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Episode 1.04 Lacy Garcia on the next generation of clients
101 Plays1 year ago
Lacy Garcia is the founder and CEO of Willow, the award-winning WealthTech platform that helps financial professionals and firms better serve tomorrow’s investors. With a career at the intersection of financial services, women’s empowerment, and education, Lacy understands the challenges of meeting the needs of a more diverse generation of clients.
Lacy discusses her journey to financial services; the changing demographics of investors; and how financial professionals can prepare for the next generation of clients.
Follow Lacy Garcia on Linkedin
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Transcript
Evolving Financial Services for Diverse Demographics
00:00:02
Speaker
The US is becoming more diverse, ethnically, socially, and financially. Our guest today is going to talk with us about how these changes in demographics require a new approach to how you provide financial services. Welcome to Rebuilding Retirement, Navigating a New Reality with Your Clients, a podcast series from Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America.
00:00:21
Speaker
I'm Travis Walker. I talk to thought leaders and innovators for a closer look at how retirements and the financial industry are evolving, new approaches to risk management, and how you can help your clients prepare for the future they want.
00:00:34
Speaker
Today, we're talking about the next generation of clients, who they are and how we can help them.
Millennials' Need for Empathetic Financial Advisors
00:00:39
Speaker
An Allianz study found that millennials, more than previous generations, say it's important for their advisor to be empathetic towards their financial struggles and meet them where they're at.
Future Investors and Changing Demographics
00:00:48
Speaker
Joining us for this conversation, we have Lacey Garcia, the founder and CEO of Willow. Willow is a wealth tech platform that helps financial professionals and firms better serve tomorrow's investors.
00:00:58
Speaker
We're going to talk to Lacey about her journey to financial services, the changing demographics of investors, and how financial professionals can prepare for the next generation of clients. Lacey, thanks for joining us. We talk about people's lived experiences shaping their money mindsets, but I want to pause there really quickly, and if you can, just define money mindsets. I don't want to assume that everyone has the same definition of that.
00:01:24
Speaker
Well, it's an excellent question, Travis. You know, there are multiple ways to define money mindsets. And I think probably the most commonly kind of understood or accepted out there, and I was double checking this on Investopedia earlier, is that there are five really commonly thought of or known money mindsets, one being
00:01:48
Speaker
an investor, a saver, a big spender, a debtor, and a shopper. And there are also other ones you've probably heard of, protector or kind of entrepreneur. So there's lots of different understandings of what a money mindset it is. I think one of the things, though, that's really key is that very few people are just one type of money, mindset or money.
00:02:13
Speaker
personality just as individuals. We tend to be in accumulation of the intersectionality between all of our different personality types or all the things that make us up. And that is the same that goes into our money mindset and why money can be so emotional and complicated.
00:02:30
Speaker
Absolutely. And I mean, they toss out terms like, you know, behavioral finance, and I don't want to say toss them out as though that's not legitimate, but you know, that absolutely is a thing. And so when thinking about how people's lived experiences shapes that mindset, if you don't mind my asking, how would you describe your money mindset?
Cultural Influences on Financial Mindsets
00:02:49
Speaker
Yes, so I think above all else, money to me is seen as a means to provide for my family and my kind of life and to be able to support and care for and really to empower the people and the causes that I care about and that I want to
00:03:13
Speaker
help to, you know, kind of enrich and to help them to grow and to help them to succeed. You know, I was very kind of fortunate growing up. I am the daughter of a Cuban refugee, so that certainly played a pivotal role in shaping my money mindset where I was, you know, I was very fortunate. I was provided with a lot of opportunity, but there was also a keen awareness that things could change any moment.
00:03:42
Speaker
And all of a sudden, we could be without. So we had to be really, really smart about money. We had to be very thoughtful in terms of saving.
00:03:52
Speaker
in terms of making sure that we weren't wasting money. And so that I was lucky to have been kind of instilled, I think, with a balance early on in understanding really being given opportunity, but also really understanding the value of a dollar and how important.
