisor who acknowledges that fear before offering solutions builds trust. As the author notes, "People don't care what you know until they know that you care."
Consistency in communication is the real differentiator. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the author's firm shifted its quarterly client update to a weekly program. Every Thursday at 12:30 p.m., clients could call in for a 30-minute briefing on markets and the economy, with real-time Q&A. Six years later, the program continues with sustained participation. Clients have described it as more faithful than weekly religious services, and it has become a referral tool for prospective clients.
This approach builds trust that no competitor can easily replicate. It moves the relationship from portfolio manager to trusted advisor. Clients remember whether their advisor was present during difficult times more vividly than they remember quarterly returns. As the author puts it, "Clients who stay in the game have a chance to recover; the ones who panic and sell turn a temporary downturn into a permanent loss."
In October 2022, after a period of significant market turbulence, the author's firm created a piece titled "How to Survive a Bear Market Attack." Framed as a practical field guide, it offered a three-part framework: be prepared, avoid panic, stay confident. It became the most requested content the practice ever produced. The message was clear: bear markets are neither new nor permanent, and they are chapters, not catastrophes.
Former President Dwight D. Eisenhower's words resonate: "Plans are worthless, but planning is everything." The plan will always need adaptation, but the commitment to clients cannot waver. Advisors should avoid jargon, speak plainly, and keep clients invested. For advisors looking to strengthen client communication during downturns, resources like the Franklin Templeton research on rethinking the 60/40 portfolio can provide additional perspective.
Ultimately, the most important work is helping clients stay the course when every instinct says to run. That is not portfolio management; it is the profession itself. As the ISS survey shows, advisor ETF preference has hit 60%, reflecting a shift toward more flexible, cost-effective tools that can help advisors manage client portfolios through volatility.
