'The worst thing you can do is react': The Verve Group advice to investors amid coronavirus crisis

Verve wrote to advisers it works with on Thursday (19 March) with a draft letter to inform them of 10% market falls inevitably occurring, to align with Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II requirements.

Additionally, Verve issued advisers a template for client suitability reports to assist investors wishing to take advantage of the current market.

The Verve Group founder and director Cathi Harrison explained that many investors were wishing to "take advantage of the opportunity of investing while markets are so low".

"We expect new demand to increase. We have therefore created a template suitability report that advisers can use to provide a quick and simple top-up to a client's existing portfolio."

Verve has also created a blog to help put advisers and investors minds at ease in the current bear market.

Designed for advisers to distribute to their clients, the blog explains the nature of investment cycles and reiterates the fact that clients are not making a loss unless they actually pull out of the market.

"The cycles that are absolutely guaranteed to occur, over and over. Covid-19 has taken the world by surprise but, in reality, after the longest worldwide Bull market in history, some sort of downturn was expected in the not too distant future," Harrison explained.

She said some of the 1000 advisers Verve worked with had approached her asking for a resource to help settle panicked clients. Instead of advisers individually writing about it, Harrison formulated the blog.

"It is just something to remind the end client this happens - don't panic and don't sell...and be reminded that it's a horrible scary time but the worst thing you can do is react to it," Harrison said.

The Verve Group also put together a coronavirus edition of its regular The Mint Podcast, providing some comic relief and further information on how to work with clients during this crisis.

Additionally, the group invited advisers to attend a free webinar last Friday (20 March), which focused on culture and retaining talent.

Verve's latest email added to a deluge of adviser support networks and advice firms doing their bit to make things easier for planners and clients through the coronavirus crisis. 

Harrison said she took the extra step of distributing the recent correspondence to Verve's past as well as present clients, meaning the coronavirus tips reached close to 4000 advisers.

"This is much wider reaching than what we would normally do," she added.

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