“I don’t think financial planners can control the markets; I think that what financial planning does is help the client understand their current circumstances…and explain their options to them. “That’s the way we operate, because we see our role as helping clients understand, and educating clients about their options. “Education is a big part of my own upbringing and a big part of my business.” Mackay argues that well-educated clients are both happier and more empowered. But the relationship should be ongoing. “And the other role is inspiring them, and keeping them motivated,” she says. “If they have long-term goals, it’s like your health or fitness. You need to keep inspired and keep motivated.” Mackay says there’s no single reason a client seeks the help of a financial planner. “As many clients as I have there are as many reasons why someone sees a financial planner,” she says. “It can be changes in personal circumstances, retiring, dissatisfaction with an existing adviser, a windfall gain. “A large number of our clients are referrals. In fact, the majority of them are.” Mackay says she’s also seeing some fallout from the global financial crisis (GFC) among clients.
A number looked at what had been going on, and heard the horror stories about certain financial planning groups, and decided to do it themselves. They’re now finding that it’s not so simple, and they want some help and guidance. So just as each client is different, and is there for a different reason, a planner has to adjust the service to suit. “It’s not just the share market,” Mackay says. “You are dealing with clients going through divorce, going through the death of a family member. It’s a multi-disciplinary approach to it.” But underlying the services Mackay provides, regardless of the client, is a commitment to helping people. “That’s why I love my job. I’m passionate about helping my clients in their financial future,” she says. “You’re developing relationships with your clients. And it’s not just your clients you’re developing relationships with, it’s your clients’ parents, it’s your clients’ children. It’s the full gamut.
I am passionate about financial education, not just for clients, but for consumers. I have been able to bring that to the fore, in terms of helping my clients.” Mackay says that is the big difference between working where she is now, and the experience she had in big business. “The area I worked in was impersonal,” she says. “My clients were corporates and banks. The end result was for shareholders. It was incredibly satisfying, but it was impersonal. “The training was invaluable. That’s why I love what I’m doing now, because I am embedded in [my clients’] families.” Mackay says training and experience in big business is invaluable, but “I do not think it’s necessarily sufficient” on its own. Nor is education, in isolation, enough. “University degrees didn’t really focus on it,” she says. “They may do now, but the ones I did were all focused on written assignments. “It comes down to other training, and also recognising that you are not sitting in a room writing reports all the time.
That’s part of the job; but the other part is communicating that to clients. “Working both here at Quantum and previously with the accounting firm and the bank, you see good communicators. You pick up and adopt what you see into your own personal approach. But there’s no one way of doing it, because if you try to be someone that you are not, that doesn’t work, either. “You learn from watching people. You can also learn from going to specific courses. You do learn on the job, as well. Each client is different. Some are artistic and want things [explained] in an artistic way. Some want the technical details.” Mackay says working with her brother has some advantages. “We know that we come from a common set of values,” she says. “It’s the way we’ve been brought up, so that is never an issue, which is great. “We respect each other. Because we both have different experience outside this business, we’re not competing. “Our clients see how that comes together for their benefit.”
