Right before the pandemic, opinions about how financial professionals will soon become extinct was easily thrown around. Largely due to the emergence of robo-advice, the low costs of passive index investing, or both.

Now with the anxiety and disruption brought about by the ongoing pandemic, many have realised how there is no substitute for professional and personalised financial guidance. The connection between advisers and clients was already becoming more collaborative and more personal before the pandemic, and since Covid-19, these trends have only intensified.

Additionally, it has been shown that technology-enabled resources such as robo-advice, self-service administrative tools and on-demand financial reporting are more effective when paired with a seasoned financial professional.

For the relationship between financial professionals and their clients to thrive in this evolving environment, wealth management firms must encourage these professionals to continuously invest in the tools, platforms and expertise that can advance the following broader goals:

1. Financial advice are made more accessible

While various fees and ticket charges have come down across the industry, access to the custom-tailored tools investors need to most effectively pursue their goals has not always followed suit.

There is no shortage of innovation in the financial advice profession when it comes to offering new account types. In finding new ways to break down barriers, such as high investment minimums, which make some accounts available to only the most well-off client segments. By doing so, we can continue to democratize financial advice and provide financial professionals with an even more vast array of customised solutions to meet the needs of fellow clients.

1. Proactively minimising potential conflicts of interest.

Firms across the financial advice profession are proactively seeking out opportunities to show investors that they take their best interests seriously by offering incentives even when they are not technically required to.

Offering incentives can only bring advisers’ and clients’ interests into closer alignment and further strengthen these relationships in the years ahead.

1. Increased cybersecurity defences

As the number of financial professionals working remotely continues to grow and networks become distributed across more devices, cyber threats will only continue to expand, as well.

Firms that support financial professionals are taking every opportunity to help protect sensitive client data. Tools such as secure, cloud-based data backup systems, cutting-edge security auditing and monitoring platforms, and enhanced email with cutting-edge authentication features — all backed up by comprehensive cybersecurity insurance for those instances when breaches do occur — can help remove anxiety and deepen critical bonds of trust.

In light of the pandemic, multiple ongoing trends have accelerated and converged to drive continued transformations in the relationship between financial professionals and clients. But these changes suggest potentially greater relevance than ever before — not less — for financial professionals and the crucial role they can play in the lives of their clients.

By positioning themselves to benefit from and drive the trends above, wealth management firms and their financial professionals can take their collaborative relationships of trust with clients to a whole new level.