Written by: Nigel Green | deVere Group
Advisers are still talking about risk like it’s the enemy. Clients no longer see it that way.
Conversations around risk tolerance need a reset. Not because the maths is wrong, but because the mindset has shifted, and the language hasn’t caught up.
Investors today are far more comfortable with uncertainty than many professionals give them credit for.
According to the 2024 Schroders Global Investor Study, 69% of clients say their risk tolerance hasn’t changed over the past three years, despite an extraordinary run of market shocks, rate hikes, and geopolitical disruption. That’s not indifference. That’s resilience. It’s also a sign that advisers are in danger of underestimating their clients.
Even more revealing: nearly one-third of investors believe their adviser is more risk-averse than they are. That should trigger alarm bells. If a client feels their adviser is holding them back rather than guiding them forward, they’ll seek alternatives. Not out of disloyalty, but because the dynamic feels misaligned.
Advisers are meant to lead the conversation on risk, not suppress it.
This misalignment often starts with language. The industry still presents risk as a compliance hurdle, something to ‘assess’ and ‘profile’—as if risk appetite were static and neatly boxed. But real people aren’t built like that.
Risk changes with time, wealth, personal experiences, and the cultural mood. Advisers need to match that complexity with more nuanced, more ambitious communication.
It’s time to stop pretending that a 60/40 portfolio is the universal comfort zone. Schroders’ study shows that more than half of investors are interested in high-risk, high-reward strategies. And this isn’t limited to the young or the adventurous.
This is a cross-demographic shift in investor mindset: clients want opportunity. They want returns. They know risk comes with that territory—and they’re okay with it.
Yet many advisers are still talking about volatility as something to be dodged. That’s outdated. Clients don’t need protecting from risk. They need context. They need to understand what it looks like when managed properly and what it could mean for their long-term goals. They want to know the trade-offs, not be warned off the path.
The best in the business have already made this pivot. They’re using storytelling, analogies, and behavioural insight to bring risk alive. They’re shifting from passive questionnaires to active conversations. They’re not just quantifying risk—they’re qualifying it. They’re turning it into a shared language that reflects both ambition and responsibility.
And it works. Advisers who can speak to risk intelligently—without defaulting to caution or burying it in disclaimers—are building deeper relationships.
Clients trust advisers who can help them take smart risks, not just avoid dumb ones. They want someone who understands the power of timing, allocation, and long-term positioning—not someone who hides behind diversification as a shield.
This isn’t about pushing clients further out on the risk curve. It’s about earning the right to go there by having better conversations. Conversations that recognise risk as a force that can unlock value, not just destroy it. Conversations that give clients ownership over their strategy. Conversations that align not just with financial goals but with personal convictions.
There is no one-size-fits-all anymore. Some clients are conservative in one area, aggressive in another. Some want to go big on innovation and dial back elsewhere. If you don’t ask and listen with care, you’ll miss it. And if you fall back on templated phrases and theoretical charts, you’ll get left behind.
Risk isn’t just exposure. It’s access. Access to ideas, to change, to growth. Clients are already there. It’s time the advice industry caught up.
Related: Why the Future of Financial Advice Belongs to Giants