When clients and advisers become friends

Susan Spraker simply couldn't hold back the tears. Last year, when she was giving a eulogy for a client who died from lung cancer, she began to cry. It wasn't surprising: the deceased was more than a valued client — he was a valued friend. Over the years, Ms. Spraker said she's become good friends with scores of her clients at Spraker Wealth Management, which manages $57 million in assets. “I just get very close to them,” she said. “I build a bond with the clients and they know they have an adviser who spends the time to get to know the family.” While practice management experts said advisers must maintain a fine line between finances and personal issues, it's not uncommon for advisers to forge close friendships with their clients. “This is really in the DNA of most advisers,” said Gabriel Garcia, managing director of business consulting with The Charles Schwab Corp.'s advisor services division. “These clients aren't customers — they're really relationships.” In fact, Ms. Spraker visited David Eason, a friend and client, in the hospital when he was sick. She also went to his family's house weekly, offering pot roast and a supportive shoulder for the client's wife, Judie. “She is a friend,” Ms. Eason said. “She's compassionate and considerate.” Still, Ms. Eason said that, during her husband's illness, Ms. Spraker focused on financial matters first — helping Mr. Eason make some last-minute decisions with her estate planning. Both Mr. and Ms. Eason had been married before, and they were overseeing five trusts for their family. “Susan has the unique ability to touch you personally and keep it separated,” Ms. Eason said. “I can always tell when she's calling to ask how I'm doing and when she's calling to talk about business.” That kind of separation is crucial, particularly since professional relationships often have a way of gradually — even unexpectedly — morphing into personal ones. “This is not something in your business plan,” said Dan Sullivan, a senior vice president and board member of Cambridge Investment Research Inc. “But it's an evolution in certain relationships.” Mr. Sullivan has been an adviser for more than thirty years. In that time, he said he has become friends with a number of his clients. “You know what kind of relationship you have with a client,” he said, “when you go to the wedding of every one of their children.” Indeed, many clients get a return on their friendships with advisers that defies standard benchmarks. “It's a financial adviser's job to make sure your investments are in place,” Ms Eason noted. “But it isn't their job to come to your house each week and bring you dinner.” For Susan Spraker, that service comes free of charge.