00:04:12
Speaker
it is to be able to not only earn those dollars, but to protect them and to make sure that they'll be there to take care of you and your loved ones in the future. No, absolutely. So I'd say then how did that shape your career? Right. So if that's how you view money, that's what it's important. It's how it shows up in your life. How does that dictate kind of your career path, your career choices?
From Education to Financial Empowerment
00:04:38
Speaker
That's such a great question.
00:04:39
Speaker
You know, early on in my career, I first went into education, and that was because my real passion was to help people and to create opportunities and sort of increase access. And at that moment, I had
00:04:54
Speaker
Then as a student, I was a really great student, but I wasn't I felt like I wasn't good at math. So I didn't even see you to. Exactly. Like I didn't even see financial services as an option. Right. So I went into education because I knew firsthand the value that an education can provide and how it can really transform lives through my father's journey and from through firsthand experience. I and I will say I did not I did not
00:05:24
Speaker
pivot into financial services until later in my career where I actually realized how important a role money plays in that empowerment, in that ability to help people to achieve the things that they need and to be able to really can provide and care for and to create opportunities for people.
00:05:46
Speaker
So it was that more of a, I'd say, heartfelt connection and understanding not just the numbers, but really the emotions and the importance around the value that money and that wealth can provide, which brought me into really wanting to be in this field.
00:06:04
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, you hear that a lot where people kind of stumbled into the industry or found it when they were looking for something else. It sounds like maybe you were a little bit more intentional about that and how, you know, again, your money mindset played a role in that and kind of seeking it out. Is that was would that accurately describe your foray into the, you know, financial services industry or are you like a lot of us where, you know, you found yourself in a room and said, oh, my gosh, I'm in the financial services industry. How did this happen?
00:06:34
Speaker
Oh, I'm so glad I sounded intentional about it, but it was totally not. No, I definitely, I definitely found myself in this industry.
00:06:46
Speaker
And initially wondered how I'd ended up here and whether or not I really belonged, you know, because I was I honestly questioned a lot of things about how things were done within the industry. So, yes, I know I although it my money mindset certainly has been something I've been able to harness and has has actually fueled sort of my ability to grow in this industry. It wasn't as intentional as it might sound in hindsight. Gotcha.
00:07:14
Speaker
know, that all makes sense. Yeah. And thinking about money mindset and, you know, early on you describing, you know, kind of your roots in your beginning. I remember being a young boy and my dad was paying for airline tickets and he literally had a few hundred dollar bills spread out over the table. And I walked in, I was like, wow, look at all that money. And he scooped it up and said, get out of here.
00:07:38
Speaker
And it's like and it just set the tone for me like you don't talk about money. It's personal. It's private. Like and it's it's funny because different people have different experiences with it. And I know and you know, one of your presentations, the content you created, one of the questions you do have is you urge an adviser to ask a client, how do you feel about money? And so as you move forward throughout this is this interview. I just I was thinking about that like
00:08:05
Speaker
It's such an important question and when I raise it, I don't know that a lot of people necessarily think about that or have, you know, pondered it themselves. How do I feel about money? And so, thank you for clearly defining money mindset and then, you know, kind of sharing your path to that initially.
Personal Finance Challenges Post-Divorce
00:08:24
Speaker
You and I have something in common. You, like me, had divorce and
00:08:30
Speaker
We know how difficult that can be. What made it so difficult? And then how could the financial service industry have served you a little better in that moment? You know, I very much when I when I got married initially and began my family, I I really like many, many women out there. I did not expect that I would be fully responsible for my financial life, for my family's
00:08:58
Speaker
financial life for sort of our future. I in many ways kind of thought I was abdicating a little bit of control of that so I can understand and empathize with so many women and not just women, sometimes it's the male partner who
00:09:12
Speaker
And then obviously in same-sex couples, one partner will maybe kind of step back from that. And one of the reasons was the process leading to which I became divorced and also became the sole provider. And then going through that divorce was a really rude awakening for me and a lot of catch-up.
