Ask an Adviser – The Importance of Trust

When we caught up with Canberra-based adviser Jeremy Gillman-Wells last year to chat about his amazing cycling efforts all in the name of charity he touched on the fact that many of his clients had generously supported his fundraising efforts. This was a wonderful reflection of the great dynamic Jeremy is able to foster with his clients. It also makes him the ideal person to chat to about the importance of trust and the key attributes a financial adviser should have.

Q. Thanks Jeremy for weighing in on the topic of trust. Please share with us, just how important is it?

A: Trust is the number one thing. When we’re recruiting, training a junior adviser or mentoring someone, I always emphasize three key attributes that I believe matter most.

Firstly, you must have technical competence. This means knowing your craft and mastering it as best you can in the industry because without those skills you can’t help anyone. It seems obvious but financial advice is the intersection of countless chapters of legislation and is highly complex; it’s the interaction between what’s legally possible and what’s practically possible – and so an adviser must deeply know their stuff.

Second is empathy. You have to be able to put yourself in your clients’ shoes and walk their walk. You must genuinely care about their situation and want to work together to help them achieve their most important goals.

Thirdly, life experience matters. It’s not necessarily about age but more about relatability and having experienced many of those milestones that your clients have also experienced from buying your first car to travelling overseas or getting a mortgage, as well as having dealt with career challenges and personal setbacks be it heartbreak, loss and other ways we face adversity.

In essence, your clients know you’re the right person to deal with because you’re technically competent to provide solutions, you’re genuinely interested in talking with them about their needs and can ensure they feel heard and understood and lastly, you can relate to them because of those shared life experiences.

In my view, the combination of these three elements is what builds trust. To truly be effective as an adviser, these attributes need to then be overlayed with what I call ‘compassionate leadership.’ A client is with you because you’re the expert offering them guidance for their particular journey and these attributes become the foundation, those building blocks that enable a trusting relationship moving forward.

Q. Obviously trust can take time to build and/or be earned?

A: Absolutely and a values-based advice approach helps to expediate that critical meeting of the minds. At Invest Blue, we have the right tools to ensure our approach is client centric. All of our advisers are trained and mentored in this values-based approach and our technology (Lumiant) very much supports it too. This allows us to have a guided conversation that deeply explores where the client is coming from and what’s important to them so that they can live their best possible life.

In my opinion, when you’re always bringing it back to the client and their values, trust can be built relatively quickly. Once trust has been built, the next most important thing is to keep it! Follow up requires that you say what you mean, do what you said you were going to do and be straight with people. BS can be detected a mile off! You can read more on finding a financial adviser you can trust here.

Q. Tell me why referrals short-cut the trust process?

A: There are occasions when a potential client may be sceptical about the services offered. They may be wary as a result of negative experiences in the past. Referrals are extremely helpful because they generally come from someone they trust (friends, family, colleagues), who have already experienced the service.

So, a referred client is already someone who has a problem they need solved, and they want to go forward or else they wouldn’t have made contact in the first place. They’ve been proactive and are motivated. There’s already an element of trust there because someone they know, and love has already put their faith in us and the services we provide.

Q. Skepticism after a poor experience in the past is certainly understandable given the vast personal information advisers have access to?

A: Of course. When it comes to our clients, financial advisers sit where no other professional will sit in their lives. We know virtually everything about them. An adviser doing their job well, compassionately leading their clients and guiding them to the outcomes they most desire will know more about a given client than any other professional that individual deals with. As financial advisers, we’re across everything from their family lives to medical information and taxes as well as their joys, fears and biggest aspirations.

It’s a very privileged and unique position to be in. It’s also why the appropriate amount of care needs to be taken. To maintain this position, we need to be constantly reinforcing by our actions why we’re in that trusted position.

Q: Invest Blue is dedicated to helping people live their best possible life. What does that look like for your clients?

A: Again, it’s back to our values-based approach. It’s about knowing and truly understanding what my clients want out of life. It’s not about strategies (like tax incentives or buying an investment property) but what sits behind all that. That’s what we delve into and it’s what’s so satisfying professionally to solve. It’s seeing the lightbulb moments happen about what’s possible for their lives and then seeing that actually come to fruition.

What makes Invest Blue stand out as a firm is our client’s first ethos. We’re completely client centric in the way we’re orientated, and all of our strategies are developed around what matters most to our clients. Why choose Invest Blue? Find out here.

Thanks so much Jeremy for your time and your perspective.

Learn more about Jeremy below:

Jeremy Gillman-Wells

Financial Adviser, Team Manager

Jeremy is a multi-award-winning Certified Financial Planner with over 20 years of experience delivering values-based financial advice. A recognised leader in retirement planning and aged care strategy, Jeremy is known for his client-first approach, technical excellence, and commitment to transparency. He regularly speaks at investment forums, runs financial education programs in Canberra schools, and has deep expertise in defined benefit superannuation schemes. His dedication to quality advice has earned him multiple national awards, and he actively supports community initiatives through pro-bono work and fundraising efforts.

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What you need to know: This information is provided by Invest Blue Pty Ltd (ABN 91 100 874 744). The information contained in this article is of general nature only and does not take into account the objectives, financial situation or needs of any particular person. Therefore, before making any decision, you should consider the appropriateness of the advice with regards to those matters and seek personal financial, tax and/or legal advice prior to acting on this information. Read our Financial Services Guide for information about our services, including the fees and other benefits that AMP companies and their representatives may receive in relation to products and services provided to you.