When Laura Davis, CFP®, worked in real estate, she observed firsthand the consequences of people not fully appreciating the long-term impact of their present-day decisions. During this time, she helped handle properties undergoing foreclosures, and became intimately aware of how those events could impact individuals and their families. These experiences eventually inspired her to go into financial planning. Laura’s goal is to guide clients to understand how seemingly minor adjustments in financial behavior could significantly benefit their future financial health and stability.
After working with an RIA firm in the Atlanta area for seven years, Laura established her own firm, Financial Lab, Inc., in 2020. As she evaluated technology for her new firm, Laura identified some gaps in her previous software. She turned to RightCapital and discovered that it offered what she needed:
Filling the gaps with RightCapital
Improved efficiency through the client portal
Prior to using RightCapital, Laura found herself manually entering client data into her software. The time spent on data entry took away from her availability for direct client communication and strategic financial planning. By handing this responsibility to clients within RightCapital’s client portal, Laura reinvested her saved time into what she does best: relationship building and financial planning.
The client portal also helped clients familiarize themselves with the landscape of RightCapital, which allowed for deeper discussions about their financial plan under Laura's guidance.
Real-time presentation and scenario analysis
A must-have for Laura when choosing a financial planning software was the ability to present live during client meetings without any complications. Her previous software was less intuitive and Laura noted “it would look like I was fumbling around, which I wouldn't be, but it just would take forever.”
RightCapital enables her to modify the financial plan during a live session and instantly illustrate the impacts of those changes. Laura is now able to visually represent potential outcomes of different “what-if” scenarios, making the financial planning process more interactive and comprehensible for clients. Laura noted, “It makes a huge difference to be able to do it in real time, right in front of (the client).”
Frontend reach and backend depth
One of Laura's goals was to find a tool that could simplify results for her clients: “Generally speaking, our clients really just want to know what their actionable items are.” RightCapital enables her to adjust action items and display various possibilities, making it much clearer and digestible for clients to comprehend the next steps toward achieving their goals.
In some of her past software experiences, Laura observed that the burden was on the advisor to manipulate background data so a client could grasp it. But with RightCapital, she can deep-dive into intricate details without overwhelming her clients. “RightCapital goes deep, but the complexity is hidden in the background. It gives me peace of mind to know all the detailed numbers.”
Its outputs are client-friendly and easy to comprehend, saving Laura the time and effort she previously had to expend repackaging information. As a result, she can focus more on advising her clients, knowing that if needed, the detailed figures are easily accessible.
Additional results of switching planning software
In addition to the direct results she was looking for mentioned above, Laura found other advantages of switching to RightCapital to further enhance her experience.
The significant impact of minor changes
With RightCapital's dynamic visuals, Laura shows clients how even slight adjustments can significantly influence the long-term financial plan. “Everybody is always really shocked at how big of a difference in the long term a small change today can make.” Minor modifications are typically less intimidating and more manageable to implement, contributing to the overall health of the plan.
“Motivation comes from little wins,” Laura explained. “The cool thing about looking at a software like RightCapital is that you can show (clients)…look, this is where we started. This is where we are now.” This validates the steps clients have taken and encourages them to maintain their momentum.
Increase in client confidence
One of the areas of RightCapital Laura frequently shows during client meetings is the Cash Flows tab in the Retirement module. This tab helps her explain the inflow and outflow of funds for each year of the financial plan. “That’s what’s really important to my clients. They want to know what they can spend and what they need to save. The numbers in that tab often make what was seemingly impossible, totally possible.”
Laura recalled a client couple in their early 60s who were skeptical about their ability to afford retirement. Using RightCapital, she was able to demonstrate how their inherited real estate income easily covered their spending needs. She further utilized the Stress Test feature within the Retirement module to reassure them of their ability to retire, even in potentially challenging scenarios such as equity markets falling or healthcare costs rising. She said, "I put pressure on all these different things and showed them how, even if their spending went up, even if they lived a few years longer, it’s still okay. Seeing those numbers gives clients that peace of mind that just words alone couldn’t do."
The ability to quickly switch between modules and scenarios during client meetings allows Laura to tackle “what-if” questions using comprehensible visuals. Addressing concerns promptly and efficiently encourages clients' confidence in their financial situations, fostering stronger advisor-client relationships.
“Absolutely stellar” customer support
Although Laura stated, "Mostly I don't have any questions; the software is really intuitive," she appreciated the excellent customer support during her learning phase. She described the customer service as "absolutely stellar."
She emphasized the efficiency of the team, remarking on the "instant answers" and the quick chat response time, often within just a minute. Laura also noted the team is “always really knowledgeable, really nice, and will work through a problem with you until it’s resolved.”
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