David Holland has a passion for helping people get from where they are to where they need to be.
"I connect the financial dots," he says.
Before launching Holland Financial in 1997, he worked for financial services companies and then explored different product and services possibilities before finding the retirement market. He says helping his own parents and several of their friends plan their retirements further drew him into the market.
Holland Financial is structured primarily to serve the needs of the 50-plus demographic, and as a result, he has deep experience advising couples, single women, widowers and widows. Because he focuses on involving both spouses in the planning process, very few widows leave his firm upon the death of their spouse, a trend he is particularly proud of.
"Financial planning is a multifaceted puzzle to be solved," Holland says. "This is especially true when we consider how a plan may need to respond to different situations in the future. Often, solving this puzzle requires out-of-the-box thinking and the use of multiple products and services in concert. That makes my work very interesting."
On challenges The most significant risk my company currently faces, like many other financial advisory firms, is regulatory change. While I believe my company is well-positioned to adapt to any adverse changes, the latest Department of Labor ruling could disrupt the insurance industry with little benefit to the investor/consumer. Our company revenues currently come from two main sources: fees from investment advisory services and commissions on insurance products. To mitigate potentially lower insurance product revenues, our best strategy will be to diversify our services to include tax and accounting services, reverse mortgage origination, 401(k)/qualified plan consulting, and trust/estate services. Expansion in these four areas will help us reduce our dependence on insurance product commissions and insulate ourselves, at least somewhat, from the DOL's controversial agenda.
On building trust: I believe there are three essential elements required for a client to select an adviser to assist them with their finances: They have to like you, they have to believe you are knowledgeable and they have to trust you. If any of the three are missing, the relationship will not work. My clients trust me for the following reasons: I have invested heavily in my education, I have maintained a local presence in my community since starting my company in 1997, and I make sure they know of my long-term plans to serve their financial needs for the next 25 years.
On retiree challenges: Today's retirees face many interrelated challenges, including: sustained, low-interest rates that have severely reduced retirement income; greater complexity of financial products that lead to consumer confusion and opportunistic selling by unscrupulous salesmen; an overall shift from defined benefit pension plans funded and managed by employers to defined contribution plans managed by employees; increased sophistication of financial scams and identity theft; and an increased incidence of divorce at older ages.
On qualities of a good advisor: A good advisor should be passionate about helping clients achieve their goals; have excellent listening and plain English communication skills; be focused on meeting people where they are and not on judging them; possess independent and outside-the-box thinking/problem-solving skills; and be willing to be upfront and forthright about their compensation and the costs of any recommendation they make.
On community involvement: I was born to a family of educators who corralled my hyperactivity and tendency to get bored easily and focused it on education. My parents imbued me with a strong work ethic, helped me explore my college options and paid any costs that were not covered by scholarships. They supported me in getting my CPA license and gave me advice on my career choices and opportunities. That is why I am passionate about helping others who have been dealt a "bad hand" in life, especially children who suffer from neglect and abuse. I have directed my charitable giving, fundraising efforts and advocacy to four local organizations focused on assisting them: Food Brings Hope, PACE Center for Girls, A Healthy Start and Halifax Urban Ministries.
On the future of the industry: Continued regulatory changes and downward pressure on fees and commissions will make it more difficult for smaller financial firms and insurance-only advisors to compete with larger, more diversified financial services firms. Clients with less than $100,000 to invest will see a significant shrinking in the advisory options available to them. Fewer financial advisors will be willing to work with them due to lower profitability and higher compliance costs. These clients will be forced to go through the "self-checkout line" by talking to someone over the phone or doing business online with a robot. More insurance companies will explore direct-to-agent and direct-to-consumer distribution models instead of relying so much on field marketing organizations.
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