00:09:33
Speaker
And I always say despite great education, multiple advanced degrees, and I knew better, but I didn't actually have all the answers. And I needed them, right? I needed them. And I think that this is something that a lot of women find, and not just women, but women perhaps are more vocal and open about it.
00:09:54
Speaker
Certainly, you know, going into a divorce, I mean, there is if you have not been, you know, either if you haven't been the breadwinner or, you know, or a co-breadwinner or you have not been in charge of the finances and you don't even, you know, there's lots of things you don't know, you're ashamed, you're embarrassed, I mean, many times because
00:10:15
Speaker
you know, we're so accomplished in other areas of our life in terms of career, in terms of, you know, parenting, but it's really something that I think is a huge, I know it wasn't just me, there are millions.
00:10:31
Speaker
and millions of people in the US alone who feel this way right and who struggle through a divorce from a financial not only the emotional but through a financial perspective and it's a really an area where the industry can provide far far better support and it's a huge opportunity for you know wealth growth and really wealth creation as well.
00:10:54
Speaker
No, absolutely.
Underserved Groups and Changing Demographics
00:10:55
Speaker
You mentioned something there that kind of stuck out to me. It's the word embarrassed. Allianz does a retirement study each year, and one of the questions they do ask
00:11:07
Speaker
the people taking the study is participating in it as, you know, what's keeping you from seeking financial advice. And some of it, a lot of it actually is embarrassment. And sometimes that number looks a little low and I'm thinking to myself, well, they're probably embarrassed to say that it's embarrassment. So it's kind of a vicious cycle, but especially after divorce and being a woman, thankfully, you know, you were really good with math. No.
00:11:30
Speaker
So that made it a little easier. But you decided to do something about it, and that brings me to my next question, the question I've been waiting for to bring up and talk about, and that is to give you an opportunity to tell us about your company, Willow. You call this audience the new majority. Who is that?
00:11:52
Speaker
Yes. So the new majority are really, um, we, or call it tomorrow's clients is the fact that, um, historically underserved groups of clients or investors, namely women, younger clients in the, in the now millennial and really Gen Z, uh, uh, generations and underrepresented groups such as
00:12:18
Speaker
Cubans and Hispanics and Latinos over here and really the Black and African American investors and Asian investors and obviously so many other diverse groups are fast really becoming the majority. If we look at the US Census Bureau tells us by 2044,
00:12:39
Speaker
the U.S. will reach its kind of majority minority moment, which means that collectively all of these different groups of call it non-white Americans will make up the majority of the country. And we're seeing, you know, as we look at kind of wealth accumulation, we start let me take a step back. Sorry. We start just with the great wealth transfer that obviously everybody is buzzing about kind of in the industry.
00:13:09
Speaker
The greatest recipients of the Great Wealth Transfer are first women. Next, it's, you know, the next generation. So really beyond just the Gen X, but the Millennials and the Gen Z. And obviously, and more and more groups of, you know, underrepresented or historically kind of underserved clients are represented there.
00:13:32
Speaker
And those, you know, were becoming a much more diverse population. And so that's what we mean when we talk about the new majority. This industry was really based around kind of one demographic originally. And really the country's evolved and the wealth creators and holders have evolved and it's a much more diverse group these days.
00:13:55
Speaker
Now, I've been around you enough to hear you switch up to saying that changes in the market require a new approach to investing, but you're saying changes in demographics require a new approach to financial services. Can you define that?
00:14:10
Speaker
Yes. So these clients that we are talking about here are looking for something different from their relationship with their advisor, for instance, and really their relationship in general with kind of insurance providers and financial services overall is that they really want first and foremost a trusted relationship. It's a personal connection.
