Didintle Mokonoto CFP® – winner of the FPI’s diversity and inclusion award 2020
In the beginning of every year my girlfriends and I get together for our vision board party. This year was no different, my vision board was focused on hitting the reset button. Resetting the way, I engage with my work, money, family & friends, mind, body, and soul. I wanted to be more deliberate with my resources in 2020 to make sure that I live a purpose filled life.
As we approach the end of the year, one cannot help but reflect on what has been a year full of never-ending surprises, discoveries, and challenges because of the Covid-19 pandemic. I remember when President Ramaphosa first announced the 21-day lockdown, there were so many unknowns, but we all knew that we had to somehow continue doing what we usually do outside of our homes, indoors. I needed to still accomplish what is on my vision board, the question was how?
As the lockdown was extended week by week I started realising that I needed to stop waiting for the Coronavirus to go away and rather adapt how I do things to make sure that I accomplish the goals that I have for 2020. I believe that the same can be said for the Financial Advice Industry. The industry needed to adapt and use technology to fully service its clients remotely. Adapting to change is hard but not impossible, we have seen this in how some Financial Advisors have over time been able to make the transition from commission to fee based businesses or transition into the coaching way of being, when engaging with their clients. These are changes that could happen over time, and be phased in. Unfortunately, Coronavirus took away the luxury of time, forcing office-based Financial Advice businesses to fully rely on technology more specifically financial technology, or “fintech”.
Fintech has transformed the way people interact with their money when spending, investing / saving, and borrowing because financial systems are more efficient and user-friendly. As the iPod was able to put over 1000 songs into our pocket, fintech has during the pandemic shown its ability to take different financial services and package them into mobile app’s and web-based solutions allowing clients and Financial Advisors to engage and interact with their money & financial plans remotely.
Fintech’s, when used in collaboration with a Financial Advisor can enable the efficient and cost-effective running of their business, as they are a tools to support the delivery of their service to clients through data collection & aggregation, onboarding clients, delivery of documents etc. Through my engagements with many different Financial Advisors I have come to realise that automated advice tools have enhanced their value proposition to their clients and improved their overall business processes, when helping clients to reach their financial goals.
The year 2020 has shown me that my goals and dreams do not have to change just because my environment and circumstances have changed.
There are many different modes of transport that we can use to get to our destination, we must simply make sure that it is efficient and moving you closer to the goal.
