“Connection is currency” in the world of financial advice, FT Adviser’s 2025 conference heard.
James Woodfall, founder of Raise Your EI, said for financial advisers emotional intelligence is not simply nice to have but were the skills that drive sales and client retention.
He said poor communication was one of the main reasons clients leave their adviser.
The former adviser said: “There is nothing fluffy about it, because this is a highly cognitively demanding role.”
Woodfall said clients often tell their financial advisers things they have never told anyone else.
“It always fascinates me what clients to disclose,” said Woodfall.
“Connection is currency.”
Woodfall said advisers should pivot from the technical to the emotional to succeed but said the skills do not improve by accident and take work to develop.
He said a key way to develop these skills is to “just ask one more question”.
“In the future of advice, the real differentiator isn’t going to be who has the best model portfolio,” added Woodfall. “It is going to be who listens best, who can sit with emotion and not flinch.
“And this requires skills that most of us were never trained in, skills that emotional intelligence provides, and it is what makes trusted advisers.”
The Financial Advice Forum took place in London on Thursday (September 25).
tara.o’connor@ft.com
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