By: Dail Meikle, Financial Advisor
“May you live in interesting times … ”
I’ve done some google searches on this quote, and even though there are a number of variations of it, no one really knows who said it first. Some credit it to Sir Austen Chamberlain in 1936, but even he said it was told to him by a Chinese diplomat.
The consensus though is that it is not a blessing, but a curse. Most of us can see both sides of the blessing/curse argument: Interesting is better than boring, but too much excitement, especially in the markets, isn’t fun.
Well, we certainly live in interesting times! Who would have thought, back in January, that just a few months later our robust economy would have been shut down, sending our unemployment rate soaring, the markets plummeting, and the thought of dinner with friends a frightening idea? Interesting times for sure.
Well, in this “new normal” (yes, I hate the phrase too!) we have had to turn to technology to help us through, and that is especially true here at Meikle Financial Group. Almost two years ago we partnered with Carson Partners, and the timing of that move could not have been better.
I want to take just a minute and explain two innovations in financial planning technology that are available to all of us, to make our relationships with clients stronger, even at a distance!
New Technology We’re Using: The Client Experience Platform
Just one year ago the tech gurus at Carson developed a new “Client Experience” platform for all of us to use. It doesn’t replace your ability to call us any time you want, but it adds a layer of transparency that is valuable, especially now.
With this platform, you can see your values, rates of return, any transactions and activity of any kind in your accounts. Exciting? Well, maybe that’s not the word for it, but it certainly makes your accounts here more accessible.
It also has a section for storing documents such as wills, trusts, tax returns, etc. You can even add outside accounts such as bank accounts, even mortgages, and other loans. With this platform you can check one site and see everything that you own in one place.
We can communicate through the site too, making appointments for meetings or calls, and checking in to make sure any projects we might be working on are on track. We know that most of our clients won’t be interested in everything that the platform can do, but even at the surface level, it’s a great tool.
New Technology We’re Using: Zoom Meetings
The next technology is one you have probably heard of, if not before January, certainly by now!
It’s called Zoom, and it’s a web conferencing tool so that even if we can’t meet in-person, we can see each other on the computer! For the many who have not used it, it’s much easier than you might think.
It’s not fool-proof, as this fool found out, but they’ve made it pretty easy. We have gotten to use it a few times now and can walk you through it. Even if we don’t use the camera, we can share our screen with you to show you reports, etc. and keep you up to date.
We like using it in many cases instead of meeting in person. Even without the Covid threat, it saves you the hassle of driving in 110+ degree heat to get to our office. To use it, we simply send you an email with a link. You click on the link and we’re connected!
If you are using a laptop, chances are there is a camera and microphone, so we can see each other and talk through the computer. If you have a desktop computer without a camera, we can connect the computers, then talk on the phone and share the screen.
It’s definitely not as good as meeting in person, but in these “interesting times” I’m grateful that this technology is available. If you’d like to give a Zoom meeting a try, just let us know!
Always Innovating
We have been busy these last few months working on the business. We’ve begun a program to help us create better processes and systems so that our service to you continuously improves.
We’re excited about the changes that we’re working on, and we’re looking forward to when we’ll be able to safely meet with you again.
As always, if you have any questions – we’re here. Now’s a great time to set up your advisor check-in, let’s catch up!