Growing Your Financial Advisory Practice | Insights for Financial Advisors, Planners and Investment Managers

The comprehensive services offered by family offices have traditionally only been available to high-net-worth individuals. But today’s guest, Marc Lamontagne, was determined to offer full-service fee-based financial planning to the emerging affluent ‒ folks who may not be millionaires yet but who have some investable assets built up. In this episode, you’ll hear how he built an accessible yet profitable family office practice into Ottawa's largest fee-based financial planning firm.

Marc is a founding partner of Ryan Lamontagne Inc. He specializes in comprehensive financial planning, investment counseling, and tax planning. Marc has also delivered numerous seminars and workshops across Canada. He’s a recognized expert in the field and has appeared in publications such as the Globe & Mail, the Financial Post, CBC, Ottawa Citizen, Toronto Star, CTV Morning Live, and MoneySense magazine. Listen in to hear why he wanted to offer a comprehensive financial planning service that even includes tax preparation, how he gets clients to implement all the recommendations on his financial plan, and how he ensures his business is always growing.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

Links and Resources:

Ryan Lamontagne Inc.

Quotes by Marc:

“One of the things I always tell clients is that the implementation process is just as important as the planning process because all the planning in the world isn’t going to do you any good unless you implement it.”

“I always used to joke that a financial plan is kind of like a new car: it loses about 20% of its value the minute you drive off the lot because as you know, over time, your financial situation may change, your life may change, your goals change.”

“Sometimes what you have to do is look around you and say is there some sort of structure that's preventing me from expanding my business? Because if a business isn’t growing, it’s dying.”

Marc’s mission with Ryan Lamontagne Inc. was always to offer as much as possible to his clients in one place so that they wouldn’t need to seek out teams of people to help them with their finances. Today, he’s sharing lessons and tips from his extensive experience in the field. We’ll share some highlights from the show here:

For the rest of the episode, find the podcast on iTunes or Stitcher, or just hit the link above.

Why Marc offers tax preparation as part of his financial planning offerings

Ryan Lamontagne Inc. is unusual among financial planning firms in that they offer tax preparation as one of their services. Marc feels it’s an important part of his firm for three reasons:

Marc’s trick for getting clients to implement his recommendations

Every advisor knows the frustration of giving their client sensible and simple recommendations that get neglected year after year.  Recommendations like, say, having an up-to-date will.

“One of the things I always tell clients is that the implementation process is just as important as the planning process,” Marc says, “because all the planning in the world isn’t going to do you any good unless you implement it.”

Of course, Marc can only do so much to help his clients outside of creating the plan itself. But while he can’t be with them every day to help them stop racking up credit card debt on unnecessary purchases, he did find a sneaky way to get his clients to knock off important to-dos right from his office.

Action items like writing a will are tricky because they don’t seem urgent to clients, and so they’re not very likely to do them. However, Marc has learned to actually book the client’s appointment with the lawyer during his meeting with them. That way, all they have to do is show up.

Even better, he tells them he will go with them to the first meeting. Not only does this help the lawyer since Marc can just bring all the financial information the lawyer needs (with the client’s permission, of course), but the client is also far less likely to cancel on him since they already have a solid relationship.

Hint: What are some ways you can offer more value to your clients? There are always ways to do so, whether it’s offering tax preparation or hands-on help with implementing recommendations from a financial plan.

The two questions Marc asks himself to help him reinvent and grow his business

Marc found that his firm would hit plateaus where he felt busy enough with clients, but wasn’t finding ways to grow his business. This can be a problem because as he puts it, “if a business isn’t growing, it’s dying.”

When he finds himself in this position, he pauses to ask himself the following two questions:

Is there some sort of structure that's preventing me from expanding my business?

What do I need to change?

These questions help him identify and address challenges and opportunities that he needs to address. In fact, he believes that a business should basically reinvent itself every five years to adjust to changing markets. For example, about 12 years ago when he and his partner were licensed through the MFDA, they realized that structure was limiting them and they needed to evolve to ETFs.

