What separates the BEST financial advisors from the rest?

Here’s what I came up with (in no particular order of importance)

Reply with your additions to my list!

If you think this list is table stakes, congrats! You may be a great advisor already.

1. READ - Charlie Munger would “buy” the first hour of his day for himself to read and learn. You can’t guide a client through an ever-changing landscape you don’t understand.

Reading is the gateway to wisdom, and wisdom is the foundation of sound advice.

2. HUMILITY - The more you know the less you realize you know. We don’t know the future, but we can help clients prepare for an uncertain future. Many advisors make things seem overly complicated because they are insecure. Great advisors don’t hide what they don’t / can’t know.

3. THINK - One of the most valuable things I learned from @JoePitzl was to take time to think about a client. After you gather, read, and enter the data, DIGEST IT. Get away from the software to contemplate everything you know about your client. Everything is interrelated.

4. CONNECT - We do a lot of mundane work: insurance reviews, beneficiary reviews, tax return reviews. Great planners are always connecting their work to the clients' goals.

5. KITCES - I mean, let’s be honest...if you’re not reading everything from @MichaelKitces, are you even a financial advisor?

6. TRUST - The most meaningful google review I received from a client said, “Kyle made recommendations that I know cost him revenue but were to my benefit.” Trust is built when you demonstrably value your clients' interests above all else.

7. COMMUNICATION - It’s not enough to have the right answers. You have to be obsessed with communicating them effectively. Do you spend time considering your framing and word choice before discussing with a client?

8. QUESTIONS - The best advisors ask the most thoughtful questions. I have a “great questions” repository that I add to whenever I hear one I love from another advisor. Thoughtful questions are the catalyst for great client relationships.

9. PROCESS - Whether it’s @spendyourlifewi's Wealth Management Index or @Steph_Bogan's Limitless, or @ThePerfectRIA, you need a planning process that routinely, systematically, and thoroughly addresses and adds value to each part of a client's financial life.

10. PROACTIVE - You are always looking for opportunities to take advantage of and catching problems while they are small. You structure your practice to allow you the time for this. The # of clients you work with is inversely correlated to your ability to be proactive.

11. ANTICIPATE - The best advisors anticipate a client's questions before they deliver any recommendations. What questions might the client ask about this? You value the client's time too much to send anything that lacks clarity and may cause confusion.

That's all I got! I feel so fortunate to have found this profession and learned from some of the best: in practice, on Twitter, on calls, in conferences, etc. We are a profession that thrives on sharing good ideas and practices. And the real beneficiaries of this are the clients.