Practice

Whither materiality?

The question of meaningful, professional disclosure can be addressed in a number of ways. The most obvious way is to comply with the letter of the regulation. As such, product manufacturers need to make clear disclosures in their prospectuses and offering memoranda, inlcuding what their products cost and any associated permutations, such as taxes, performance […]

By John De Goey |December 1, 2008

3 min read

Planning and Advice

Forthright fees

Fees: I believe a consumer’s most common understanding of this word is you will send a bill for your advice; the way accountants and lawyers typically do for their services. I may not know up front what I’ll be paying for my accounting or legal advice, but I will eventually, because I’ll get a bill. […]

By Jim Rogers |December 1, 2008

3 min read

Planning and Advice

Meet the millennials

If any of your clients are parents or grandparents, you’ll be familiar with the one common subject they talk incessantly about—kids or grandkids. Whether it’s their son’s accomplishments, their daughter’s education, or their grandkids’ inheritance, your clients’ offspring tend to dominate the conversation. Directly and indirectly, the millennials (those born between 1980 and 1994) exert […]

By Merge Gupta-Sunderji |December 1, 2008

3 min read

Planning and Advice

Growing grey

You’ve been chasing a big prospect for some time now, and he’s finally agreed to give you a few minutes of his time. So here you are, face to face with someone more than twice your age, who’s been through bull markets, bear markets, crashes, bubbles. You, on the other hand, have been registered for […]

By Michael Callahan |December 1, 2008

3 min read

You’re busted

Baby Busters. Gen-Xers. No matter what you call today’s adults in their 30s and early 40s, these are the people who’ll fi ll up your client books in the coming years. But advising Gen-Xers is not the same as advising people facing retirement or those just starting out their adult lives. Let’s consider the approaches […]

8 min read

Why CFP accreditation is important

While I commend the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada’s efforts to introduce a rule that will govern how member fi rms supervise fi nancial planning activities, the rule is too vague to be helpful. A better approach would be for those of us within the financial industry to view it from the public’s perspective. […]

3 min read

Four faces

Amidst market uncertainty, the largest generation of Canadians, the boomers, careens toward retirement. As such, the generational divide is widening and advisors face increased challenges. They’re often required to cater to clients in two, three, and even four separate cohorts (pre-boomer, 62 or older; boomers, 46 to 61 years old; Gen X, aged 30 to […]

By Tricia Benn |December 1, 2008

3 min read

Solvency statute

We have a ritual in my household. Every time a credit card company sends one of those sets of blank cheques and a letter promising the opportunity to buy anything our hearts desire, we do an impromptu dramatic reading. One of us will hold up the letter and recite, “Dear Mr. Porado, it has come […]

By Philip Porado |December 1, 2008

2 min read

Technology, platforms and competing in today’s marketplace

Clients have become better educated about the principles of investing and the qualities they expect from their advisors, so the need to learn about new tools and processes to meet clients’ demands will only increase in the future. This makes it necessary for advisors to understand which tools and processes are available, and the amount […]

4 min read