Such changes aren’t always easy to make, but they are often necessary in order to keep your business relevant.

Hint: As the adage goes, make sure that you’re always spending time working on, and not just in, your business.

Listen to the full episode to learn more great tips from Marc, including how he keeps his pricing fair for all clients, how he overcame five tough years before his firm was established, and how recent changes to the FPSC will affect financial planning in Canada. You can also find and subscribe to the show on iTunes or Stitcher, and make sure to join our mailing list to learn about new episodes as soon as they air.

Because many people mistakenly believe their money is safer with big banks than with independent financial planners, it’s important to show clients the benefits of a more personal touch. Today’s guests had a vision for differentiating themselves from bank-owned financial advisory firms. They saw a conflict of interest in a profit-obsessed industry and set about creating a practice that would remove that conflict and center the client experience.

Chris Rawles and Spencer Tilley are co-founders of RT Mosaic. Chris is a CFP, RFP and CIM and has 15 years of experience in the industry. In 2018, he was named a finalist for the "Multi-Service Advisor of the Year" award through Wealth Professional. Spencer, a CFP, RFP and CFA, has extensive experience in the areas of retirement analysis, tax minimization and corporate planning.

Together, Chris and Spencer strive to provide their clients with an unbiased wealth management experience. Listen to the episode to hear how they show clients the benefits that independent portfolio management and financial planning firms have over the big banks.

What You’ll Learn in this Episode:

Links and Resources:

RT Mosaic

Quotes from the Show:

“There’s an inherent conflict of interest in the industry from my perspective as far as third-party compensation, and so that was one of our core pillars ‒ removing that inherent conflict.” – Spencer Tilley

“Everyone’s unique and each engagement’s different, so that’s where the human element comes in to juggle everyone’s unique needs and what their goals are.” – Spencer Tilley

“Really, we want clients who are actually going to listen to us.” – Chris Rawles

Chris and Spencer have known each other for 25 years and have worked together for nearly a decade. In this episode, they share their expertise from running their boutique portfolio management and financial planning firm in downtown Calgary. Here, we’re highlighting three key ideas from the show:

For the rest of the episode, find the podcast on iTunes or Stitcher, or hit the link above.

The value of screening clients

Chris and Spencer provide comprehensive portfolio management and financial advice, tailoring their approach for each client; this is quite an involved process. Many cases, depending on their complexity, take a lot of time, and they want to make sure they can provide excellent service for each client throughout the year.

“It’s not just a six-month meeting schedule,” Chris explains. “If something comes up, they have access to me at all times.”

Due to this intense involvement, each of them works with no more than 75 households a year. This means they don’t just take on anyone who wants to work with them.

But unlike the big banks, Chris and Spencer don’t just think about assets under management. Rather, they want to make sure the client is someone they want to work with for years to come.

Specifically, they want clients who will trust them. And while it’s their job to build that trust in the first place, if they meet with someone who tries to dictate everything, they know pretty soon that it’s not going to work out.

“Really, we want clients who are actually going to listen to us,” says Chris. They look to work with people who will follow through with recommendations they make and who will be pleasant to work with.

The four keys to a successful partnership

Success doesn’t come accidentally, and partnerships especially require a lot of work. Chris and Spencer break their success down into four key behaviours:

They stay stubborn: The first few years of their business were not easy, but they believed in their mission, so they were able to stick it out through the tough times.

They stuck to their morals: Chris and Spencer started their business mindful of the major conflicts of interest in the industry, and their goal was always to do what’s best for their clients. They maintain their integrity by always putting clients’ needs above their own ‒ even if the client wouldn’t know the difference.

They work as a team: Their professional partnership is one of the most important relationships in their lives. This requires a deep respect for one another’s’ skillsets and opinions.

