Advisers learn hard lessons from Oklahoma twister

While those in the Oklahoma City area focus on cleaning up the devastation left by Monday's powerful tornado, the incident reminds advisers that life-changing events happen quickly and they need to be prepared. Advisers who experienced the destruction first-hand or with clients know the importance of having quick access to client data, beginning with contact information. “It's a matter of having the data at your fingertips,” said Mark Woody, a private wealth adviser with Ameriprise Financial Services Inc. in Norman, Okla., which is about six miles south of the tornado's path. “Knowing client cell numbers and in some cases other family members' cell numbers to reach out right after something like this happens is crucial.” Of course, cell phone communication is often out or spotty after such catastrophes, as was in the case of this week's class EF-5 tornado that struck the city of Moore and killed at least 37 people. Even miles away, all phone, cell and Internet service was down for about six hours after the tornado touched down, Mr. Woody said. Another challenge was figuring out which clients were in the twister's path of destruction, which was more than a mile wide and 17 miles long. The day after the tornado Mr. Woody said he downloaded a list of clients in area codes that had been affected, created a map of the damaged areas and then had to pinpoint each client's home to evaluate whether they were likely to have been hit and most in need of his help. In the end, one client lost his home, but was safe. Mr. Woody reached him on his cell phone and offered food, clothing and a place to stay. In this case, the client's insurer was already providing money for temporary shelter and other needs. While the tornado's wrath is still clear in everyone's minds, Mr. Woody said he plans to talk about emergency preparedness with all his clients at their next meeting. He plans to collect all their insurance policy details — so he could provide those numbers to clients in need — and discuss whether they are properly insured. He may also investigate whether there is software that could quickly generate a map of the location of all his clients in a certain area. Peggy Doviak, a fee-only adviser at DM Wealth Management Inc., also in Norman, said the communications breakdown in the hours after the storm was frustrating and made her question her own emergency planning. She was occasionally able to get a text through during those first few hours, but that was it. “I would have argued that I was good with a redundancy system, but even your redundancies can fail,” she said. “I was amazed at how completely without everything I was.” Burl Wimsett, a Waddell & Reed Inc. adviser, knows how it feels to really be without everything. Two years ago, his office was demolished by the tornado that hit Joplin, Mo. Sadly, one of his clients was killed and 40 of them lost homes. “It's absolutely essential that your records are backed up and available because your clients need money the next day,” Mr. Wimsett said. The day after the Joplin tornado, Mr. Wimsett found that his filing cabinets had blown a block away, and he rented a warehouse with enough space to operate from and to dry out client documents. The Waddell & Reed home office in Overland Park, Kan., sent him a laptop and his business was operational within 48 hours. “For clients, the most important thing was to know we were in operation and their money was safe and they could access it in the normal way,” Mr. Wimsett said. Still in Joplin, Mr. Wimsett now makes sure he has e-mail addresses and cell phone numbers for all his clients so he can try to find them in an emergency — something he had difficulty doing after the tornado in May 2011. Oklahoma Securities Commission Administrator Irving Faught said advisers must have sufficient off-site storage for all records and alternative communications systems at the ready. “If an investor or customer would be panicked about what's happening or fearful about their funds, they should have alternative ways to reach someone to reassure them,” Mr. Faught said. In addition to having advisers' cell phone numbers, it may be appropriate for clients to have numbers for the entities that hold their funds in custody, he said. John Napolitano, chief executive of U.S. Wealth Management in Braintree, Mass., said Wednesday that his firm's contingency plans worked well in the days following the April 15, 2013, bombings at the Boston Marathon, but he had new appreciation for remote technologies. Even employees who were locked in their homes in Boston and couldn't physically get into the office were able to work from remote locations with such devices, Mr. Napolitano said. “Thank God for iPads,” he said. Darla Mercado contributed to this story