Financial planning is built for the long term, yet clients call their advisers during every market wobble asking whether they should exit and hold cash. Answering that question well increasingly requires a different skill than pure technical expertise: behavioural coaching.
Investors are human, and that’s the whole problem
Behavioural biases like loss aversion and recency bias push nervous investors to sell out at exactly the moment good opportunities appear. No amount of data or research fixes that on its own, since the decision isn’t actually about the numbers, it’s about managing fear in the moment.
Move beyond being a technical expert
An adviser who only supplies information is easily replaced by information itself, which is now abundant and free. An adviser who genuinely helps a client make better decisions under stress is doing something a spreadsheet can’t, and that’s what actually differentiates a practice in a crowded market.
Coach yourself before you coach anyone else
An adviser without their own financial plan, or one who focuses on the short term themselves, has little credibility coaching a client out of the same behaviour. Walking the walk isn’t optional if you want a client to actually trust your guidance under pressure.
Make real time for the relationship
Effective coaching requires more contact than an annual review, particularly when markets are noisy. Freeing up that time might mean using digitisation more heavily, outsourcing parts of the investment process, or bringing in additional staff to handle administrative work, whatever it takes to spend genuine time with clients when they need it most.
Fight vivid with vivid
Clients remember their own past financial mistakes vividly, and those memories shape every future decision. Countering that requires equally vivid counter-examples: a real story of an investor who panicked and lost out, paired with a real story of one who stayed the course through a rough patch and came out ahead.
Frequently asked questions
Is behavioural coaching replacing technical financial advice?
Not replacing it, but increasingly sitting alongside it. Technical expertise is now widely available; helping clients make good decisions under stress is what’s harder to replicate.
How often should an adviser check in with clients during volatile markets?
More frequently than an annual review. Regular, proactive contact during noisy periods is what actually prevents panic-driven decisions.
Can an adviser coach clients on biases they haven’t addressed in their own financial life?
It’s considerably harder to do credibly. Advisers who manage their own finances with the same discipline they’re coaching tend to be more convincing.
Becoming the coach clients actually need
The advisers building the most durable practices are the ones treating behavioural coaching as core to the job, not an occasional add-on. That shift demands more time with clients, not less, and a business model built to support it.
Further reading: How a Mentor and Business Advisor Help You Get Funded | Financial Sector Conduct Authority for official financial adviser regulation
Originally published in August 2019. Updated September 2026 to refresh this guest advice on behavioural coaching for financial advisers. The underlying case for coaching over pure technical expertise remains durable.
