In today’s fast-changing market environment, financial advisors are being called to do far more than manage portfolios—they’re being asked to lead. Clients look to their advisors not just for financial returns, but for reassurance, clarity, and a sense of stability when headlines turn chaotic. 

Mary Mock, SVP and head of distribution for Touchstone Investments, explores how advisors can stay grounded amid volatility, support clients both emotionally and financially, and build greater operational efficiency. Drawing on her experience in practice management consulting, Mock highlights the importance of long-term planning, trust-building, and leveraging strategic tools like the Practice Analysis Review (PAR) to position advisors for sustained success in any market environment. 

CM: With markets feeling increasingly chaotic, what mindset should advisors adopt to stay grounded and lead their clients effectively? 

MM: During periods of change and uncertainty, it becomes clear how essential it is to have well-thought-out strategies in place long before they’re needed. Advisors can benefit from utilizing periods of uncertainty to hone in on their relationships – to show clients that they are there for them personally and can provide sound counsel. Investing may be a long game, but many investors can get stuck focusing on the near-term peaks and valleys of the market, especially during periods of volatility. These are the times when advisors can ease clients’ worries by revisiting the fundamentals.  

In less volatile times, advisors can position themselves for future obstacles by proactively fine-tuning their practices to focus on high-value, trust-building activities to prepare for when market volatility inevitably returns. 

CM: Can you share a common misconception advisors have about managing portfolios during uncertainty? 

MM: One misconception is that clients solely judge advisors based on the bottom line. While it is important, a recent study from Wealthtender found that nearly 90% of respondents emphasized the importance of emotional factors like personalized retirement guidance, loyalty and long-term relationships.  

Of course, investment management and portfolio strategy are key considerations, but the relationships seem to be at the forefront when selecting an advisor, followed by money management. As such, when volatility occurs, it’s important for advisors to allocate time to focus on client relationships. A holistic, well-run practice will enable an advisor to be fully present for their clients when they need them most. 

CM: How can advisors balance the emotional needs of clients with the technical demands of portfolio management during turbulent markets? 

MM: We believe advisors should consider scheduling regular check ins with clients – during both the quieter and busier market environments, not just when the markets drop. Advisors can frame these conversations around life goals, not just investments, and help ease their clients’ minds about the impacts of market cycles. (E.g., “Your retirement timeline and income strategy haven’t changed; we’re still on course.”) 

Other tactics advisors can use to keep up with the more technical demands of portfolio management include:  

• Personalized Market Updates: Send short, digestible summaries that contextualize the volatility (e.g., “This isn’t uncommon during Fed transitions.”). This is a tangible way to reaffirm long-term averages for further comfort. 

• Stress-Test Portfolios: Offer to run updated planning scenarios to show a client’s plan remains viable even with current turbulence. 

• Offer a “Volatility Strategy Session”: Positioned as a brief review focused on current allocations and emergency savings as well as making minor adjustments, if necessary.  

• Volatility Playbook: Offer information on investment approaches during volatility that includes behavioral finance insights, historical data as well as client communication commitments. 

• Webinar & Video Briefings: Host quick, 10–15-minute video updates or webinars explaining what’s driving volatility, what (if anything) is being done in response and why staying the course is wise. 

CM: What types of efficiencies can the Practice Management Consulting Program using the Practice Analysis Review (PAR) approach uncover?   

MM: To have the capacity to do the “human-side” of things, especially when the market is uncertain, advisors can benefit from regularly assessing and improving the functionality of their practice. A way to do that is with what we refer to at Touchstone as Practice Analysis Review (also known as PAR), which examines an advisor’s practice to assess areas of opportunity. From there, advisors are paired with modules for implementing actionable plans to harness those opportunities.  

This is proven to help financial professionals generate meaningful results – including increasing assets as well as business revenue – when they can define measurable goals, establish realistic timelines and create manageable, step-by-step action plans. By finding an accountability coach who understands the broader industry, advisors can potentially improve multiple areas at once, leading to greater efficiency in meeting the evolving needs of their clients. 

CM: Can you walk us through a success story where PAR made a measurable impact? 

MM: We have seen several opportunities for optimization that made immediate differences in the advisor’s practice. This did require initial focus and prioritization beyond the traditional “to-dos” of the daily routine but in addition to identifying capacity for growth, we found both straightforward and creative ways that paid off whether it was improving team synergies, conducting pricing and fee schedule analysis or working to improve the client experience overall. 

We recently partnered with a financial advisor who had developed several strategic initiatives the year prior but struggled to implement them due to limited capacity. They were exploring the idea of adding a new team member and refining role definitions within the practice to create more focus. However, existing team members were firmly aligned around the belief that the business first needed to realign its service model before taking further steps. 

Before the advisor simply added headcount to the team, we suggested a strategic planning offsite with a focus on establishing a setting that encourages everyone from the team to speak freely – where the sales assistant should be as vocal as the financial professional – and by removing daily distractions – phones ringing, instant messaging, email, etc., the offsite was incredibly well received. We helped the advisor redefine two senior leadership roles, completely refocus its service model and add one full-time employee. We have continued to see that the practice has fostered healthy, renewed team communication, clear roles and responsibilities and follow a detailed action plan for the advisor and the team to accomplish their goals. 

CM: What would you say to advisors who feel too overwhelmed to focus on business development right now? 

MM: I would tell them that they don’t have to do it alone. For the committed advisor focused on evolving their business, making progress in any one of these areas is certainly possible alone—but execution often proves challenging without the guidance of a coach and a strategic, personalized plan. To do this, it can be helpful to tap a third-party expert to conduct a practice analysis which can outline clarity on specific areas of improvement. 

In our experience as practice management consultants, the most successful financial professionals achieve meaningful results when they have an accountability partner to help define measurable goals, establish realistic timelines and create manageable, step-by-step action plans – in fact this is what advisors we have worked with say sets our Practice Management Consulting program apart from others. In many cases, we’re able to improve multiple areas at once, leading to greater efficiency and better positioning the advisor to meet the changing needs of their clients. 

While this can seem a bit daunting, none of this is done alone – we act as a partner in the practice right alongside, each step of the way. Plus, this leg work will ease workload in the long run, opening capacity for the advisor to get time back in their day to re-target their efforts to serve their clients more completely. 

CM: Any advice for newer advisors who haven’t weathered a volatile cycle before?  

MM: There are many ways advisors can help their clients feel more in control during times of volatility, including preparing for volatility ahead of time. At Touchstone, our decades-long experience in partnering with financial professionals through Practice Management Consulting has shown that the most effective advisors use quieter periods to strengthen and refine their business. By focusing on steady, long-term improvements when the pace is more manageable, advisors create the capacity to deliver exceptional client service when it matters most—during times of urgency, volatility or transition.