October 18, 2019

Are you adding value to clients with kids?

Deepesh Mehta

Founder & Chief Consultant, Happy Investor Finserv LLP

Are you adding value to clients with kids?

While planning for the future of our clients’ children, most of us think only about building a corpus for a child’s formal education expenses and start advising on how to plan, where to invest, when to invest etc. However, ever wondered that as advisers you are repeating the same advice while planning for a child’s education which the parents have already  heard from you multiple times?

Ever thought, what is the plan, if the child does not take a formal education, and instead pursues  a career which is non-academic?

Today’s children have a totally different approach , a different view and the one key point to note here is, they learn and adopt quickly. They are hungry for opportunities,  they are extroverts and they have the capability of dreaming more and making an impact.

Can you think about and advise something different to parents , which brings a total change in their perspective?

You can advice your clients on these points which are beyond investments.

• Advice the parents that their children must have atleast one hobby:

Hobbies are indeed essential in a child’s life. The best way to cultivate a hobby is trying something new. The world is full of wonderful , exciting activities that parents can make their child explore. It increases a child’s confidence and self-esteem and eradicates boredom. It can be one or two hobbies or multiple hobbies.  Some common hobbies are collecting stamps and coins, reading, music, travel, photography, dancing etc. Some unusual hobbies can include being a stand-up comedian, bird watching, backpacking etc.

• Advice parents to make their child learn atleast one musical instrument:

Apart from a hobby, a child must be encouraged to develop a passion for music and also learn atleast one musical instrument. Being able to play music has various advantages. It can be used as a past time, stress buster, form of meditation, method to improve memory, time management skills , creative skills and even making a career out of it.

• Learning a sport :

Allowing children to participate in outdoor extracurricular activities such as sports helps them explore and develop skills which are beneficial throughout their life.Sports teach endurance, foot co-ordination , balance retention, focus, hand and eye co-ordination, control of body through defence , attention to details, team work and co-ordination. Sports foster strength and fearlessness.

For a moment, think that you are busy parents and your financial adviser has discussed these with you. Isn’t it a different perspective for you? Similarly, by advising clients (parents) about these activities which are beyond investments, advisers are seen as a value add in the eyes of clients.

The advice does not end here. You can tell the parents that if in case your child decides to pursue a career which is non-academic, all the activities that the child do such as developing a hobby, learning musical instrument, learning a sport may end up in developing a career where in the child would be having an advantage as he starts learning these at a young age and develops an expertise due to the compounding of knowledge.

And then it has to be linked with investments. Ask the parents to determine the cost of these per annum, budget it, dedicate a separate fund titled as Investment for non-educational expenses for Children. When budgeting is done , by default the funds are available for the parents to spend on these and the child benefits.

Do you have any other ideas about planning for your clients’ children? Share your ideas in the comments and enrich yourself with the ideas of others as well.

PS – Mr. Deepesh Mehta has recently written a book, Power Your Child’s Financial Future : 7 Strategies Every Parent Should Know,  based on solutions to providing a child’s financial future. Here is the amazon link to buy the same.