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This study used survey data from 554 planners and 128 clients of those planners to examine the relationship between specific communication tasks, communication skills, communication topics, and client trust in and commitment to their financial planner and to the financial planning process. Communication skills significantly correlated with client trust and commitment were identified, providing an empirical basis for best practices in the financial planning process. Results provide empirical support for CFP® Practice Standards relative to planner-client communication tasks and for planners taking a life planning approach to the content of planner-client discussions.
Key Words: commitment, communication, financial planning, life planning, trust
Introduction
Effective communication is vital to successful financial planning (Goetz & Bagwell, 2006; Lee, Pulvino, & Forman, 1984). Within the profession, the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards' [CFP Board] (2006) Topic List for CFP® Certification Examination and Financial Planning Practice Standards (CFP Board, 2003) affirm the importance of communication in the financial planning process. Recent research has underscored the fundamental role of communication as an antecedent to client trust and commitment (Christiansen & DeVaney, 1998; Kirchmajer & Patterson, 2003; Sharma & Patterson, 1999). Among practitioners, a growing interest in life planning (a holistic, values-based, client-centered approach to financial planning) focuses attention on communication as a critical tool for building enduring and productive planner-client relationships. To date, however, little work has been done to identify which specific elements of communication are correlated with client trust and commitment.
The purpose of this study was to use survey data from a sample of financial planners and their clients to provide an empirical basis for identifying best practices in plannerclient communication. Specifically, this research endeavored to answer these questions:
1. Is the practice of certain communication tasks and skills and the discussion of specific topics significantly and positively correlated with client trust in and commitment to their financial planner?
2. Do planners and clients have similar or dissimilar views of the specific elements of communication that affect trust and commitment?
3. Are conversations centered on life planning topics significantly and positively correlated with client trust in and commitment to their financial planner?
Relevant Literature
Publications in financial planning and related fields suggest that planner-client communication can be subdivided into communication tasks, communication skills, and communication topics....