In this article, James Woodfall says financial advisers must blend emotional intelligence with clear communication to effectively support clients through uncertainty surrounding the 2025 Budget, fostering trust and better decision-making.
As we start the new year, the 2025 Budget continues to stir questions, with clients weighing what it means for their finances in the months ahead. For advisers, it is of interest from both a consumer duty and a professional point of view to be able to help clients feel calm in the face of volatility and assist them in making level-headed decisions.
Facts and data are a tempting first port of call, but they don’t always land when emotions run high. Emotional intelligence becomes a key differentiator, enabling finance professionals to guide clients through the emotions that follow uncertainty. This article explores how advisers can manage emotions – both their clients’ and their own – to ensure better decision-making, stronger relationships, and improved outcomes.
Acknowledge the emotional undercurrent
Anxiety around the Budgets remains very real. The impact of the deeply unpopular inheritance tax changes affecting farmers, alongside additional national insurance burdens on businesses in 2024, only heightened clients’ concerns ahead of the 2025 Budget. Those concerns were then reinforced when the Budget was poorly received, with unpopular measures such as a new cap on salary sacrifice schemes and changes to the amount people under 65 can contribute to cash ISAs.
It’s essential to be attuned to the emotional undercurrents that take place in client meetings. Some clients are open and honest about their concerns, and advisers should take care not to dismiss any nerves as irrational. Simply offering a few words of reassurance and showing empathy can go a long way.
But with those clients who may not be as forthcoming, advisers shouldn’t assume silence or avoidance of the subject means that they’re feeling fine. Look for signs of hesitation, uncharacteristic silence, forced optimism, or irritability. These behaviours may point to feelings of uncertainty and anxiety.
Partner facts with feelings
When dissecting fiscal changes and explaining their impact to clients, it’s important to be honest and get the facts across. Even though the chancellor’s announcements are now public, clients are still processing what it means for them personally. As with delivering any bad news, it’s key to open with empathetic phrasing, such as “I can see this is unsettling” instead of “There’s no need to worry.”
Leading with empathy builds trust, which helps defuse anxiety and helps clients return to rational discussion, essential for conversations about any advice that follows.
Calm, clear communication
When communicating important information to clients, it’s vital that advisers come across in a calm and clear manner. Even post-Budget, they should steer away from over-reassurance. Advisers need to provide accurate guidance without promising outcomes they cannot guarantee. Focus on offering clarity rather than false certainty.
Avoid unnecessary jargon; in times of anxiety and tension, the most important thing is ensuring that clients understand, and are as well-equipped as they can be. Jargon can easily overcomplicate things. Any emotions the client may experience will reduce their thinking capacity, so clear, jargon-free communications are key to avoiding misunderstanding.
For calm communication, here’s a checklist of rules to follow:
- Be clear – “Here’s what we know now”: Opening with clear, factual information helps ground the conversation and gives clients a sense of stability before exploring potential outcomes or concerns.
- Admit uncertainty, if needed – “Some details are still being clarified”: Being open about what is not yet known builds credibility and prevents clients from feeling misled if the Budget delivers unexpected developments.
- Anchor the discussion in long-term goals – “Your plan remains resilient”: Reminding clients of the broader strategy helps shift their focus away from short-term headlines and back onto the steady, long-term progress of their financial journey.
Face your own feelings
Advisers mustn’t neglect their own emotions. As a professional taking on board client concerns and absorbing their stress, this can take a toll on their own emotions. Great advisers know that self-care is key to performing at the top level. Here are some strategies recommended to make sure you’re in the right headspace:
- Brief resets between meetings – A few minutes to pause, breathe, or step away helps clear emotional residue and prevent stress from building up.
- Reflective practice – Reviewing challenging conversations boosts self-awareness and helps advisers handle similar situations more calmly.
- Talking with colleagues – Sharing experiences with peers offers perspective and prevents the sense of carrying client worries alone.
Dealing with money comes hand in hand with high emotions, and big moments of uncertainty intensify that connection. Advisers are the steadying force clients look to when headlines amplify their anxiety.
Supporting clients through these periods isn’t just an ethical or consumer duty requirement. The support advisers provide strengthens trust, delivers value, and ultimately drives loyalty, retention, and referrals. And while advisers can’t control the market’s response, they can control their presence, tone, and the emotional environment they create.
By balancing facts with empathy, communicating clearly, and managing their own wellbeing, they position themselves not just as financial experts but as reliable guides for clients to turn to through every cycle of uncertainty.
James Woodfall is founder of Raise your EI, which trains financial professionals in ’emotional intelligence’. He is a former financial planner and the author of The Heart of Finance.
