Comfort really isn’t the goal. What if a person needs to do something to achieve a goal that is not comfortable? I suggest you tell people the truth about what needs to happen, and forget about comfort. The reason a person brings their documents to a meeting with a Financial Advisor is to have a better experience and so the advisor can do his / her work effectively. Just because weak, ineffective, Financial Advisors have not asked clients to bring their documents to the meeting in the past does not mean that was a good idea. It just means there a lot of sloppy advisors in the world who do a lousy job and waste people’s time.
Bringing documents to a meeting with a Financial Advisor is like bringing your teeth to an appointment with your dentist. It’s that important.
After you schedule the appointment for a week or so, ask:
“In order for this experience to be successful for you, you will need to bring all of your financial documents to our meeting. I will send you a list of everything to bring. Essentially, it’s everything that represents your financial life: investment statements, bank statements, insurance policies, tax returns, etc. Will you be able to get these things together for our meeting?” If the answer is “no,” reschedule the meeting to a time that gives them enough time to show up prepared. If they ask why you need the documents explain, but don’t over-explain, how you knowing all of the facts about their financial situation helps you help them. You may want to remind them that everything is confidential.
