What do wealthy clients really want from their financial advisors?

Purpose There is a dearth of research about the client’s emotional experience of his/her relationship with their financial advisor and what they are really looking for. We explore the nature of high-net-worth investor anxieties about the financial future, how they respond, their conscious and, particularly, unconscious defences and the role played by the financial advisor as a facilitating emotional “holding environment”. Design/methodology/approach We use interpretative phenomenological analysis to analyse rich data from semi-structured depth interviews with 19 wealthy UK advisory clients to explore their underlying psychological needs and how their advisors meet these. Findings Clients look to their advisor to help ameliorate the potentially debilitating emotions they experience in the face of the unpredictable future. Containment of anxiety is fundamental to the financial advisor–client relationship. The ability to trust plays a key role. Actual investment outcomes are relatively less important than conventionally considered. Practical implications This research provides insight into the under acknowledged role financial advisors play in providing emotional support to their clients and the need for this to be formally recognised by the industry and FCA alike. Originality/value Whereas the wealth management industry and financial market regulators tend to emphasise the performance-related aspects of financial advice, we explore the lacuna in the literature relating to client experience and real needs.