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

Planning and Advice

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 […]

By Simon Reilly |May 4, 2009

4 min read

Planning and Advice

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 […]

By Tina Tehranchian |May 1, 2009

3 min read

Planning and Advice

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 […]

By Janet Freedman |May 1, 2009

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

Take her advice

For the past 50 years, the power and consistency of the feminist movement has created ideal conditions for the emergence of women in the advice channel who truly understand the importance of financial independence and value its attainment. And, no surprise, these women clients seek both like and like-minded financial professionals to guide them toward […]

2 min read

Odd lots

Failure, it is said, is of uncertain paternity, while victory has many parents. In the midst of a severe financial crisis, blame seeks a ready target. And yet, every financial crisis has a pattern that unfolds with predictable excesses, villains and scapegoats. If you canvass people who are distant from financial services, invariably they will […]

By Scot Blythe |April 29, 2009

3 min read

Dealing with client complaints

There’s a particular advisor I’ll always remember. He said to me: “Keith, I tell every client the same story, and I want to share it with you.” He held up his right hand and asked me to pick a finger. Confused, I looked at him but decided to play along, hoping he wouldn’t ask me […]

4 min read