Behind the Advice

Natalie Jamison’s first career was in luxury hotels. She loved the work, but the hours made it hard to picture the family life she wanted. When she moved into wealth management, she brought the best of hospitality with her: a focus on making people feel looked after and understood.

In this episode, she tells Brenda how her mother’s misunderstanding about an investment led Natalie to make financial literacy a cornerstone of her practice. They also talk about why she worries about the rise of finfluencers and why she likes to throw a few punches after a stressful day.
 

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After years of long hours in finance, William Chan realized his career was costing him precious time with his family. When the pandemic gave him a chance to rethink his priorities, he made a bold move: leaving corporate finance to become an independent financial planner.

He and Brenda discuss what led him to take that leap, how he talks to his children about money and how artificial intelligence is changing the way financial planners work with clients.

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On his first day at an investment firm, Ryan Bushell expected career advice from his then-boss. Instead, he got a lesson about fancy and ordinary office chairs that still shapes how he manages money.

Today, Ryan is chief executive officer and portfolio manager at New Haven Asset Management in Toronto, where he continues to put his distinctive investing philosophy into practice. He and Brenda discuss the mentor who changed his approach to wealth management, the challenges of starting over in his thirties and why he steers clear of investing in technology stocks.

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Millie Gormely grew up on a dairy farm outside Thunder Bay, Ont., where money could be unpredictable and hard work was simply part of life. As a kid, she learned that if she wanted something, she had to earn it. That philosophy carried on into adulthood. It took juggling multiple jobs, and eventually multiple surgeries, before Millie realized she needed to slow things down.

Today, Millie is a financial planner who focuses her practice on independent women. She and Brenda discuss the intense work schedule that landed her in the hospital, why some lifelong savers struggle to spend in retirement and her new financial planning book, More Than Numbers.
 

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After losing his entire RRSP investment on a hot stock tip, Harp Sandhu learned that building wealth doesn’t have to be exciting.

Today, Harp is a senior wealth advisor and portfolio manager with Sandhu Wealth at Raymond James Ltd. in Victoria. He helps his clients navigate the financial complexities of moving between Canada and the U.S. Harp is also seeing more Canadians return home after years south of the border and is facing new questions about their money, taxes and investments.

Harp and Brenda talk about the investing mistake that shaped his approach, why cross-border moves are becoming more common and what Canadians need to consider when bringing their finances back home.

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What happens when you’re forced to navigate an estate before you’ve had much experience managing your own finances? For Kimberly Wood, becoming the executor of her mother’s estate at 23 was a life-changing education and the start of her career in wealth management. Today, Kim is a wealth advisor with Johnstone Wealth Management Group at National Bank in Toronto, where she focuses on investments, estate and financial planning. 

She and Brenda discuss a financial choice that cost her a longtime friendship, why being the smartest person in the room can sometimes work against you, and the financial challenges of preparing to grow old alone.

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Brenda Bouw returns to host a new season of Behind the Advice, The Globe and Mail podcast about financial advice—and the people who give it. This season, advisors across Canada discuss how they steer clients through volatile markets, rising costs and shifting economic rules, and share the moments that shaped how they do the job. New episodes begin September 23.

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Rona Birenbaum has been a natural saver from day one. Raised in a middle‑class household, she learned to scrutinize every purchase – a habit that took decades to loosen. 

After starting her career working as a multi‑branch manager at a credit union, Rona found sales targets and quotas clashed with the individualized financial planning that clients actually needed. In 2000, she took a major leap, going independent to launch Caring for Clients, a financial planning‑first advisory practice.  

In this episode, Rona talks with Brenda about her decades‑long struggle with “saver’s guilt,” how she helps retirees feel secure about spending their hard‑earned money and why she thinks Mary Poppins would be a great financial advisor.

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We often think of financial planning as a game of math. But for Zainab Williams, the real work doesn't start with numbers; it starts with understanding the person sitting across from her. Zainab is a certified financial planner and dedicated money coach who operates on an advice-only model.

She and Brenda discuss why she views financial planning as a form of behavioural therapy, why she’s worried about the speed at which AI is affecting personal finance choices, and how establishing personal guardrails around money can give people the freedom to live fully today while still securing tomorrow.

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After supporting his wife through three midwife-assisted pregnancies, Aravind Sithamparapillai realized that Ontario's midwives were navigating complex tax choices and unique career longevity hurdles with very little support. Today, Aravind is a financial planner at Ironwood Wealth Management Group, where he specializes in advising midwives and women in health care.

He speaks with Brenda about his cross-continental family history, what he learned from female mentors in the industry and how he navigates deeply vulnerable conversations around financial planning. 

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