Behind the Advice

By The Globe and MailBusiness Investing

Behind the Advice episodes

March 18 From philosophy to finance: Jay Smith’s unconventional path to becoming a top advisor
This week, Brenda speaks with Jay Smith, senior portfolio manager at CIBC Wood Gundy. Jay talks about his early career as an academic, how a PHD in philosophy prepared him for the world of finance, and how he talked his way into a job at Merrill Lynch in the 1970s. He also shares some lessons he’s learned over his five decades in the investment industry and how those experiences have shaped the investment strategy he uses today.

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26 min
March 11 Why switching to advice-only was the best career move Lori Curtiss ever made
This week, Brenda speaks with Lori Curtiss, a certified financial planner and the founder of A Money Maker Mindset, based in Calgary. The two talk about Lori’s childhood in a small farming community in Alberta, the financial challenges of becoming a single mother at 18, and how she learned to be less controlling with her own money later in life. Lori also discusses why choosing to become an advice-only financial advisor was the best move of her career and how she built a thriving practice despite a strong dislike of networking.

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23 min
March 04 What the loss of her family’s wealth during the Iranian revolution taught Tina Tehranchian about diversification
This week, Brenda speaks with Tina Tehranchian, a senior wealth advisor at CI Assante Wealth Management in Toronto. The two discuss Tina’s childhood in Iran, how losing her family’s wealth during the Iranian Revolution changed her perspective on money, and her experience immigrating to Canada during a recession. They also discuss Tina’s path into the financial services industry and her recent appointment to the Order of Canada.

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22 min
February 25 Why Darren Coleman thinks longevity and caregiving are the next big trends in wealth planning
This week, Brenda speaks with Darren Coleman, senior financial advisor and portfolio manager with Portage Cross Border Wealth Management at Raymond James. The two discuss Darren's entry into the financial services industry at a very young age, how caregiving and longevity are reshaping the business, and why he believes understanding human behaviour is just as essential for an advisor as understanding the numbers.

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30 min
February 18 How Shiraz Ahmed went from cold-calling prospects to launching his own wealth management firm
In this episode of Behind the Advice, Brenda Bouw speaks with Shiraz Ahmed, founder and CEO of Sartorial Wealth in Mississauga. Shiraz spent more than two decades in the financial services industry, most recently as an advisor at Raymond James, before starting his own firm in 2025. They discuss Shiraz’s earliest days in the industry as a cold caller, the regulatory challenges of being a cross-border advisor and why he felt the time was right to leave his longtime firm and go out on his own.

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24 min
February 11 Why Lin Sok thinks more advisors should be working independently
In the first episode of season 3, Brenda Bouw interviews Lin Sok, an independent financial advisor from Montreal. Lin talks about how her experience growing up with immigrant parents and selling mixtapes in high school sparked her entrepreneurial spirit. They also cover how open banking could give consumers and advisors more control, Lin’s views on crypto in a portfolio, and practical ways to build a finance career beyond traditional banks.

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29 min
February 05 Coming soon: Season three of Behind the Advice
Brenda Bouw is back hosting season three of Behind the Advice, a podcast from The Globe and Mail that takes you behind the scenes with the people who help Canadians make some of their biggest life decisions. Whether you’re a financial advisor looking for new ideas, an investor curious about the person across the table, or just someone interested in the human side of money, Behind the Advice will have something for you. Season 3 launches February 11th.

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2 min
July 23, 2025 How Julia Chung went from being a single teenage mother to a financial advisor
At the age of 19, Julia Chung experienced two life-changing events within just a few days: she lost her mother to cancer and gave birth to her son. This combination of loss and new life thrust Julia into adulthood, testing her resilience and requiring a rapid education in financial literacy.
Today, Julia is the founder and CEO of Spring Planning in the Vancouver area and serves as the Board Chair of the Financial Planning Association of Canada. She speaks with Brenda about growing up with hippie parents, her initial reluctance to accept a leadership role at FPAC, and why we're seeing more women in leadership positions within the financial services industry.
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for information about our collection and use of personal data for
advertising.
29 min
July 16, 2025 Why Bo Banner left the CFL for a career as an advisor
Bo Banner has been chasing the thrill of competition from an early age. He spent a significant period of his youth competing in amateur skateboarding tournaments before shifting his focus to football. After four successful years on a scholarship at Central Washington University, he landed a pro contract with the Montreal Alouettes in the Canadian Football League.
But a few years later, he decided to hang up his cleats and focus on a new career as a wealth advisor. Today, Bo works as an independent financial advisor in Whistler, BC. He and Brenda discuss his path to the CFL, the circumstances that led him to leave football behind for a career in finance, and how being a pro athlete prepared him for life as an advisor.
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for information about our collection and use of personal data for
advertising.
25 min
July 09, 2025 Why Samantha Sykes thinks we should be worried about the rise of finfluencers
When it came to choosing a career, Samantha Sykes explored several different paths, from writing the LSAT with an intent to pursue law to spending three years at culinary school. But it was an impromptu conversation on a cruise ship that set her career as an advisor in motion. These days, Samantha is a Senior Investment Advisor and Financial Planner at Raymond James in Toronto.
She and Brenda discuss a humbling mistake she made early in her career, her concerns about the rise of “finfluencers” and her advice for women of colour wanting to break into the advisory world. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com
for information about our collection and use of personal data for
advertising.
29 min

About Behind the Advice

From the publisher's feed

There’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to financial advice. It’s as varied and individual as the people giving it. Welcome to Behind The Advice, a new podcast from The Globe and Mail. Join Globe…

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Behind the Advice

Behind the Advice episodes

About Behind the Advice