00:14:40
Speaker
And that requires just a new mindset as we talk about really, you know, it's not just about kind of performance anymore. It's not about products and performance. It's really about equal measures, you know, human understanding with coupled with the right financial guidance and then the right kind of products and the right services.
00:15:05
Speaker
Yeah, no, I've been in a lot of, you know, conferences and meetings and had a lot of conversations with people. And it's funny, the older generation did tend to think like, well, what do you care about connecting with someone? Right. Is it a fortune 500 company? Is it a blue chip stock? I don't care about any emotion tied to it. And I see that that is kind of a departure. You know, when you talk about the the younger generation, they don't think like that. That kind of stuff absolutely matters to them.
00:15:35
Speaker
But we are seeing, go ahead. Oh, sorry. No, and I was just going to say, it's not just the emotion. Obviously, we know the younger generations are digital first. They're not digital only. They still want to work with real people, but they need, you know, we've grown up with tech, they've grown up with technology and they need a digital interface. They need that ability. That communication is seamless and easy.
00:15:57
Speaker
They also need kind of products and services that kind of understand that are more aligned with their values, not only financial, but really their life goals, because we see that financial and life is becoming more and more merged as it should be. Well, we can't just take care of that with a firm handshake.
00:16:17
Speaker
Fine, we'll use technology, we'll incorporate it.
Future Wealth Control by Underrepresented Groups
00:16:21
Speaker
So what are some of the changing demographics right now in the United States that, one, a financial professional needs to be aware of, and then how will changing demographics affect the way financial professionals offer guidance to clients? I think you kind of alluded to it a little bit, talking about technology, but what are those things that they should be aware of in this changing world around them?
00:16:45
Speaker
I think the three most important things that financial professionals should be aware of is first, when we look at kind of the great wealth transfer and who the wealth holders are, by 2030 alone, we know that McKinsey has predicted that women will control 30 trillion of wealth in the US alone. And we also know that I think the latest stats from Bank of America where that 94% of all women believe that they will be solely responsible for their finances at some point of their life.
00:17:14
Speaker
whether that be through widowhood, through divorce, through never marrying, and through their own wealth creation. So I think that's incredibly important to be aware of. Second is the next generation with a real focus on millennials, because by 2030, they will hold five times as much wealth as they do today. And Gen Z's income is projected to be $33 trillion or already to account for 27% of global income just by 2030 alone.
00:17:42
Speaker
And then the third most important fact that we spoke about was the fact that in terms of underrepresented clients, by 2044, they will represent the majority of people in the US. And we are seeing some of the fastest wealth growth in these sort of ethnically underrepresented communities as compared to the general population.
00:18:09
Speaker
Yeah, no, those are three important bullets to talk about and for financial advisors to consider. But in looking at it, you're going to get people saying that there's a changing focus between the generations, but that's happened many times before. People who have been in the game for a while probably went through this moment with the silent generation. You don't hear much from them probably because they're silent.
00:18:32
Speaker
which transferred to the Baby Boomers and now the focus is on Gen X and Millennials. But what makes this next generation of clients unique?
Millennials' Resilience Through Historical Events
00:18:43
Speaker
What economic or historical events have shaped them?
00:18:48
Speaker
Well, what's crazy, if you sort of look at despite being on the younger side, you know, the majority of call it millennials have lived through three to four once in a lifetime events. Right. Right. So we look at everything from from 9 11. Well, starting with the dot com boom to 9 11 to, you know, most recently covid pandemic. And these events have
00:19:15
Speaker
completely shaped their housing crisis. We can keep going, right? So they have a great recession of 2008. So where we talk about these once-in-a-lifetime catastrophic events.