They are careful with how they allocate their time: Over the years, they learned to specialize ‒ since they each have specific skills, they have gotten better at focusing on what they’re good at and delegating the rest.

Getting to know clients outside of the office

Recently, Chris and Spencer started focusing more on the client experience outside of their biannual meetings. For example, last year they sponsored a chuckwagon at the Calgary Stampede, a world-renowned rodeo and festival. They invited some of their top clients to enjoy drinks while watching the chuckwagon races and meeting the drivers.

While some planners like to host events that have an educational or even a salesy purpose, Chris and Spencer believe in hosting small and intimate gatherings that are strictly social. They feel this is crucial for two reasons:

They learn about their clients: There’s only so much you can learn about someone at a meeting twice a year. Events like this give them more of an insight into who their clients are as people, which helps them learn how to serve the clients better.

Their clients learn about them: On the flip side, they too like to give clients a peek into their personal lives. They bring their families and introduce them to clients, showing that they’re more than just number-crunching robots. This continues to build trust and goodwill for clients.

Hint: If these kinds of events aren’t your thing, think about other ways you can elevate the level of service you offer both in and out of the office. For example, Chris and Spencer are always open to holding meetings right in their clients’ homes.

To hear more from Chris and Spencer, including why comprehensive planning is more than just running a projection, how they want to help advisors open their own businesses, and more, listen to the full episode right here on this page, or on iTunes or Stitcher. And sign up for our mailing list to be the first to know about new episodes.

When an individual seeks out financial advice, they want to know that their planner has more than just the expertise needed to help them with the numbers. They also want to know that they can be fully understood without being judged and that their advisor walks the talk and knows what it’s like to track and manage cash flow. Today’s guest understands that desire and believes in practicing what she preaches to her clients.

Diane Dekanic is a professional fee-only financial planner who’s been in the business for twenty-five years. Diane is the president of Financial Health Management Inc. and has extensive experience dealing with clients in a range of financial circumstances, including expatriates and clients who have been downsized or are retiring. She’s also provided more than 8,000 workshops to date.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

Links and Resources:

Financial Health Management

Email Diane at: [email protected]

Quotes from Diane:

“The client is using a very different part of their brain than I’m using, and I have to understand what that part of their brain requires to have a satisfying life.”

“My philosophy and my experience say if we can keep the tax man off the dinner table, then we need a lot less money to retire on.”

“When you’re fee-for-service, you only have so many hours in a day that you can bill, and so you really have to work at innovative ways to keep your costs down.”

Over the last twenty-five years, Diane has worked with a wide range of clients ‒ corporations and private clients, executives, expatriates, soon-to-be-retirees, people who have just been laid off, and everyone in between. This episode is full of her advice for running your own practice, and below we’re sharing three highlights from the show:

For the rest of the episode, find the podcast on iTunes or Stitcher, or hit the link above.

The importance of helping clients solve their cash flow problems

Many people don’t realize that managing cash flow is by far the most important part of financial planning. Without it, it’s easy to end up either in debt or living paycheque to paycheque with no room for error.

Managing cash flow is especially crucial for many of the clients Diane has worked with over the years, like people in the midst of a career transition. In those cases, she’s not looking to help them invest for the long term. Instead, her goal is to help them understand how they can manage for a few months as they look for new work.

The way Diane sees it, “it’s not how much money you necessarily have, it’s how much money do you really need to live nicely ‒ and figuring out what that ‘nicely’ really means to you.”

With a dire lack of financial education in Canada and the rise of credit cards and electronic payments, Diane says, “people twenty dollar themselves to death or fifty dollar themselves to death” without having to think about ‒ or understanding ‒ how much they’re spending.

For this reason, Diane describes herself as obsessed with cash flow and tough on people; that’s where she feels she can really offer value and give them hope. Sometimes this means showing clients that they’re on the right track, and other times it means giving them the exact steps they need to take to get where they need to be. Either way, she wants to show them that by managing their cash flow, they will be ok and they can eventually reach their financial goals.

