A well-known business coach says she has never seen so many advisors worried about missing something or making some small mistakes that could sideline their business.LightFieldStudios/iStockPhoto / Getty Images
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Professional coaches to financial advisors have learned a ton about the tangible things needed to grow and maintain a solid advisory practice. They only have to look at their clients – the advisors themselves – to showcase the best ideas.
Mastering Your Momentum, written by The Personal Coach team, outlines many of those ideas on how advisors can move the needle in achieving more success in their businesses.
Globe Advisor spoke recently with April-Lynn Levitt, one of the business coaches at The Personal Coach and co-author of the book, about some of the gaps in many advisors’ practices that are holding them back.
What are advisors lacking the most in their practices?
Most lack an actual written business plan … a written strategy, or vision. That’s still surprising to me. And if there is a plan, it’s likely outdated and hasn’t been looked at in a long time. They may say, ‘I’m just going to do what I did last year, maybe make some small improvements and hope for the best this year.’ A plan doesn’t have to be complicated but it should set some goals and measure them regularly on a monthly or quarterly basis.
How could advisors use customer management software differently to make their businesses more efficient?
It’s very hard to build a practice in which you’re doing all things for all people. You can serve more clients by having a segmented client base and offering slightly different service levels to your different client base.
There may be some automation that could be set up to pop up things such as your meeting notes process or the time for the next review. Also, the software can help manage communications with clients. There are lots of things you can set up with automated processes from the time you get a new lead to that person becoming a client.
What is a newer challenge for advisors that you might have not mentioned five years ago?
Regulatory and compliance, for sure. I’ve never seen so many advisors worried about missing something or making some small mistakes that could sideline their business. These are good, ethical advisors. These aren’t people who are worried they’ve done something illegal or wrong, but they’re so worried about something that might derail their business.
– Deanne Gage, Globe Advisor reporter
This interview has been edited and condensed.
Must-reads from Globe Advisor this week
A pension expert explains ‘the truths’ about combined CPP and survivor benefits
What are the “combined benefit rules” under the Canada Pension Plan (CPP), and why do you need to worry about them? The combined benefit rules are a complex set of calculations that apply if you’re receiving both a CPP retirement pension and a CPP survivor’s pension. Be aware of these rules if you’re already receiving the CPP survivor’s pension and want to know when you should start receiving your own CPP retirement pension. Doug Runchey explains.
Why this money manager says inflation risk is far from over
While many investors believe the market fallout from surging inflation is largely over, money manager Rodrigo Gordillo sees more volatility ahead. “The biggest blind spot I see for market participants today is not seeing that inflation continues to be a risk,” says Mr. Gordillo, president and portfolio manager at ReSolve Asset Management SEZC, a Cayman Islands-based company affiliated with Toronto-based ReSolve Asset Management Inc. “Inflation is still going up, just at a lower rate than before,” adds Mr. Gordillo, noting that the rate of change in inflation could “thrust up at any moment again.” He predicts a “decade of inflation volatility” as central banks struggle to align interest rates with cost-of-living increases. Brenda Bouw asks what he’s been buying and selling.
Your CPP questions answered: Advice for newcomers to Canada and early retirees
As part of this ongoing series, Globe Advisor invites readers to ask questions about their Canada Pension Plan (CPP) retirement benefits and find experts to answer them. This week, Ngoc Day, a financial advisor with Macdonald Shymko & Co. Ltd. in Vancouver, answers questions about newcomers to Canada and when early retirees should consider taking their CPP benefits. Read more here.
Comprehensive vs. targeted financial plans – advisors weigh in
For many clients, comprehensive financial plans provide a valuable analysis of their entire financial picture and a roadmap for the future. But for those who find the larger financial planning process daunting or have a pressing decision to make around a pension or inheritance, can a more targeted plan also offer value? For some advisors, offering modular planning services is the answer to tackling specific client issues, while others prefer to address isolated situations under the umbrella of a holistic plan. Helen Burnett-Nichols has more.
Also see:
How investing small sums in her teens gave this advisor a financial edge later in life
Changing careers later in life requires careful financial planning
With the rise of AI fraud, wealth management firms caught in a ‘cat-and-mouse game’
Three ways to turn LinkedIn into a prospecting platform
How Canadian advisors need to market themselves to gain warm leads
What you and your clients need to know
CRA clarifies penalty relief rules for bare trust returns
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) clarified it won’t apply penalties for Canadians who are late in complying with certain new tax-filing obligations for trusts, except in narrow cases of gross negligence. The updated guidance provides relief for many taxpayers who’ve been asked for the first time this tax season to share information about what are known as “bare trusts,” which often aren’t documented in writing. The new federal reporting requirements, which are meant to increase transparency around trusts, affect many Canadians who had their names added to a family member’s home title or financial accounts, even if a taxpayer didn’t intentionally or formally create a trust. The deadline to submit the required forms for the 2023 taxation year is April 2. Erica Alini has more.
Canadians’ wealth is bolstered by stock rally amid housing slump, Statscan says
Canadians are riding the recent stock market rally to bolster their wealth, but they continue to face onerous debt payments that are eating up a large chunk of their take-home pay. In the fourth quarter, households saw their net worth – the value of all assets minus all liabilities – rise by $290-billion, or 1.8 per cent, to roughly $16.4-trillion, Statistics Canada said Wednesday in a report. Financial assets, such as stocks and bonds, jumped by 5 per cent as investors bid up prices in anticipation of lower interest rates. This increase in financial assets outweighed a 1.9 per cent drop in the value of residential real estate, a second consecutive quarterly decline. Matt Lundy reports.
Business insolvencies to stay higher in 2024 as economy normalizes from pandemic lows, experts say
Business insolvencies will likely remain elevated throughout 2024, experts say, as the economy plays catch-up after historically low levels during the pandemic. “We did have … so many years of artificially low filings. We’ve got a fair bit of catch-up to do,” says Natasha MacParland, a partner at Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP. The pandemic saw a historically low level of insolvency filings – which include bankruptcy and restructuring procedures – as government supports kicked in but in 2023 things started to normalize, Ms. MacParland says. That trend is continuing into 2024. Rosa Saba has more.
Canaccord Genuity borrows $80-million to fund staff share purchases, spurring talk of management buyout
Executives and top producers at Canaccord Genuity Group Inc. are buying almost10 per cent of the investment dealer’s shares using money borrowed by the company, an unusual arrangement that has spurred chatter of a creeping management buyout despite the signing of a two-year standstill last summer. Late last week, Canaccord Genuity announced it would borrow a total of $110-million by issuing convertible debentures to two institutional investors, $80-million of which will be lent to senior employees to buy about 10 million of the company’s shares. The remaining $30-million will be used for general corporate purposes. Tim Kiladze explains.
– Globe Advisor Staff