How Advisors Are Coping in Coronavirus Epicenters

“There’s an elevated sense of fear certainly” among clients, who have been asking how the coronavirus and resulting stock market declines will affect their retirements, he said. In response, Jasper said, he is generally telling them: “Unless you’re retiring today, it’s not going to impact you at all,” although “you have to stay healthy, of course.” Like Soricelli, he said his clients tend to be listening to advice to not change their portfolios much and just stay the course.

Although “we’ve limited any sort of in-person contact with the clients” and he and his staff are speaking with customers entirely by phone now, he noted many of his discussions with clients tend to be over the phone anyway. And while he and his staff are often working remotely now, they have done so routinely in the past, he noted. The work “doesn’t require us to get in harm’s way or to bring anyone else within harm’s way,” he said.

Similar in Seattle

The office of Seattle-based advisory firm Robertson/Das, which is affiliated with LPL Financial as its RIA, has been open during its normal business hours, according to financial planner Sanjay A. Das, a partner at the firm.

“We are a small office with two planners and an office manager, so we haven’t been nervous enough to close down the office,” he said by email Friday. “We have been taking lots of phone calls and answering emails” from concerned clients, “but I think it is more to do with tax season and the stock market volatility than the virus itself, per se,” he added.

“It’s pretty scary what’s happening here, where schools are shut down till the end of April” and restaurants are shutting down completely, he also said, noting he has two daughters, 9 and 11 years old, who are being affected.

Echoing the advisors in New Rochelle, he said: “The volatility just means even more communication with clients whether proactively by us (sending out letters/email communication) or phone calls which really amount to hand-holding. Most of our clients were with us in 2008-2009 so it is just reminding them of what we experienced together during that time and remembering to stay the course.”

Employees at Seattle-based Laird Norton Wealth Management, meanwhile, “have the option of working remotely or from the office,” according to Carla Wigen, its managing director of fiduciary strategy. “So far, the office (and building) is open during normal business hours,” she said Monday, adding: “We’ve had a mix of people working from different locations and at different times as they juggle new responsibilities. We’ve tried to open up more parking options for employees who need it to reduce crowds on public transportation and allow for social distancing. We’ve even stocked up on disposable thermometers so anyone who’s worried they might be getting a fever can check it out for themselves. There’s a lot going on so we’re all trying to be flexible and do what we can to keep our people safe and comfortable as they continue to take care of client requests.”

The firm has also been keeping clients “informed with regular updates on our operations and on financial markets,” she said, adding: “We’ve provided the option of moving all regularly scheduled client meetings to conference or video calls. Everyone’s had to make adjustments.”

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