The new year is a time to reflect on the year gone by and prepare for the year ahead. It’s also a fitting time for advisors to connect with clients in order to revisit their financial plans — especially those clients who need some persuasion when it comes to meeting with their financial advisors.

The challenge, says Steve Klein, president of Marketing Breakthroughs Inc. in Ottawa, lies in getting the message across to clients that it’s time to get together for a meeting. He recommends sending both a Christmas or “holiday” card and a New Year’s card to each client.

“The notion of getting not just a Christmas card but also a separate New Year’s card is really popular because it stands out,” he says. “No one gets New Year’s cards any more, so clever advisors who want to connect with clients at a higher level are investing in New Year’s cards to mark the occasion.”

Klein suggests the card could have as a visual hook a money symbol or a calendar on the outside, along with a message saying something like: “New Year’s is a time of celebration, but also a time for a checkup.” Inside could be a note from the advisor recommending a meeting to discuss the client’s investments and how the client is progressing with his or her financial plan. “We’ll be in touch with you the first week of January to set up an appointment,” the message might conclude.

The tone should be light and fun, Klein says, reflecting the mood of the season. And although it may be tempting to use one of the Web-based greeting card services, a “snail mail” card with a handwritten note is much more personal.

Once the appointment is set, says Joanne Ferguson, president of Advisor Pathways Inc. in Stratford Ont., it’s important for advisors to know what topics they are going to cover during the meeting. Often clients will have experienced changes in the course of the past year that they may not think are relevant to their financial plans.

Ferguson tells of one advisor who had difficulty persuading a particular client to get together for a financial review. It turned out the client had become a grandfather and his wife had had a stroke since their last meeting more than a year previous. The advisor was able to talk about setting up a registered education savings plan for the grandchild and discuss long-term care options for the client’s wife. “A lot of opportunities came out of that meeting, and the client was enormously grateful,” Ferguson says.

It’s not always easy for a client to remember all the life events and changes that have occurred over the past year that may directly or indirectly affect his or her finances. Ferguson suggests advisors encourage their clients to record significant events every month so they can go over them during the annual review.

Many advisors hand out financial planning binder-style kits that include journal-style pages on which clients can record personal, financial and family events.

Ferguson suggests a brief phone call with the client before the meeting to find out if there are any major concerns on the client’s mind. Or, she adds, if an assistant calls the client to set up the meeting, the assistant can go through the agenda of issues that will be covered and ask the client if there is anything else he or she would like to talk about. It’s also good to have a checklist on hand during the meeting to ensure all the bases are covered.

Ferguson recommends a list that includes the following:

> estate planning;

> insurance;

> marriage;

> divorce;

> deaths;

> changes involving children, such as going to university, postponing university, unemployment or needing a down payment on a house;

> grandchildren;

> stock options from work;

> inheritances;

> any other changes or developments involving family members.

Ferguson also recommends going over all expenses for the year: “Anything to do with spending money.” That includes major purchases, such as cars and vacations, and any changes in savings goals.

Klein says the New Year checkup is an opportunity to increase the depth of business the advisor does with each client. “Advisors who are licensed to sell beyond mutual funds or stocks should be looking at the client’s insurance exposures, including disability, critical illness and life,” he says.

@page_break@“These are opportunities to do yearend tax planning, and the advisor can recommend looking at tax-advantaged investments.” he adds.

Klein admits that it would be impossible for an advisor to meet all of his or her clients in the first week of January. He recommends a personal meeting for the top 20 clients, and for the others, perhaps an e-mail newsletter that welcomes all clients to book an appointment for an in-person review.

Many advisors send out a “year in review” newsletter as a way of broaching the annual review, Ferguson says: “It’s kind of personal but it also looks at the events of the past year, and asks: ‘Have you looked at your past year?’ Pose the question to the client in a holiday letter.” IE