Purportedly, it is an old mafia axiom that you should - keep your friends close and your enemies closer. If true, doesn't that also mean that - your enemies are closer to you than your friends?
Over the decades, I've had clients who were older and younger than myself, although most have been older. I've had both male and female clients, although most have been male. I've had clients who were Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, Anarchists, and even genuine Independents. I've had clients who earned their money, that inherited their money, and that married their money. I've had clients who were atheists, Protestants, Catholics, Jews, Muslims, Hindu, and even one Sikh in McLean. But, the most difficult clients-of-all are . . . family.
Don't ask me why? It just is! Maybe, the better question is why do you keep a family member as a client?
It is never fun to fire a client. Besides the minor loss in income, there is a real feeling of failure, because you really want to help every client. While firing any client is difficult, it is even agonizing to fire a client who is also a family-member! It is also more legally complicated. A contractual relationship exists between an advisor and a client. Firing a family-member-client may end the contractual relationship but does not change the family relationship, legally. They are still in your family, just not in your book-of-business.
A family-member-client is like a tar-baby. The more you do, the more stuck with them you are.
Hello, young advisors out there -- when asked to take a family member as a client -- RUN!
RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN -- RUN AS FAR AS YOU CAN -- JUST RUN!
Over the decades, I've had clients who were older and younger than myself, although most have been older. I've had both male and female clients, although most have been male. I've had clients who were Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, Anarchists, and even genuine Independents. I've had clients who earned their money, that inherited their money, and that married their money. I've had clients who were atheists, Protestants, Catholics, Jews, Muslims, Hindu, and even one Sikh in McLean. But, the most difficult clients-of-all are . . . family.
Don't ask me why? It just is! Maybe, the better question is why do you keep a family member as a client?
It is never fun to fire a client. Besides the minor loss in income, there is a real feeling of failure, because you really want to help every client. While firing any client is difficult, it is even agonizing to fire a client who is also a family-member! It is also more legally complicated. A contractual relationship exists between an advisor and a client. Firing a family-member-client may end the contractual relationship but does not change the family relationship, legally. They are still in your family, just not in your book-of-business.
A family-member-client is like a tar-baby. The more you do, the more stuck with them you are.
Hello, young advisors out there -- when asked to take a family member as a client -- RUN!
RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN -- RUN AS FAR AS YOU CAN -- JUST RUN!
