In recent weeks, market volatility has increased, causing concern for many investors and creating a critical moment for financial advisors to demonstrate their value. At Carson Wealth, we anticipated this volatility in early 2025 and have been actively preparing our clients’ portfolios. While clients may be anxious, this market pullback presents an ideal opportunity to engage with them proactively and implement high-value planning strategies that can potentially enhance their long-term outcomes.
This playbook outlines five key client engagement and planning strategies that advisors can implement during market volatility.
1. Hold the webinar
Proactive, strategic client communication during market volatility is perhaps the most critical element of client retention and relationship deepening. We take it very seriously and you should too. In times like this, clients want to know what you are doing, how you are doing it, and how it all affects them.
One of the best ways to connect and educate clients in times of instability is to host a focused educational webinar:
- Keep it concise: Limit sessions to 20–30 minutes with clear action items and a structured agenda.
- Balance technical and practical: Provide both market analysis and specific action steps clients can take.
- Normalize volatility: Emphasize that a 14% pullback is common and that history shows more positive years than negative ones.
- Reframe the narrative: Position market volatility as the “price of admission” for long-term gains to help manage client anxiety.
- Highlight your proactive strategies: Discuss specific actions your firm is taking to protect clients and capitalize on opportunities during volatility.
Pro tip: A brief, well-executed webinar allows you to efficiently engage with numerous clients simultaneously while making each feel they’ve received personalized attention. Our “Riding the Market Waves” webinar has been particularly effective, running just 20 minutes while delivering high-impact insights.
2. Send out coordinated emails with easy scheduling
In what can be emotional investing periods like these, be sure to make it easy for clients to feel valued and connect with you. The best way to do that is to communicate openly and frequently while emphasizing your availability to clients with concerns and/or questions.
Here’s an example of an effective client communication:
“Dear Valued Client,
Our team has been working diligently to provide you with timely insights, focusing on the current economic outlook and opportunities across various asset classes. We’ve also identified nine key planning opportunities for you in a previous communication sent from us. In light of ongoing market volatility, maintaining diversification and a long-term perspective is more crucial than ever.
Please don’t hesitate to call me or use the scheduling link below if you would like to discuss these insights further or explore strategies suited to the current market environment.”
Pro tip: Always include a digital scheduling link (such as Calendly) at the end of these communications to make appointment-setting frictionless for both you and your clients. This accessibility during challenging times significantly enhances client confidence and satisfaction.
3. Send detailed announcements
Again, client communication is always key, especially in hard times. The most effective approach combines transparency with actionable insights that empower clients and reinforce their sense of financial security. Consider enhancing your regular communications (or creating dedicated weekly updates) that not only inform but educate and deliver meaningful value.
Click the image for a larger version.
The announcement shown here is an example of an effective, informative, and empowering announcement highlighting nine key strategies clients can consider during periods of market uncertainty. This provides substantive guidance for clients unable to attend the webinar while functioning as a valuable reference for those who got to participate.
Consider how you can adapt the nine strategic considerations included in our message for your own client communications!
Pro tip: Develop a comprehensive communication framework if you don’t already have one. Using tools like Constant Contact can streamline your outreach efforts and help maintain consistent client engagement.
4. Implement tax optimization strategies
Market declines actually create ideal conditions for tax-planning conversations with clients. These strategies can demonstrate significant value beyond investment performance:
- Tax-loss trading: Systematically review all client portfolios for tax-loss harvesting opportunities, particularly focusing on the technology sector which has experienced significant volatility. Guide clients through the mechanics of harvesting losses while maintaining appropriate market exposure. However, don’t run afoul of the wash sale rule when selling equities. This rule bars taxpayers from deducting losses on securities that they replace within 30 days.
- Roth conversions: Position this strategy as “buying the dip” for retirement tax planning. Clients who convert traditional IRA assets to Roth IRAs during market declines effectively receive a “double discount”— paying taxes on temporarily reduced account values while positioning for tax-free growth during the eventual recovery. Identify ideal conversion candidates by screening for clients with large IRA balances, sufficient cash reserves to pay conversion taxes, and tax brackets that may increase in retirement. Don’t forget about back door Roth conversions as well.
Pro tip: Create a “Tax Alpha Report” for every client showing the cumulative tax savings achieved through your strategic loss harvesting and Roth conversion recommendations. Include this report in your quarterly reviews to quantify the value you provide beyond pure investment returns.
5. Leverage advanced wealth transfer strategies
A declining market is a great chance to review gifting strategies. Some strategies make more sense when assets are depressed, such as gifting appreciated stock and funding trusts such as Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts (GRATs), Charitable Lead Annuity Trusts (CLATs), and Intentionally Defective Grantor Trusts (IDGTs). Additionally, annual gifting of up to $19,000 per recipient allows you to transfer wealth tax-free while potentially reducing your overall estate tax liability. Also review the impact of declining markets on an estate if in probate and distributing assets.
Pro tip: Maintain relationships with estate planning attorneys who can quickly implement these strategies when market conditions warrant.
Remember that market volatility, while challenging, provides advisory firms with their greatest opportunity to demonstrate value beyond investment performance. By implementing these strategies systematically across your client base, you can transform market pullbacks into practice-building opportunities while delivering meaningful planning value.