No matter how well-crafted a client’s financial plan may be, there are some things that can’t be controlled—most notably, returns.

This lack of control around returns may be troubling, given how fixated on them clients can be.

Investors have the nasty habit of trying to chase returns, and poor returns are an easy scapegoat for clients who are unhappy with their adviser’s advice. Therefore, advisors may worry about proving themselves to their clients by providing good returns.

So, let’s explore just how much clients look to returns to measure the value of their adviser.

How Much Value Do Clients Place on Returns?

We recently examined what investors value in an adviser by analysing the results of multiple studies.

People are not always the best at giving truthful answers—not because they’re trying to bury their true thoughts and feelings, but because if they’re not sure how they really feel, they tend to rely on mental shortcuts to get the answer.

For this reason, reviewing evidence from multiple studies helps us better formulate a clear picture of what clients value in their advisers. It’s the same principle as the old story of blind men inspecting an elephant and coming to different conclusions based on the part of the elephant they touch: They needed to combine all their observations to come to the right conclusion.

What did we find? Returns did come up as a key value-add for investors—but only in one of the four studies we analysed. This means there are more impactful ways you can strengthen your relationship with clients beyond returns.

When Are Returns Important to Clients?

The fact that returns didn’t appear as a key value-add in every study tells us that different contexts may highlight returns more than others.

In particular, people may latch onto returns when they’re explicitly reminded of them. This can be circumvented by getting people to slow down and articulate what they really want (that is, their values or goals).

This exercise demonstrated that investors valued things outside of returns. They valued an adviser who gives advice they can rely on, who plans for their goals, or who helps them make good decisions.

So, although returns did come up as a value, they were far from being the defining value of advisers.

How to Talk About Returns With Clients

Though it’s good news that returns don’t necessarily dictate how a client feels about their adviser, returns will inevitably come up. When they do, clients may benefit from slowing down.

Spend Time Digging Into Goals and Values

Our research found that people consistently valued advisers who gave advice that reflected their unique needs and provided support that helped them reach their goals. Therefore, the first step to helping clients avoid a fixation on returns is bringing clients’ values and goals to the forefront of the advising relationship.

This means advisers need to understand clients’ true goals and values. These need to be well-defined and meaningful in order to trump the noise of returns.

Advisers can leverage premade frameworks to help clients slow down and articulate more meaningful values and goals.

Frame Check-Ins as Progress, Not Performance

If returns play a central role in conversations with clients, advisers may inadvertently teach them that returns are the focus.

Though returns will come up, don’t let them be the only metric of success you discuss with clients. Instead, find other markers of progress. Was there a habit your client wanted to work on that you can check in on? How are they making progress toward their goals? What have they been able to do better because of their relationship with you?

By taking the time to get to know your clients better, you will be able to find meaningful milestones to mark progress with them outside of returns.

Refocus Clients on Goals When They Are Unfocused

Of course, clients sometimes will fixate on returns, such as in stressful times in the market or in their personal lives.

In these times, let your clients’ goals be a north star when clients would rather chart a new course. For example, you can remind clients of the progress they’ve made toward their goals and show them how they still are on track to hit them.

You can also remind them their plan was built to account for such shocks, or go even further and show them how changing course can change the trajectory of achieving their goals. Because your clients care more about their goals than a specific number, reminding them what they are working toward can serve as a powerful motivator when the noise of returns is loud.

In short, returns won’t ever go away, but we can help clients refocus on things they really care about. In doing so, they can find even greater value in working with their adviser than returns alone.