The unconventional advice Diane gives her clients

Diane doesn’t believe in a one-size-fits-all approach. Instead, she listens, comes to understand each client’s story, and gives them advice for their specific situation, sometimes flying in the face of the prescribed wisdom.

One of the myths Diane debunks for her clients is the idea that home ownership is necessarily the best option for everyone. In fact, when it comes to people who don’t have a lot of money, home ownership can be one of the biggest obstacles in retirement.

Even if a home is paid off, once property taxes, insurance, utilities, ongoing maintenance, and all other ongoing costs are accounted for, it can be a lot more economical for her clients to sell their homes, invest the money they make, and become renters. That way, they can make a profit off the money rather than having it sitting in a home and sucking up more money for the rest of their lives.

Diane likes to show clients how their current scenario compares to renting, and they’re often shocked by the difference it can make ‒ especially when they’ve probably been told the opposite their entire lives.

Hint: When it comes to demonstrating what a difference one change can make, Diane always tailors her approach to the client she’s working with. Watch your client’s body language ‒ are their eyes glazing over when you’re calculating something for them by hand? Show them a projection instead to make the numbers come to life. Or if projections aren’t their thing, maybe a spreadsheet will make more sense to them.

How Diane walks her talk when it comes to cash flow management

Diane has a mantra that she will never ask her clients to do anything she hasn’t done. For example, she’s been tracking her own cash flow for twenty years, so when she asks her clients to do the same, she understands exactly what that entails.

This also includes her own approach to managing cash flow. Like other advisors we’ve interviewed on the show, she doesn’t work on commission or take referral fees. Her clients are the only ones paying her, and that means they can trust her to be working for them alone.

To keep her costs low, she actually works from her home in downtown Calgary, renting a boardroom in her condo whenever she has a client meeting.

“When you’re fee-for-service, you only have so many hours in a day that you can bill, and so you really have to work at innovative ways to keep your costs down,” she explains.

While some clients have found it strange to meet with their financial planner in a condo building ‒ it’s certainly a unique model ‒ they do respect it (and free guest parking in downtown Calgary certainly doesn’t hurt!). She sets a good example for them, and they appreciate that she keeps her costs manageable for herself and for them.

Hint: To find more ideas for keeping your costs low, check out Episode 018: 3 Ways to Make a Fee-For-Service Model Effective, Scalable and Profitable with Shannon Lee Simmons.

To hear more from Diane, including how she decided on her flat fee, why she often does follow-up appointments online, and more, listen to the full episode right here on this page. You can also find and subscribe to the show on iTunes or Stitcher, and sign up for our list below to get an email every time an episode airs.

The biggest reason for clients to seek out financial advice is that they want clear answers to the big questions in their lives. This is especially true when the markets are volatile or take a downturn ‒ people usually have no idea what that might mean for their lives or their ability to retire. Today’s guest shows us that an effective and successful financial advisory practice must be based on demonstrating clear and measurable progress for clients.

David Christianson is the Portfolio Manager and Senior Vice-President of Christianson Wealth Advisors at National Bank Financial. He was named one of the top 50 financial advisors in Canada by Wealth Professional Magazine in 2014 and 2017. David has written a course for advisors called The Structure of the Client-Centered Practice, as well as a book called Managing the Bull – A No-Nonsense Approach to Personal Finance. In today’s episode, David talks about measuring client progress, what it means to build a client-centered practice, and what David thinks will happen in the future of the financial services industry.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

Links and Resources:

Christianson Wealth Advisors

David Christianson

[email protected]

Quotes from David:

“People really want clear answers. They want some certainty, and they want an honest appraisal of where they are and where they’re going.”

“When I was a fee for service advisor, people would come to us not knowing how they were doing on their investments, not knowing if they were going to be able to retire… we developed a process of monitoring and reporting on those investments for them even though we weren’t the investment broker.”

“Information is free now, but wisdom is not.”