00:19:34
Speaker
they're waiting for the next one to be just around the corner. Sure, sure. Yeah, it's funny. They're often described by older generations as not being very tough or wanting, but participation trophies or even
00:19:50
Speaker
You know, but here they are very resilient having experienced a lot of these events that, you know, like you said yourself are quote once in a lifetime that now we're going on three, four or five of them. And yeah, I really do think that it's kind of, you know, fortified them. So we have seen, you know, the differences in the generation. I don't know that we've seen this this great of an amount of the transfer of wealth. Maybe that plays into it a little bit, too, that makes it
00:20:21
Speaker
little unique from when it's happened in the past. So when you get pushback, like, ah, we've seen this before. I'm like, I don't know if we've seen it on this level. And I know I don't think that we've seen the shift in demographics either. So I think this makes it a little different this time around. So
00:20:37
Speaker
And on a positive note for financial advisors, really financial professionals in general, so the fact that these generations have experienced or watched their parents, their grandparents, and then themselves go through financial hardships,
00:20:54
Speaker
You know, that we're not just because of they might have been tied to larger economic factors instead of just their own kind of work or production. You know, they have become increasingly more open to working with an adviser. I know back in 2016, less than 50 percent of millennials pulled by nationwide said that they needed to use a professional. However, according to new research that
00:21:21
Speaker
nearly two-third of millennial Gen Z investors believe working with an advisor is key for financial success, and 85% indicated that they would like some form of behavioral coaching that comes back to your point about behavioral finance to help them avoid making financial mistakes, procrastinating, or making rash decisions. We do a study, we look at that, and one thing that I'm always encouraged by is the number is relatively low when you look at people that say they can just do it themselves.
00:21:50
Speaker
I don't know about that. Yeah, I would always say seek financial help. I'd say there's two reasons generally why you don't do something. It's because you can't do it or you don't want to do it and not everything can be done on your own or even answered through a series of really exciting YouTube videos. So thankfully they haven't cut out the financial professional.
00:22:14
Speaker
And, but I do think Travis, like what's different is that, you know, and the older generations were more willing to just trust the advisor to, to, to, to be, to be like, okay, you're the professional and turn it over to you. Whereas we see with these younger generations, a, they are.
00:22:31
Speaker
you know, they're finding a lot of information online, you know, they're looking at social media, they're doing their own research, they have their own opinions, they want a much more collaborative kind of give and take, debate even style relationship with their advisor. So, advisors really need to be kind of prepared and equipped for that and that's I think important
00:22:55
Speaker
like, nuance and real change in that advisor-client relationship that is coming with those younger generations. Yeah, absolutely.
Building Trust with Clients Through Values Discussion
00:23:04
Speaker
I think you said something very important there is that, you know, the default setting, if you will, for the older generation was just to trust. But I think so much has happened in this world and information gets around so quickly and you hear, you know, some of these things done in bad faith and
00:23:21
Speaker
Over time, that does build up a perception, not just of that advisor, but sometimes as an industry as a whole. So knowing that, that that's the reality. We're set against that backdrop. What questions do financial professionals need to be asking new clients? Like I know we need to convey authenticity and show that we have their best interest. But in doing that, you do have to establish trust. And I think a way of doing that is
00:23:51
Speaker
asking questions and seeing what it is that they need from you. So if you're sitting in a client's chair, or I'm sorry, an advisor seat, what questions do you ask to get to the heart of it?
00:24:03
Speaker
Yes, I think as you said, first of all, asking questions and then listening for two thirds of the conversation, even more so, right? But starting with understanding and asking what that client's values are. As we talked about, what's your relationship with money? How do you feel about money? What is it that you want your money to do for you?
00:24:33
Speaker
like what do you want to achieve here? It's not just a performance or dollar amount, but like what is important to you in your life that money can help to provide.
00:24:46
Speaker
So it's really- Yeah, when you say the relationship with money, I mean, that's, like I said, it's such an important question. I know that when it was posed to me, I mean, it stopped me in my tracks. Like, you know what? I never really considered it at that point. It just, you know, it was kind of a tool, a very useful one. I know what y'all need.
