Adam Chapman, a certified financial planner based in London, Ont., says 'there’s less of a need and value for financial advisers to actually manage money these days' and instead they are managing people.Nicole Osborne/The Globe and Mail
As investing becomes more accessible through robo-advisers and DIY platforms, some financial advisers are beefing up their life coaching skills to help clients navigate the emotional side of retirement.
Rather than simply managing portfolios, these advisers are offering something algorithms can’t: Guidance through the life transitions that come with retirement, from finding purpose to coping with the loss of a family member.
It’s a shift driven by what clients are increasingly asking for – and what many say they now expect.
According to a 2023 study from the Retirement Coaches Association, which represents coaches in North America and around the world, 90 per cent of retirees believe financial professionals should help plan for the non-financial aspects of this life stage, such as finding a sense of purpose, building community and managing time.
“There’s less of a need and value for financial advisers to actually manage money these days,” says Adam Chapman, a certified financial planner based in London, Ont. “Instead, what you’re doing is managing people, and that’s where the real value is.”
Mr. Chapman first pursued training in palliative care and bereavement to better support himself mentally after noticing that being one of the first people notified when his retirement-aged clients passed away was taking a heavy emotional toll. But what started as a personal decision has since become part of his practice.
“One of the driving factors for why people want to retire is they’re already anticipating these losses are coming,” Mr. Chapman says. “They’re actually motivated by grief to retire. That desire to retire is actually driven by anticipatory grief that we want to get out there and do more while we still have our health and while we still have our spouse.”
Many of his conversations with clients are about navigating those kinds of life changes. The conversation has to go “beyond the money,” he says. “You’re paying us to help you navigate stuff that you’ve just never done before.”
Scott Armstrong, chief executive of consulting company Mind Switch, agrees. A coach who helps individuals prepare for retirement, he has been brought in by wealth managers, financial advisers and HR professionals across Canada to teach what he calls the “softer side” of retirement.
He argues that the traditional model of retirement – working full-time until 65, then stopping completely – is outdated. Instead, Mr. Armstrong recommends calling retirement “work-optional life” instead, to normalize working part-time, volunteering, or pursuing passion projects during this life stage.
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Advisers, he says, have a key role in helping clients figure out what that life could look like. “It’s about helping your clients find a new purpose,” Mr. Armstrong says.
When he gave a keynote speech on this topic to more than 400 advisers at the Canadian Institute of Financial Planners national conference four years ago, he remembers his booth being swarmed for days afterward. “People are going, ‘where has this information been?’” he says.
But despite the growing interest, Mr. Armstrong estimates that well over half of advisers still don’t embrace lifestyle coaching as part of retirement planning.
He believes that will change quickly. “Within five years, this is going to be table stakes,” he says.
It’s a business move that helps with client retention, he adds.
That’s something Sahar Abdul Zahir, certified financial planner at BlueShore Financial, has seen firsthand. Earlier in her career, she noticed many of her clients were underprepared emotionally for retirement.
To better support them, she earned a registered retirement consultant designation, which covers topics such as estate planning and risk management.
“It kind of forces me as the adviser to look at things from a more human perspective rather than just from a numbers perspective,” she says.
While financial advisers aren’t therapists, many are starting to see their role as guiding clients through one of life’s biggest transitions – helping them not only protect their wealth but find meaning in what comes next.
“We’re not sitting here having counselling sessions,” Mr. Chapman says. “We’re just having conversations about what matters.”
