When clients speak English as a second language, ensuring understanding is key

Fred Zhou, a senior financial planner with TD Wealth in Kamloops, B.C., remembers going to the bank with his parents when he was eight years old. He helped translate what the bank advisor said in English to his parents, who only spoke Cantonese.

“If it wasn’t for the patient advisor that encouraged me to come into the bank with my mom, I don’t know if I would’ve gone to university and I don’t know if I would be serving my community [as an advisor],” Zhou said.

Now, just under 10% of Zhou’s clients are non-native English speakers. When clients speak to an advisor who shares a common language and cultural experience with them, it creates a connection that “this person gets me,” Zhou said. And an advisor can’t give good advice unless the client opens up.

Advisors who serve clients whose first language isn’t English say that building trust with minority-language communities can bring referral business to a practice, but it takes more work to stay compliant and ensure clients understand their plans.

Building trust and earning referrals

Hailing from Colombia, Ivan Arturo, a Sun Life advisor in Richmond Hill, Ont., started his career by advertising in Spanish-language newspapers and radio stations in his area. About one in 10 of his clients speak Spanish as a first language.

In his experience, sharing the same mother tongue made it easier for him to develop trust, become the advisor of choice and articulate complicated financial concepts with these clients.

In addition, referral business is strong among immigrant communities, Zhou said. Clients will tell their family members about advisors who can explain financial concepts in a way they understand.

“They’ll even come from other parts of the city because they found out that there’s a language-enabled advisor,” Zhou said.

Practices can also encourage multilingual team members to attract referral business from their diaspora. Sean Ryder, an advisor with Loreto Ryder & Associates, IG Wealth in Toronto, encouraged his Iranian associate to pursue clients from the Iranian community.

Although the associate was hesitant at first, Ryder supported him, knowing he could likely reach underserved members of the community. Ryder also paid to sponsor the community events his associate hosted to help drive business.

“The immigrant community refers, they’re champions at that,” Ryder said. “Once they’ve found someone … you get in and everybody talks.”

In compliant conversation

Although most of Arturo’s Spanish-speaking clients have good English proficiency, many feel more comfortable chatting in Spanish. That works for client meetings, but all formal documents must be in English to remain compliant, he said.

Sometimes a client will sign a document on trust without reading it, so an advisor needs to ensure they understand the contract to avoid abusing that trust, Arturo said.

“Even when we speak in English … I tell them, ‘Please read the contract and then if you have any questions, call me back or just send me an email,’” Arturo said. If a client doesn’t understand what they’re signing, a complaint can come back to bite the advisor later.

Ryder has several clients who have referred their Italian-speaking parents to his firm. It’s often helpful to have an adult family member who’s fluent in English sit in on the conversation to help translate more complex topics, he said.

Regardless of what language the client speaks, the advisor still goes through the same compliance procedures, such as explaining investment risks and conflicts of interest, Ryder said. “If the son or daughter or niece or nephew [is present], a lot of times I’m going on the trust factor that they’re explaining exactly what I’m saying.”

To check for understanding, Ryder asks clients to explain what has just been said. People tend to push conversations forward, which could hide their lack of fluency, he said. An advisor may not be able to gauge a client’s understanding accurately if they don’t check in regularly.

When presenting a financial plan, Ryder leans on illustrations and charts to get the point across. “Most people are graphic [learners],” he said. “Pictures are a thousand words.”

From his experience visiting the bank with his parents, Zhou understood that jargon could act as a barrier to financial literacy. Now, he tries to explain abstract concepts, such as the difference between a registered retirement savings account (RRSP) and a tax-free savings account (TFSA), through attributes like tax sheltering and tax deferral.

And the skill of explaining tax concepts is useful for working with all clients.

“The simpler you keep it, the more it’s understood,” Ryder said.