PFS Paraplanner Panel member Hannah Wynick looks at the connections between invisible illnesses and vulnerable clients and why it is important to have a process for identifying when we may need to dig a little deeper as part of the financial planning process.
Nearly 19 years ago, I was ill. Really ill. As in, can’t walk down the stairs without needing a sleep, or pick up a glass of water because of the pain radiating through my arms, ill.
I had been unfortunate enough to have been in a car accident in my first term at university and ended up being diagnosed with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (better known by its catchier acronym, M.E) as a result. I was 19 years old and everything I had planned for my future had just gone out the window.
In the years that followed the crash, as I went from being pretty much house-bound, to slowly entering the working world, I was acutely aware of sometimes feeling invisible when it came to acknowledging my vulnerability.
Having an ‘invisible illness’ or a health condition that lacks obvious physical symptoms, meant it was hard for others to recognise when I was genuinely struggling in comparison to someone with a more obvious condition. And it wasn’t that I kept it a secret from anyone, but the idea that I, a seemingly healthy on the outside 20-something woman, was suffering every day from fatigue, pain and cognitive dysfunction, wasn’t always blindingly obvious, especially as I was doing everything I could to push through and appear ‘normal’ to my loved ones.
So why am I telling you about this?
We talk a lot about vulnerability in Financial Services and at first, it may seem a million miles away from my invisible illness, but there is more that links the two than you might first think.
In the realms of Financial Services, clients often face difficulties that are not immediately noticeable. We split vulnerabilities into four categories; health, life events, resilience and capability but what if a client feels that their particular vulnerability or illness isn’t worth disclosing within those categories, thinking that it can’t possible have anything to do with their financial situation. Maybe they feel that having Anxiety, ADHD or Crohn’s won’t matter when discussing which portfolio is best for them to invest their hard-earned cash into, or that their M.S or Fibromyalgia shouldn’t factor into their financial plan and cashflow.
Of course, the first step to dealing with this comes from their financial planner creating a safe and empathetic space for them to disclose this information in the meeting – in fact, financial planning and wellbeing going hand in hand, with the idea of ‘doing the best for the client’ at the forefront of our industry. But how do we address this issue as paraplanners, to make sure that we are identifying these invisible illnesses and putting together the right solutions for the client and their circumstances?
It might be as simple as looking for signs in the conversation notes that they struggled to understand financial terms, or that they seemed overwhelmed or even disengaged from the conversation in general due to fatigue or brain fog. It could be that they struggle with the idea of filling out long fact finds or questionnaires due to Dyslexia or ADD. It could even be that they always refer to their partner to answer the questions, due to stress or anxiety when making decisions. Knowing how to create a complete picture of their circumstances, will help us to create a fuller financial plan that will accommodate any vulnerability – invisible or not.
And what happens once vulnerabilities have been discovered? How do we go about helping the client from a paraplanning perspective? It could be something as simple as different fonts or formatting on the suitability report*, maybe providing an overview document explaining the key points of the advice so that they understand without having to look through several documents, or writing our plans and reports in plain English rather than financial jargon. All very simple things that really, we should be doing anyway! It’s about working with the person, acknowledging that there may be some specific things that we can do to make things easier for them, rather than presuming one answer to vulnerability fits all.
Nearly 19 years on in my M.E journey and I pretty much know how to manage my symptoms, what triggers my crashes and how to approach my health with other people so that I don’t feel as invisible as that 19-year old girl once did.
But only by seeing the connections between invisible illnesses and vulnerable clients, can we realise how crucial it is to look a little deeper and tackle these challenges, so that no-one gets left behind – financially or in their personal wellbeing. Finding the invisible is sometimes the first step in offering real support, advice and making a true difference to someone’s financial planning.
* For more information on formatting reports, please check out the PFS Paraplanners Suitability Report writing guide.
Main image: manu-schwendener-DSwBHyWKiVw-unsplash
