Balancing efficiency and client personalization

Sitting at the heart of Treehouse Wealth Advisors' philosophy is the desire to transcend traditional financial practices. Speaking to InvestmentNews, founder Julie Meissner makes it clear that this path was intentional.

"We wanted to make it feel like a personalized approach that really spoke to clients,” she says. “I know that sounds cliché in a lot of ways, but we were very committed to this, to the point of performing a careful assessment of every interaction point with clients.”

Meissner explains that this vision is not just about offering tailored financial advice but about fundamentally reshaping every client interaction to create a more meaningful and personalized experience. Meissner and her team have meticulously re-engineered routine processes like client questionnaires, infusing them with behavioral analysis to gain deeper insights into clients' decision-making patterns. The goal is to tailor client interaction and service, not only to conform to client expectations, but to provide delivery of services in a way that feels most natural and comfortable to each individual.

“We want to know about the small life cues that we all tend to take for granted and often don’t even notice,” Meissner says. Habits of mind around simple things like deciding what to order when out for dinner with friends can actually provide significant information about a client’s inclinations, decision-making style, and other traits that factor into understanding their personality as it relates to financial planning and investing. “Our process leads them through a series of behavioral inquiries that ultimately help us better determine their comfort level,” Meissner explains.

In the post-pandemic environment, Treehouse Wealth Advisors has embraced technological advances as another way to enhance these client relationships. The challenge, as Meissner puts it, is to "simultaneously standardize and personalize." This balancing act between individualized service and efficiency is critical in delivering bespoke services on a scalable platform.

Not surprisingly, Meissner also emphasizes good communication as another cornerstone of the firm's strategy. “We have what we call our 'wheel of focus', an internal tool that helps track important aspects of clients' lives,” she says. Synchronizing client communications with what is going on in their lives help Treehouse Wealth Advisors ensure that clients’ financial plans are in harmony with their personal goals and life events.

“We want to know about highlights in their lives,” says Meissner, who also underlines careful listening as indispensable to the communications process. “We listen carefully to not just what they say, but how they say it—the language they use.” Meissner explains that the two partners in a client couple may express themselves differently, and these subtle nuances can yield important clues. “How they're valuing the outcome may be different. And we understand the importance of knowing that and incorporating it into the way we advise them.”

Meissner's personal experiences as a woman financial professional and a parent influenced her approach in the establishment of the firm. She recalls the challenge of balancing her professional life with her role as a mother, especially after the birth of her second daughter. "I wanted to make sure that there was a different option," she says.

“I believed I could create a firm where it was possible to be a complete professional and at the same time have a fulfilling personal life.” She says that the culture at Treehouse Wealth Management places equal value on the highest industry standards and flexibility for team members and others. “If you build staff and colleague relationships on trust, it means that granting people the flexibility they need shouldn’t be a cause for concern. That was and remains a core premise here.”