Helping Your Clients Safely Make it Through Shark Week

Last week, a buddy of mine texted me and asked if I wanted to go fishing.

One of the general rules I live by is that unless I’m sick or have prior plans that are immovable, if you ask me to go fishing, I will say yes.

So, the two of us and a guide headed out on a boat early the next morning.

No distractions.

Peaceful water, a bit of fog, and the beauty of the South Carolina coast.

As the fog burned off, the activity of the water turned on – dolphins, rays, and all sorts of fish surrounded us. The peaceful water gave way to the life that teems just below the surface. The activity had picked up, but the peace remained.

Until it happened.

Suddenly, the calmness of the air was broken by a violent splashing noise 20 yards away.

As I quickly looked to my right, a 5-foot shark was thrashing its prey violently back and forth.

In that split-second moment, I was reminded that even if I’ve never been afraid of sharks before, they are very real predators whose existence is predicated on hunting and killing.

So what does a shark enjoying its breakfast have to do with all of us?

Not much, unless the fear of something statistically improbable is keeping you or your clients from making good decisions.

According to the Florida Museum of Natural History’s International Shark Attack File (ISAF)’s 2020 report, there were 129 confirmed, unprovoked shark attacks worldwide, with 57 of these occurring in the U.S.

Out of ~332M people in the United States, 25.4% are afraid of Sharks, based on a 2018 Chapman University Study.

Meaning 84M people are afraid of shark attacks.

Leading your business, your team, and your clients from a place of fear, is always a bad idea, but it’s even worse when it’s uninformed fear.

It’s our job to not join in with the 84M others who are frozen when they face the waves. Our job is to understand the information in front of us and navigate with clarity and confidence.

What’s Feeding Your Confidence and Clarity?

When I look at the most successful disciplined firms, they are grounded in data and make decisions based on the most salient points of their business.

Those numbers are not necessarily the market for the day.

The numbers that do matter are directly related to what matters most for their clients, for their team, and for their individual goals.

Using the standard KPIs of a successful business, you can build dashboards and reports around the data your firm tracks – Milemarker builds these for RIAs and BDs all the time. And while you should have those things in front of you regularly (or even displayed on TV dashboards, slack channels or daily emails), the information itself is just your starting point. The decisions you make based on the real data will reveal where you need to take action and keep you from staying nervous about what lies beneath a calm surface.

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Post Script: Deer kill nearly 200 people for every 1 death by Shark attack.

Take a Charter. Milemarker Launches Outsourced CTO & Managed Back Office for Wealth Management Firms.

This week, we announced the launch of Charter. With this new offer, we are helping firms through all sorts of key situations that are prohibiting scale and hindering the ability to focus on the business.

Charter tackles common challenges facing wealth management firms, including:

Managing Fee Billing: Charter simplifies the complex fee billing process, ensuring your firm runs efficiently and professionally.

Creating Automated Billing Forecasts: Charter provides intuitive automated solutions to predict future billing, accurately enhancing your financial planning process.

Supporting Your New Account Process: With Charter, onboarding for new accounts becomes streamlined and manageable, improving client experiences.

Managing Capital Market Assumptions: We understand the market complexities and help your firm navigate and manage capital market assumptions effectively.

Report Construction: Charter empowers your team to create insightful, relevant, customized reports with ease.

Data Analytics Configuration: Gain a competitive edge with data-driven insights as Charter configures your firm’s data analytics for maximum effectiveness.

Custom Integration Support: Our team of experts ensures your tech stack is well-integrated, reducing redundancy and improving workflow.