Practice

Convert your practise to fee-based

In our rapidly evolving industry, with stiff competition from the banks and ever-increasing demands from clients (not to mention decreases in revenue brought on by the extended bear market), many fi nancial advisors have decided it makes good sense now to transition their practices to the fee model. Even though advisors understand the rationales, there […]

By Marc Lamontagne |June 1, 2009

7 min read

Planning and Advice

Help clients solve their "little" problems

The planning of this issue started with a series of conversations with fee advisors. All those chats circled back to a common theme: Times like these show the advantages of not having to earn commissions. That’s no dig at those who do opt for a commission structure. This business is all about choice, starting with […]

By Philip Porado |June 1, 2009

2 min read

Planning and Advice

Tips for attracting new business

Estate planning Retirement Planning (which includes both individual pension plans and retirement compensation arrangements) 3. Identify specific client concerns. In the case of this advisor’s clients, business owners in the manufacturing sector, she found that three main concerns applied. Current and future net worth: Entrepreneurs are consumed by the current and future value of their […]

By Keith Pangretitsch |May 20, 2009

3 min read

Planning and Advice

The Tizzy factor: How to beat being overwhelmed

Review the cases in progress and make a plan to clear up the backlog and focus on cases already open and likely to close. Note that the potential revenue from the cases Ernie had “in the mill” amounted to 200% of the revenue he had earned the previous year! Project the potential revenue from new […]

By Juli Leith and Kim Poulin |May 13, 2009

4 min read

Are you majoring in minor things?

We know that the secret to growing your business is to ask for referrals and see as many new prospects as possible. This takes time. Unfortunately, too many good advisors are losing time every day putting out fires and taking care of nitty-gritty details. They’re nearly overwhelmed and yet they can’t, or won’t find the […]

4 min read

The future is female

It’s not just me saying it. Enter a room full of financial advisors at any industry gathering and you can see for yourself—women are clearly a minority in the fi nancial world. According to a 2008 FPSC analysis, only one-third of the 17,000 CFP professionals in Canada are female. That’s surprising, considering many studies and […]

3 min read

Helping widows

Despite an avalanche of media attention, advisors are still encountering women who have been left out of the financial loop. This becomes particularly evident soon after they’re widowed. Sometimes wives left decisions to the husband; other times men insisted on control. Either way, we’re still seeing widows who are left confused, and without sufficient income […]

3 min read

Managing maternity

When Kristine Douglas, a CFP with Investment Planning Counsel, first started her career in 2000, she had to contend with a ruthless market meltdown. So when her fi rst child was born two years later she didn’t have the luxury of a maternity leave. She was back at work three days later—her recession-ravaged clients needed […]

7 min read

How she does it: successful women’s roundtable

The paths women take to success in the advisory business are as diverse as the individuals themselves. Striking the right balance between work and family life is hard, but not impossible. The women we spoke with consistently praised the flexibility of the financial industry—noting its client-centric nature lets them break free of rigid working hours, […]

11 min read

Divorce divisions

Statistics Canada tells us 37.7% of all Canadian marriages will end in a divorce before the 30th anniversary. And divorce before age 30 is becoming so common that it’s creating a demographic phenomenon: The starter marriage. Going through separation can be diffi cult at any time. It’s complicated by the fact that the Divorce Act, […]

7 min read