Andrew Connors on the Advisor’s Real Benchmark

In a recent article for Advisor Perspectives, Andrew Connors, CFP®, CEPA, MBA, Wealth Advisor and Managing Director, argues that while investment performance and net worth are familiar measures of financial progress, they do not answer the more personal question of what that wealth is meant to make possible.

Three Resources with Different Timelines

Andrew believes financial planning should account for three resources people manage throughout their lives: time, health and wealth.

Many people spend decades trading time and health to build wealth. Later, they may try to use that wealth to regain their freedom, support their wellbeing or pursue experiences they postponed.

The challenge is that these resources do not behave the same way. Wealth may grow or be rebuilt. Time moves in only one direction, while health can become less predictable with age. This tension can be especially pronounced for executives, business owners and other goal-oriented individuals who have spent years focused on reaching the next professional or financial milestone.

What Does “Enough?” Look Like?

Andrew shared the example of a senior executive whose wealth continued to grow through substantial company stock grants and options. As the client considered retirement, their conversations shifted from technical planning questions to whether continuing to accumulate more was still the right priority. Andrew reframed the conversation with a more personal question:

“Enough for what?”

After reviewing the possibilities and trade-offs, the client chose to retire despite leaving future compensation opportunities behind. He recognized that he was already in a position of abundance across time, health and wealth. The example reflects Andrew’s broader belief that a financial number is only an input. The more important measure is what that number allows someone to do, experience and prioritize.

Five Ways to Broaden the Planning Conversation

In the article, Andrew offers five ways advisors can help clients connect their financial resources more closely to their lives:

• Make discovery ongoing: Continue asking questions about what clients want their wealth to accomplish rather than treating discovery as a one-time exercise.
• Add time and health to the agenda: Explore where clients feel abundant, where they feel constrained and whether their current path reflects those realities.
• Reconsider the return on spending: Recognize that certain uses of wealth may provide value through time saved, energy gained or greater wellbeing.
• Plan before a major transition: Use scenario planning to explore the potential cost of delaying retirement, travel or other priorities while choices remain available.
• Revisit the benchmark: Regularly ask whether a client’s allocation of time, health and wealth still reflects the life they want to lead.

Measure What Wealth Makes Possible

Technology, investments and sophisticated planning tools all play an important role in financial advice. Andrew argues that the questions with the greatest potential to affect a client’s life remain deeply personal.

The advisor’s role is not to decide how clients should use their resources. It is to help them understand the trade-offs, see what is financially possible and make more intentional choices while they have the time and health to enjoy them.

As one client told Andrew after selling a business and finding a new sense of purpose, “Thank you for pushing me to live.”

Read the full article on Advisor Perspectives