In today’s episode, David draws on nearly forty years of experience in the financial services industry to share his invaluable strategies for giving clients clarity and peace of mind about their financial situation. Today, we’re sharing three highlights from the episode:

For the rest of the episode, find the podcast on iTunes or Stitcher, or just hit the link above.

Keeping clients on track by measuring and demonstrating their progress

At times, David’s practice draws clients who have an investment advisor and are already investing, but they have no idea where they stand when it comes to reaching their financial goals.

David can empathize. “People really want clear answers. They want some certainty, and they want an honest appraisal of where they are and where they’re going.” Today, he’s sharing the process he follows to give clients those answers:

Tracking progress begins with setting measurable and realistic goals. Right from the beginning of the client relationship, David spends a lot of time seeking to understand what his clients want. For example, he might ask a question like “When we meet here in three years, what would you like to have happened in that time in order for you to be satisfied with your progress?”

David asks the right questions and really listens to help them clarify their vision into specific and measurable goals for the year as well as the longer term.

In advance of their annual meeting, David asks each client to complete some homework ‒ basically, they update him on what has happened in their lives since they last met. He prepares a customized agenda based on this information.

When they meet, they go over decisions made at the beginning of the year and assess, together, how the client has kept up with the commitments they had made and how David’s team has done with their part. This allows clients to see the progress they’re making and motivates them to stay on track.

David found that this was especially valuable during the 2008 recession when he was clearly able to show clients how the downturn affected their progress toward their goals and how they may need to adjust a few things to stay on track. Often, his clients would realize that there was no reason to panic, and they could adjust their plan without heavily impacting their long-term retirement goals.

Hint: An added benefit of this kind of measurement is demonstrating the advisor’s value to the client. Take this time to show them what you’ve done for them behind the scenes (without getting too technical).

A lot can change in a year, so David makes sure to keep the financial plan fresh and on track. Whether clients were anticipating a life event that would affect their finances, an extreme downturn had happened, or they had just spent more than expected that year, the plan is updated and adjusted to keep them working toward their goals.

Battling clients’ misconceptions about financial planning

When it comes to the available financial advice, David feels that “there’s more noise than ever” out there. There are seemingly unlimited sources that offer compelling, easy answers to people’s big financial questions. And of course, people want to believe in a shortcut.

The trouble is that many of these sources are unreliable ‒ the information they tout is either unimportant in the grand scheme of things or downright wrong for some consumers. Some financial advice articles are even self-contradictory from one sentence to the next. And what works for 95% of people might be damaging to the other 5%.

Furthermore, big financial questions often don’t have easy answers. As David likes to say, “information is free now, but wisdom is not.” He works hard to tailor advice to his clients’ situations and help them parse through the conventional wisdom to find what works for them.

The importance of finding the right people to work with you

David emphasized several times that it’s hard to run a practice on your own. He recommends finding a mentor and working for someone else for some time before going out on your own ‒ there’s a lot to learn, and it’s best to do it with someone else for a while.

If you are already running or plan to run your own firm, hire carefully, but “don’t be afraid to partner up.” Nobody has all the skills necessary to run a successful practice themselves, and nobody has all the answers.

It’s important not only to find the skills you lack but also to delegate tasks that take your time away from the areas where you can have the biggest impact with your particular skills. Find what you do best, and find good people to do the rest.

Listen to the full episode to learn more from David, including his biggest challenges when advising clients, how his counseling background has made him a better advisor, and how he centers clients’ needs in his process. You can find the episode right here on this page or on iTunes or Stitcher. And if you want to hear from us when a new episode airs, sign up for new episode notifications below.

More and more activities that previously took place in person are happening online these days. But is it possible to be an effective financial advisor and build strong relationships with clients online? Today’s guest believes that it is, and he has the experience to back that up. David Dyck is a Certified Financial Planner and a Chartered Investment Manager. He joins the podcast today to talk about working at the Canadian robo-advisor service WealthBar.

