I spent this half term in Poland with my youngest daughter who is studying philosophy and ethics and thought that she ought to visit a concentration camp to better understand some of her studies.

After a visit to Auschwitz, (which I thoroughly recommend) I got to thinking deep thoughts about all those people who never got to realise their dreams and whose futures were cruelly snatched away.

And then I compared this with our fortunate lives and those of our clients. With peoples’ lives changing so quickly and the increasing possibility of them living longer, we need to be providing a lifelong service that addresses all their concerns at the same time as helping them to make and amend their lifetime financial and life plans.

This is what makes Financial Planning businesses different to any other – the lifelong service that is needed and valued by clients who are happy to pay our fees, willing to accept our advice unconditionally, promote our services to their wider network and become an ambassador for our business. Successful Financial Planning businesses understand how clients feel – they know they can be nervous, overwhelmed, insecure, frightened, and ignorant. In this case they will provide a safe pair of hands and a great deal of reassurance.

When clients feel they are understood and they trust their planner to put their interests first, the ongoing relationship will be strong and so valuable that they will never want to lose it. The value we add to peoples’ lives is immense. I don’t mean just by saving tax or improving investment returns.

We can really help to change lives for the better and that kind of service can never be commoditised or robotised. This means that our businesses will be safe in the future – demand for this type of help will almost certainly increase as people will always want to feel reassured and confident about their money.

Julie Lord is chief executive and a founder of Magenta Financial Planning in Bridgend, South Wales