The 4 Cs - Coaching…

Why our financial advice goes way beyond the money

Welcome to the third instalment of our mini series of articles that takes you through the four Cs – Competence, Convenience, Coaching and Continuity – that form the foundations of everything we do for our clients here at Engage.

Today, we’re looking at coaching and we use ‘coaching’ in the broadest sense of the word. Initially, there is a level of education to share with our clients, especially for those who are perhaps still young and investing for the first time or for those entering a new phase of life and who need to better understand their options. We are, of course, keen to share our knowledge and expertise with our clients to help empower them to make informed decisions and play a truly active role in their financials, if they want to.

Your past informs your decisions

Another key element of this education is a focus on helping clients understand their emotional and behavioural biases. We have all had experiences in our lives that impact our views on how to manage money – maybe this is based on how our parents managed things or a difficult family trauma. Some experiences make us very (too?) laid back about finances, others can make us overly cautious. It is important for us to understand these so that we can make sure that they do not cloud our judgement. Previous experience may influence how you want to do things, this can be very positive. But in many cases, this may not actually be the best route for you to take to really get the most out of your very unique situation. What happened before is not guaranteed to repeat itself, in fact it rarely does.

And then there is the coaching needed to help clients stick to the plan. We do a lot of work to create a bespoke, targeted financial plan that will help each and every client achieve what they want in life now and in the future. But if these last few years have taught us anything, external factors can hit like an express train and easily derail even the most steadfast investor. When interest rates rise rapidly, for example, it can be tempting to move money out of funds and into savings….but long term, that is not always the right way to go. We’re here to talk through potential knee jerk reactions and make sure you stay on track for achieving what you want.

There is real value in making time to reflect

But coaching goes way beyond the financial side of things. A huge part of what we do and of the relationship we have with our clients centres around having those all-important conversations where you chew the fat, you bounce ideas around and give space to reflect on the things that are occupying the mind. This is not something that many of us get the opportunity to do very often, but it is important.

And because we have team members who have trained as professional coaches, we can guide these conversations in more constructive direction to really get the most out of the discussions.

Having these conversations with someone on the outside (of your family or your business), with the tools to draw out the important, thought-provoking ideas, allows you to gain new perspective and can be when some of the best ideas come to the fore. It’s about that trusted second opinion – what do you think about this idea? How would you deal with this situation? What would you do in my shoes? And more often than not, these conversations have nothing to do with an investment or a fund. They focus in on a life changing decision, a change of circumstance, a desire to do things differently and together we find a way to make it happen, taking in the financial implications and solutions as we go.