“You can be extremely wealthy, but have no real financial plan or no real investment strategy in place. That’s actually what causes you stress,” said McCarthy, wealth advisor at Nicola Wealth. “By doing all these financial planning exercises in advance, that brings clients back to a place where they feel more comfortable because they know how things are going to go.”
With constant access to communication, advisors are often reachable around the clock. McCarthy emphasizes the importance of maintaining a healthy work-life balance, leaving him time to recharge his batteries.
“I find that sometimes, if you’re available, 24/7, then you never have any downtime. So you have to be strict with yourself to say; it’s 7 or 8 PM, this email can wait until the morning,” he said. “You’re no real use to anyone if you’re burnt out or you’re stressed to the point where you can’t do your job effectively.”
However, tuning out of work is not a luxury afforded to McCarthy during moments of acute market downturns, such as the fallout from Trump’s “Liberation Day” announcements in early April. He says that advisors should develop solid work-life balance routines while understanding the need to work late through tumultuous times.
“If you look back to the first week of April, those were some of the roughest days in the market. I can understand having to work very late, or being on call those days, because those are exceptional days,” he said. “You have to make your peace with the fact that you’re going to be working a little bit harder those days. But I think that’s the exception to the rule.”
