Adviser Chiu: Focusing on Good Things, Adhering to Plans

Kevin Chiu, a financial adviser and vice president with Elsass Financial Group* in Canfield, is coming back strong. You can learn more about him and Elsass at the company’s website.

What are some ways the COVID-19 outbreak has changed your work life? Can you touch on how people are feeling about the market and what you’ve been telling them?      

Like many others, my work life changed quite a lot seemingly overnight. Usually my partner and I are meeting clients in our offices, out at one of our 401(k)’s businesses or at one of our five credit union partners. After March 16, our staffs have worked from home – we invested in the technology that allows them to work securely on our systems here – while we have continued to work from our offices. So, rather than being out and about which I am used to, I have been in the office having telephone or virtual Zoom meetings with clients and talking to them about their situations, finding out if they have had any life changes, reviewing their financial plans and seeing if anything needs adjusted. Naturally, when one sees such a dramatic drop in the investment markets and the values of one’s personal accounts like we witnessed in March, there was much fear and anxiety.

One thing we have done is simply to be there to listen and talk with clients and share with them our thoughts and help them focus on the future. One of our associates, Beth, was a counselor for many years and she was terrific in discussing how clients’ fears were normal and it was OK to feel like they did and to reach out to friends and family to offer or get support. She shared techniques with all of us to manage stress and anxiety. One thing that surprised us was how many of our clients were more concerned about how we were doing and managing. This was very touching to the staff and really made us even more appreciative of them. That is very much what many of the conversations were during March and April – focusing on what is most important in their lives and being grateful for the things that we do have, sharing ways to manage.

Now that there has been a significant recovery in the market and account values, many clients are re-assessing their comfort level with risk and we are having really good conversations focused on their life’s goals and how we can help them with those. So, in a weird way, there has been a little bit of a silver lining in that clients aren’t simply saying that “things are great, no need to meet right now” but rather they are interested in staying in close contact and discussing what is important to them. This is key in the relationships we have with our clients.

How about your personal life?

During the winter we, like everybody else, were cooped up at home. My three daughters were all home and they were all seniors in school. My youngest was a senior in high school and the two older ones were seniors at YSU. So, all three of them were busy working hard and finishing up their studies, which they did very successfully. All of them graduated, so I am unbelievably proud of them. My wife is a teacher, and she and her team members worked very hard with their students, often until late at night. So, it was a really good thing I was working someplace else since our wi-fi was already overstretched and the house was full. I watched a lot of Michael Symon cooking videos. He shared and tried a lot of his recipes, so we were eating well leading to what I have heard called “gaining the COVID 15.”      

One thing I am grateful for during that time is every night we sat down and ate dinner together like when the kids were young. We also played a lot of Yahtzee, which is usually a summer vacation tradition. Now with the weather so nice, I have been trying to get some motorcycle rides in and everyone else is spending as much time as they can outside.

What steps are you taking to hang tough?

Focusing on good things. There have been so many negatives in the news and around the world that I have tried to promote the nice things people do for each other that gives me hope that we will be alright someday. I have been focused on the kids and my work and trying to keep that focus outward, which works for me. When I can help someone with their situation and make their life a little better, it ends up helping me feel a bit better, too.

What advice are you sharing with the people you love?

Kindness, patience, forgiveness. When we all lived in close quarters for an extended period of time, coupled with the uncertainties and feelings of grief and loss that my daughters felt as seniors being robbed of the best part of school, it wasn’t always sunny and cheery at home. We have tried to be better at communicating with each other, and I think we all learned to be more patient and to cut each other more slack, but not without some effort!

Anything else you’d like to add about the financial markets, 401(k)s, etc.?

We try very hard to help people with their financial plans and then implement solutions to achieve their goals. When we are reminded that we don’t have as much control as we thought, it is really upsetting. This makes decision-making harder – especially when it concerns your own money and well-being – and panic-based decisions can lead to bad outcomes. If you believe that “this too shall pass” as I do, then maintaining one’s focus on the goals and plans in place and managing one’s stress so that anxiety and fear are not driving one’s decision making, then I believe success will follow. We ask our clients to lean on us for advice or support or just to talk and I would tell anyone that your advisor’s value is when times are tough. So be sure to utilize that resource.

Required disclosure:

*Registered Representative, Securities offered through Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a Broker/ Dealer, Member FINRA/SIPC. Investment Advisor Representative, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Advisor. Cambridge and EFG are not affiliated. Non-deposit investment products: are not FDIC or NCUA insured * are not obligations of or guaranteed by a credit union * involve investment risk and may lose value.