This is Globe Advisor’s weekly newsletter for professional financial advisors, published every Friday. If someone has forwarded this newsletter to you via e-mail, or you’re reading this on the web, you can register for Globe Advisor, then sign up for this newsletter and others on our newsletter sign-up page. For more from Globe Advisor, visit our home page.
When financial advisors are looking to attract the next generation of clients, they should consider incorporating financial education as part of their marketing efforts.
Providing educational resources helps advisors differentiate themselves from their competitors and adds value early in the relationship. When advisors focus their marketing on education, advisors can attract and retain younger clients, creating longevity in the business.
The next generation of clients thinks differently from previous generations and has other financial priorities and needs. These clients want to be involved in their financial future and look for financial advisors who can provide them with the knowledge and tools they need to make informed decisions.
Combining financial literacy with marketing is an achievable way to attract these clients. Here are a few easy ways advisors can implement this strategy.
1. Host workshops and events
By organizing educational workshops, advisors can reach new clients and create a brand for themselves as a knowledgeable and trustworthy advisor. These events can cover a variety of financial topics and be hosted either in person or virtually.
2. Share educational content
Sharing educational content on social media, a website or in e-mail marketing campaigns increases an advisor’s reach. This content can be created originally or curated from a reliable source and should focus primarily on financial education and avoid product recommendations.
3. Partner with other professionals
Advisors can partner with other professionals, such as accountants and lawyers, to provide education. That can take the form of co-hosted events or co-written informative pieces. This can help increase visibility for the advisor and reach a wider audience through other professional’s channels.
Emily Reed is co-founder and chief executive officer at HeyAdvisor in Toronto.
Must-reads from Globe Advisor this week
Alternative investments can add value to portfolios but top advisors say it pays to do your homework
Stocks and bonds faced a rough year in 2022 when both plunged simultaneously, leaving some investors wondering if they should stash money into alternative investments too. Although alternative strategies have been embraced successfully in some cases by pension and endowment funds, three of Canada’s Top Wealth Advisors warn that plenty of due diligence is critical to avoid potential landmines. “What’s important is that an alternative investment gives diversification and truly can add value,” says Bob Thompson, senior portfolio manager with Thompson Investment Partners at Raymond James Ltd. in Vancouver. Shirley Won has more on the story.
Challenges artists face when valuing their life’s work and creating estate plans
One of Samantha Sykes’s clients is an internationally acclaimed photographer whose images are featured in Billboard and Vanity Fair magazines and the Toronto International Film Festival. While decades of producing commercial art resulted in an extensive body of work, she says the photographer lacks a plan on how to preserve this art once he passes away. “He has no partner or children and has a fairly expansive collection,” says Ms. Sykes, senior investment advisor with Sykes Wealth Management at Raymond James Ltd. in Toronto. “As part of his financial plan, we’re figuring out how to value his collection and what ultimately happens to it.” Deanne Gage reports on solutions for these clients.
Why the Bank of Canada’s policy position could have catastrophic consequences
The Bank of Canada is teetering on the edge of a potentially disastrous policy mistake. The inflation shock is now over. Inflation rates have declined dramatically during the past year, and there’s no solid evidence to suggest Canada’s economy is overheating. The central bank is now at a point at which it must adopt a monetary policy that’s independent of the U.S. Federal Reserve Board. James Thorne explains why.
Why this money manager has reduced his energy holdings in favour of more tech and consumer stocks
When it comes to forecasts of a recession, money manager Stan Wong likes to monitor the markets for clues. “The stock market leads the economy; the economy doesn’t lead the stock market,” says Mr. Wong, a portfolio manager and senior wealth advisor with The Stan Wong Group at Scotia Wealth Management in Toronto, who oversees about $500-million in assets. He notes that markets dropped last year in anticipation of an economic slowdown, and the economy did pull back, but markets have risen steadily since October. “The stock market is saying, ‘We’re not going to have a deep recession,’ which is what 2022 priced in. I think we’ll see a rolling recession through certain sectors, but many of the signals are now pointed to a soft landing more so than an outright recession.” Brenda Bouw asks him what he’s buying and selling.
Also see:
How an eye injury led this former photographer to accept he was retired
How to invest in the hype around weight loss drugs targeting diabetes and obesity
How to overcome subconscious biases that interfere with financial decision-making
What higher unemployment rates in second half could mean in this week’s Advisor Lookahead
What you and your clients need to know
Should you pay off the mortgage immediately before retiring?
You should usually pay off the mortgage on your house before you retire. Doing so makes you less financially vulnerable to spending shocks in retirement. To put it a different way, you will almost certainly have fixed-income assets in your retirement portfolio (such as bonds), and those assets will be earning less interest than you are paying on the mortgage, so why not simplify your life by liquidating the mortgage? It turns out it’s not quite that simple. There are times when it is better to carry your mortgage into retirement than pay it off immediately. The reason is income tax. Frederick Vettese explains.
Canaccord Genuity cuts 7 per cent of Canadian staff amid Bay Street’s deal drought
Canaccord Genuity Corp. is slashing 7 per cent of its Canadian staff this week, with the bulk of cuts coming from its capital markets division, as Bay Street grapples with a prolonged dry spell for mergers and financings that is forcing investment banks to rethink their head counts. The layoffs, announced Tuesday in an internal memo obtained by The Globe and Mail, amount to roughly 75 job losses at Canaccord, which employs close to 1,200 people in Canada. Before the cuts, the investment bank’s Canadian capital markets arm employed 275 people, while its North American wealth management arm, which is predominately a Canadian business, employed close to 500 people. Canaccord’s corporate division, which includes the Canadian back office, employs 427 people. Tim Kiladze and Jameson Berkow have more details on these job losses.
National Bank strikes deal to buy Silicon Valley Bank’s Canadian loan book
National Bank of Canada has emerged as the winning bidder for failed technology financier Silicon Valley Bank’s Canadian branch in an effort by the country’s sixth-largest lender to expand its national presence in the competitive market for banking technology startups. National Bank said Tuesday that it is acquiring SVB’s loan book in the technology, life sciences and global fund banking sectors, adding $1-billion in loan commitments, of which $325-million are outstanding. The deal bolsters National Bank’s commercial banking business outside of its stronghold in Quebec by growing its lending base largely in Ontario and Western Canada. Stefanie Marotta and Sean Silcoff have more on this story.
What I wish someone told me about working in Canada when I first immigrated
When you’re a new immigrant to Canada and entering the corporate workforce, you need to strike a fine balance. You need to believe in your value and in what you bring to the table, but also work to integrate into a whole new culture in which the learning curve can be steep. In the decades since I began that journey myself, I’ve gained a number of insights I wish someone had told me when I first arrived. I’ve also learned what some of the obstacles are that hinder growth and how to overcome those hurdles. Karima-Catherine Goundiam shares her story.
– Globe Advisor Staff