David is a Financial Advisor, Portfolio Manager and Head of Client Services at WealthBar. David began his career in financial services with CIBC where he held a number of positions. He was awarded an Unsung Hero Award for his work helping clients and colleagues improve. In his current position at WealthBar, he works with clients all over the country and helps to develop technologies that will transform the financial advice industry.

Topics Discussed in This Episode:

Links and Resources:

David on LinkedIn

Meet David Dyck

WealthBar

Email David at [email protected]

Quotes from David:

“I wanted to be somewhere where I felt my philosophy really aligned with the company’s.”

“We offer financial planning services to people who aren’t even clients yet.”

“I believe that working online and having phone calls with clients makes it easier to build trust than in person.”

Some financial advisors see robo-advisors as the enemy, but they don’t have to be. In today’s show, David shares what he’s learned as a Head of Client Services at WealthBar that can help you better run your financial advisory practice. Here, we’re sharing three highlights from the episode:

For the rest of the episode, click the link above or find the podcast on iTunes or Stitcher.

Combating the biggest risk to client success

Despite what many people think, the greatest risk to any investor achieving their goals isn’t market volatility.

It’s their own behaviour.

Therefore, David thinks the best thing a financial planner can do for their clients is to help them sustainably change their behaviour. But in order to do that, David suggests you need to do these two things:

First, show them the future. Too many advisors jump right to the financial plan. At WealthBar, they start by assessing where the client is at and showing them what will happen if they keep doing what they’re doing today. Often, this is very eye-opening and a little scary. But that frank, open conversation makes it real for clients, gets them to buy into your plan, and makes them a lot more likely to stick to that plan over the long term.

The other piece is to build a great relationship. If clients know and trust you, they’ll listen to you and you’ll be a lot more likely to be able to influence their behaviour.

The 2 main concerns clients have… and how to help overcome them

Building a great relationship with clients takes time, and you need the right approach for each individual. In the financial planning process, David typically sees two kinds of people, each having very different questions and needing different approaches:

Hint: Visualization is key. Show these clients what it could mean for them to invest just a small amount every month ‒ they’ll probably be surprised by how much they can save if they start investing today.

2.  Those who don’t know what to do with their money: Even if someone believes that financial planning is important, they often have no clue what to do next. How can they achieve their goals and make the most with what they have? These clients need a plan that hones in on their top goals and includes a reasonable timeline and strategies they can use to get what they want.

Enhancing communication with your clients

One of the major ways technology is changing the financial services industry is in how we communicate. Here are David’s top tips for leveling up the way you connect with clients:

You’re probably used to working with clients in person, over email, and on the phone, but David encourages you to be even more open when it comes to the medium of communication. For example, if someone reaches out to you via Twitter or Facebook, don’t immediately send them to your website or ask them to call or email you. Instead, engage with them where they reached out to you ‒ where they’re most comfortable.

There are plenty of opportunities to regularly reach out to clients in a way that adds value and keeps you on their mind. David suggests a monthly newsletter that includes curated content from around the web about whatever might be relevant to your clients that month. For example, in January you can send information out about TFSAs to coincide with the annual limit increase. In March or April, you can send out tips to help your clients file their taxes. September is a great opportunity to share financial education content they can teach their kids… you get the idea. Show clients you’re thinking about them and let them benefit a bit more from your knowledge and experience.

Hint: Don’t be surprised if clients respond by asking about something completely unrelated to the content of your newsletter. Your email might remind them about something they meant to ask you, and by reaching out first, you’ve just given them the reminder they needed to get in touch. The consistency matters just as much as the content itself.

Want to hear more from David? Catch the full episode here, or on iTunes or Stitcher where you can also subscribe to the show. You’ll hear about how to help people see the value of financial planning, how you can make planning more accessible to clients, how you can work with WealthBar, and more. And to ensure you never miss an episode, sign up below to get new episode notifications directly to your inbox.