Protecting aging clients proactively

The Cognitive Ability Test is specifically designed to help advisors better protect aging clients by detecting the early signs of cognitive declines due to advance age, Alzheimer’s and dementia.

Since financial decisions require a higher level of cognitive ability, advisors often notice it before clients have any difficulty in daily lives thus before having an official medical diagnosis. Advisors often hesitate to bring it up because they don’t want to be rude and offend their clients.

These clients are the primary target of fraud and scam as well as manipulation and coercion from people they know, even from their loved ones, thus it is very important for advisors to have this conversation and put the right measures in place to protect the financial well-being of the aging clients.

Making it a routine to de-sensitize the conversation

We recommend that clients take the Cognitive Ability Test when they are relatively young, say 65 years old, to establish a baseline. And then repeat it every year or more often as needed.

Clients will see the changes themselves, so advisors don’t have to be the messenger. Instead, advisors are the heroes coming to the rescue.

Commonly used protections for aging clients

  • Durable power of attorney.
    • Many may have this in place already. If they don’t, it is time to brainstorm to identify the perfect candidate.
  • Withdrawal verification.
    • With the client’s permission, advisors can ask about unusual withdrawal requests, and decline the request if anything looks suspicious.
    • This will protect clients from scams.

Ease the generational wealth transfer

It also helps the advisor establish a trusting relationship with the heirs so that when the wealth transfer happens, the heirs are more likely to keep the money with the advisor. Study shows that ~80% of assets leave the advisor during the generational wealth transfer.

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