When advisors ask me whether they should move into holistic financial planning, I often use a medical analogy.
Imagine going to the doctor because your foot hurts. One of the first things they might do is check your blood pressure. Most of us wouldn’t respond by saying, “Don’t look at the rest of me— just focus on my foot.”
We understand that our health is interconnected. Our finances are no different.
Clients may come to us wanting to retire, buy a home or invest their money, but none of those goals exist in isolation. Retirement planning affects tax planning. Tax planning affects estate planning. Behavioral habits influence every financial decision we make. To truly serve clients, we must understand the entire picture.
I’ve believed in holistic financial planning since the beginning of my career. I also knew it would take time to develop the skills necessary to effectively deliver it. Over the years, I expanded my knowledge to build a broader understanding of the financial landscape.
Holistic planning means looking beyond a single question and exploring the factors that influence the answer. Take retirement, for example. If a client asks, “Can I retire?” the technical answer may be yes, but that’s not necessarily the right answer. The better question is: “What kind of retirement do you want?” Without understanding spending goals, tax implications, family priorities and long-term objectives, we risk giving incomplete advice.
This broader perspective also allows me to serve as a coordinator for my clients’ financial lives. By collaborating with attorneys, CPAs and other professionals, I can help bring all the moving pieces together. For many families, having a trusted point person reduces complexity and creates confidence during life’s major transitions.
As my clients and I have grown together, I’ve had the privilege of serving multiple generations within the same families. Those relationships reinforce a lesson I’ve learned throughout my career: Financial planning is not about solving one problem at a time. It’s about helping people navigate their lives.
The more we understand our clients, the better guidance we can provide them.
Nathan Graff has been an MDRT member for four years. He’s also a member of MDRT’s Top of the Table.
For more about holistic financial advising, read
- Are you failing clients with investment-only advice?
- Providing holistic family planning for clients in their 30s and 40s (MDRT member-exclusive content)
