I just came back from presenting at a MetLife conference about Anticipating Client Life Events.  The presentation is an extension of the session I have been giving on enhancing Client Review Meetings.  It was really a discussion about ways to add value for clients and topics to discuss with clients.

The advisors, top advisors for MetLife, seemed to value the ideas to help them get in front of clients.  They suggested a number of topics to discuss that I had not considered.  for instance, I thought it might be helpful to discuss the impact of news events on the client--meaning media reports.  They suggested discussing personal news items as well:  their friend's illness, their relative's unemployment.

One of my topics was discussing how the financial and health situation of elderly parents might impact your clients' situation.  Do your clients' parents have enough money to last their life?  If not, would your clients want to help them financially.  If financial support would be offered, can your clients afford it?  Is there anything that can be or should be done now to prepare for the possibility?

If your clients' parents have health issues will that impact your clients' retirement?  If so, is there anything that your clients can do now to prepare?

I started thinking about the topics as items that may impact your clients' goals but are unlikely to be brought up by clients as a goal.  I thought of 22 topics that could be addressed.  What do you think about the idea of enhancing your review meetings with these kind of issues?