00:25:07
Speaker
In that vein then, what assumptions can no longer be made? I mean, what are we moving on from? I mean, again, this is rebuilding retirement after all. I mean, we can't just default to what we knew before. What assumptions are there that can no longer be made? I would say pretty much all. You know, that's one of the things is that, you know, you can no longer assume. You know, you have to seek to understand.
00:25:32
Speaker
Yeah, I obviously any unconscious bias that we that we hold when we see a woman walk in to our office and by the way these days 90% of the time she don't walk into your office, you know, she's she's showing up an email or on you know, the other side of a video call but don't make any assumptions about what role she plays as a
00:25:56
Speaker
in the family in terms of her, you know, if she's not a provider, if she's a caregiver, what she is. Similarly, you know, that goes for all different types of clients, is that really, we can't assume, we have to ask, we have to listen, we have to seek to understand. There are commonalities, clearly, there's a lot of great data out there, there's frameworks, there's roadmaps,
00:26:24
Speaker
you know, once you understand sort of that mindset of that client, what relationship they, you know, what their, their kind of financial relationship is in the family. And there are certainly best practices that you can leverage once you get a better understanding. But the first thing you need to do is seek to understand who that client is.
00:26:45
Speaker
No, absolutely. And you're literally talking about financial advice and working with people and trying to help them facilitate a dream. It would be in your best interest to really get to understand them, know them, approach them, meet them where they're at. But that doesn't just apply to clients, right?
Creating Culturally Aware Diverse Teams
00:27:02
Speaker
I mean, we've been talking a lot about clients, but
00:27:04
Speaker
What about the next generation of financial professionals? What does it mean for recruiting new financial professionals onto a team or into your office? How is that approach going to differ?
00:27:18
Speaker
Well, if we know that tomorrow's investors, clients who are really today's and leading into tomorrow look different, we want to make sure that our teams also look different, that we are creating more diverse and inclusive teams for starters.
00:27:36
Speaker
to help us to better understand to raise our cultural awareness and to better connect with these next generations of clients. I mean, it starts today. You know, we can't all create the diversity that we want immediately. You know, overnight, we know that the industry itself struggles from a kind of representation.
00:27:57
Speaker
standpoint and I'm also not saying that you have to look exactly like the person at the other side of the table. I think there are many amazing advisors, you know, who are white men who work incredibly well with women, who work incredibly well, you know, younger folks who are, you know, from different ethnic backgrounds, but they need to
00:28:21
Speaker
really create a culture amongst the team that kind of honors, celebrates diversity of opinion. And that will start to begin, A, not only to
00:28:34
Speaker
kind of attract the talent that they need. But also, you know, that is part of that authenticity that so many of these next generation of clients are seeking from that team, from that individual and from that team. Yeah, I mean, you know, it's funny. Everyone you meet knows something you don't know and I've run into so many
00:28:59
Speaker
older financial advisors who have been doing this and doing it very well for a long time. And either they haven't fully embraced the technology or they don't leverage social media. But what they are smart enough to do is then bring in someone either for an internship or flat out hire them and say, hey,
00:29:17
Speaker
You have a diversity of thought, opinion, and idea, something that I'm not necessarily doing, but I can bolster my practice if I bring you on board, because you know something that I don't. And it's worked out well. But again, like you said, it's not going to happen overnight.
00:29:35
Speaker
Some people earn an area that just geographically lends more to that in terms of giving them an opportunity to build a diverse team. I met a gentleman. He said he's from Fargo. He said he had no diversity. I said, really?
00:29:50
Speaker
So, there are no young people in Fargo. There are no military veterans in Fargo. There's no women in Fargo. I've done a study. I think there are women in Fargo. And then once he didn't so narrowly define diversity, he thought, oh, you know what? There actually is. So, looking at it from that standpoint when you've broadened the definition, because it is a broad definition, how can they start preparing that next generation within their own team?
00:30:17
Speaker
Yes, it's not only finding those people, but then retaining them and growing them is critically important. But certainly, as you mentioned, just in terms of finding them, it's like if you can't find them, maybe you're just not looking in the right places.
