Practice

FaceOff: IIROC vs. MFDA

To IIROC or not to IIROC? We put the question to three successful advisors with three very different approaches, and got some great answers. YES Bruce Vaillancourt, CFP, CSA, Senior Financial Advisor, Vaillancourt Wealth Management/Manulife Securities Inc. Bruce Vaillancourt was an MFDA advisor before he moved to IIROC. In the first year after his move, […]

By Kanupriya Vashisht |April 1, 2010

13 min read

Planning and Advice

Character not a licence make an advisor

What does an advisor really need to do business these days? Canadian advisors have the luxury of choosing the route that places them across the table from clients. They can opt for a full securities registration through the Investments Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada, take a mutual funds licence from the Mutual Fund Dealers Association, […]

By Philip Porado |April 1, 2010

3 min read

Planning and Advice

Debt survey says: WAKE UP!!!

Last month I received an email from Steven Lamb of Advisor.ca asking if I’d make a few comments on a survey conducted by RBC. You may have read the article based on the findings of that research. I love interesting findings. Especially surveys that discover curious patterns about what we and our clients think will […]

|March 23, 2010

4 min read

Planning and Advice

Tying the Knot: Growth by merger

Meet for coffee, date, get hitched. The milestones of a successful personal relationship can also be applied to the merger of a business. As a lucky participant in a so-far successful merger of two financial planning practices, here’s what else I’ve learned: Know these things before you sit down to negotiate your partnership, otherwise you […]

By Kathleen Peace |March 19, 2010

2 min read

Shaping your brand

It’s proven that marketing is a leading indicator of success in terms of asset gathering, which in turn leads to increased revenue. And I truly believe marketing is particularly important (and potentially easier) during uncertain markets, when investors are skittish about heavy-handed sales techniques and investing in general. The one mistake I made years ago […]

7 min read

Shaping your brand

7 min read

Shaping your brand

7 min read

Tying the Knot: Growth by merger

2 min read

Probability, disclosure and client choice

Many advisors I know recommend picking stocks or picking actively-managed mutual funds as their specialty and their exclusive way of building a responsible portfolio. While I respect their decision and acknowledge advisors should be able to recommend whatever products or strategies they think are best for their clients, I also believe a substantial element of […]

6 min read

Valenti: Protecting your client book

It happens all too often. A financial advisor becomes seriously ill, disabled or even passes away unexpectedly. When this happens, one of the most valuable assets that an advisor owns – his or her client book – is left unattended. The beneficiaries and/or executors are left scrambling to sell the book with little or no […]

4 min read