00:30:31
Speaker
You know, broaden your search, put something out on LinkedIn, connect with the local universities, right? You know, and internship programs that start at the high school level is a great way to bring in diverse pools of talent at a young age and kind of open up the network. And then, yeah, it's really critical that we are not just, you know, bringing these people in and, you know,
00:30:54
Speaker
and then expecting them to just grow and develop. We need to proactively support them. We need to provide them with mentorship. We need to provide them with sponsorship. We have programs at Willow that are specifically designed to help younger advisors to get the knowledge, to get the skills, to get the experience that they need and to grow their networks so that they can succeed in this industry.
00:31:22
Speaker
Yeah, no, Willow's amazing. I'm always too happy to talk about it every time I'm in front of someone and, you know, we've co-branded some things. So every time I see like, ah, you know, Willow, let me, let me tell you a little bit about it. So I know that you know. And so I'll say, what are three things a financial professional can do right now to help prepare for this next generation of clients?
Advisors' Skill Development for Evolving Needs
00:31:46
Speaker
First is knowledge. Second is skills. And third is the tools, which includes the content, the technology, the marketing. And if you break it down to a very tactical level,
00:32:00
Speaker
And there are resources out there. I know this is what we do at Willow. We equip advisors with the knowledge, with the skills, with access to those resources so that they can understand and they can connect and they can acquire and grow relationships with these clients.
00:32:23
Speaker
Yeah, no, it's a wonderful how to guide. I've had the benefit of going onto your site and kind of navigating it and looking at content. And there's just, like you said, tools. There are so many. So it's not like you're having to fill your way through the dark. If you're looking for resources, looking for tools, and it's like, like you said, even with trying to fill out the ranks in your office with diversity, it's there. You just may have to look for it.
00:32:47
Speaker
I wanted to back up and discuss something really quickly because we defined earlier money mindset and he did a masterful job of talking about all that that includes. We touched briefly on digital native. So one, if you can, I'd love for you to define digital native and then we'll dive into a little bit of how advisors can use
Seamless Financial Services for Digital Natives
00:33:11
Speaker
that. I know that they're not, you know,
00:33:13
Speaker
They're digital first, but not digital only. But if you could describe it, what is digital native?
00:33:19
Speaker
Well, first of all, growing up in the world of technology that we live in today. Those of us in the earlier generations did not have cell phones, did not have internet, did not have the ability to transact financially online. All that that's at these younger generations
00:33:44
Speaker
but it's also the fact that they grew up with it, right? So they have a high expectation around technology and that technology works and that technology provides greater efficiency and that they can get things quickly and easily. And so their level of patience for some of the more kind of antiquated practices within this industry is not there. So that's just
00:34:08
Speaker
I think an important thing to understand with the digital and native and one of the disconnects we see a lot of times is that the majority of advisors are over age 55. So they did not grow up.
00:34:24
Speaker
digitally native. And so we have to bridge this gap, right? We have to make sure that we are technologically savvy, that we are presenting a seamless integration with technology and the fact that our client service is bolstered through technology and that we're able to kind of meet the demands and the expectations of these clients.
00:34:50
Speaker
Yeah, no, I agree wholeheartedly. And thank you for that definition. That's what I was going to say. So now I know exactly who are on the same page there. Looking at it, I mean, these older advisors have a wealth of knowledge. They do have a way in which they've done things for a lot of people.
00:35:07
Speaker
of years, many years, and it's proven successful for them. But then looking at this and knowing that this is what this next generation of potential clients is going to want, what are some things that they could or should be doing to market themselves or to better integrate, again, their knowledge with these tools so that they can really demonstrate the value of their practice?
00:35:37
Speaker
Yeah, so advisors who are looking to attract and to grow relationships with these next generations of clients, they need to make sure that their value is clearly communicated online through their website, through their social media, their LinkedIn profile, you know, and not sort of in
00:35:58
Speaker
I hate to say it, but an old school way, right? They need to show who they are as a person. They need to show their why. They need to, you need to show why you care about these clients. You know, they're not going to want to work with you. You might have a great resume and experience and that's great. That's a check the box that is critically important, but they're really looking to understand like who you are and why you care about them and why you can provide them with value.
00:36:23
Speaker
So you need updated websites and as I mentioned, a LinkedIn profile and a strategy around social media. And obviously, the new rules are helping to make this easier. And certainly, advisors who are looking to connect with younger investors
00:36:43
Speaker
You know, having sort of a digital marketing strategy is critical as well. Yeah. I mean, I don't want to take this time to promote anyone's particular platform, but as you and I well know, we've gone to a lot of these industry events. There is some software out there that just does amazing things.
00:37:01
Speaker
I am heartened by the fact that a lot of times I do see some of the older advisors in those rooms trying to learn about it, at least taking some cues from what this younger generation would like to see. And at some point, they roll up their sleeves and get into it as well. But again, not wanting to name any particular platform or company, there are a lot of really amazing ones out there when you think about the technology and how that's kind of integrated into what they do.
00:37:30
Speaker
They should and will continue to do that because a younger generation certainly will. Yes, and I think that's a really important thing, Travis, is there are resources, there's platforms, there are, you know, growing companies that are out there specifically focused around helping advisors to do just this. I mean, I know it's one of the things that we do at Willow, right? So, it doesn't have to seem like
00:37:56
Speaker
this is this big mystery. It's actually something that you can do much easier than you think you can and probably way more affordably than you think you can as well. And you will see, and you will see a return on this for sure. Well, and then you're able to reach more people, right? I mean, the Willow didn't exist in the world and now it does and it's doing, you know, great things. And it's like, well, if you had access to that now you can, you know, kind of learn a new trick, learn a new language and hopefully be able to reach more people. So,
00:38:25
Speaker
Um, we've just about arrived at our destination, but one or actually a couple of questions that I like to ask people before, uh, telling them where they can, you know, find John line. Um, I'd like to do that now. And you can tell me your thoughts. Uh, and the question one is what does your ideal day look like in retirement? Love that question. Um, I'm like,
00:38:51
Speaker
Laying on a beach, sipping a cocktail though. I really think that retirement for me, you know, would be surrounded with my family and friends, ideal day, family, friends, you know, and knowing that there's, I can sleep at night, there's no stress, there's no worry, there's, you know, that everything, everybody's provided for, that, you know, that kind of like hustle that actually,
00:39:20
Speaker
that you reach the top of the mountain and you can kind of just relax, right? That would be my ideal day in retirement. Now, absolutely. I think more than anything, we all want peace. And so that's the what I'd like to kind of ask the how. What's the best thing you have done or are doing to make sure that you can achieve that vision for your retirement?
00:39:42
Speaker
Well, as I mentioned, you know, kind of most important to me is the ability to provide for my family. So critical to that is for instance, my son's education. So I set up a 529 plan. I have been kind of investing in that as well as, you know, having sort of a diversified portfolio of investments.
00:40:07
Speaker
And it's really important, everybody knows, to max out your 401k. A conversation for another day is those who are in sort of the startup or the contractor world where you don't always have a 401k, but I think that that's more than we can get into right this minute. But I think, like I said, for me, most important is to make sure that my kind of family is provided for. So that's been what I feel like I've been
00:40:36
Speaker
really focused on and doing my best to make sure that I achieve that goal. OK. So for listeners who have enjoyed today's conversation, where can they find you online? You can find us at trustwillow.com. So trustwillow.com. Thank you so much for your time today. From our conversation with Lacey, we learned how changes in demographics require a new approach to financial services.
00:41:04
Speaker
That means meeting younger and more diverse clients where they are in life. With more diverse investors seeking financial guidance, you'll want to be ready to help. I'm Travis Walker. Thanks for listening.