Christina Anthony sees herself as a problem-solver who is always looking for better approaches.Marley Hutchinson/The Globe and Mail
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Building a thriving practice as an advisor requires a constellation of characteristics that broadly include technical knowledge, organizational ability and people skills. However, each advisor draws on unique strengths to chart a course to their success.
Globe Advisor spoke with three advisors in The Globe and Mail and SHOOK Research’s second annual Canada’s Top Wealth Advisors ranking and asked them to share the traits they believe have contributed most to this achievement.
Rob McClelland, founder, vice president and senior financial planning advisor, The McClelland Financial Group, Assante Capital Management Ltd.
“I’m a pretty good problem-solver. I can weigh the options, advantages and disadvantages of different things very quickly,” says Mr. McClelland in Thornhill, Ont.
“I’m very decisive … and I’m [also] quick to say, ‘This is the wrong direction. Let’s change. Let’s adjust.’ When you’re in front of a client, you have to make quick decisions.”
While Mr. McClelland believes credentials are important – he has the certified financial planning and registered financial planner designations – he’s not sure they affect most clients’ perceptions greatly. What they do provide is connections to other financial advisors who take the job seriously and who can be a tremendous resource for information and for referrals to allied professionals.
While Mr. McClelland believes credentials are important – he has the certified financial planning and registered financial planner designations – he’s not sure they ad most clients’ perceptions. What they do provide is connections to other financial advisors who take the job seriously and who can be a tremendous resource for information and for referrals to allied professionals.
Mr. McClelland also attends conferences across Canada and in the U.S. in a quest for ideas to bring back to his clients.
“We’re constantly trying to improve as a team on what we’re delivering to our clients,” he says. “The U.S. is further ahead in many areas [and by] seeing what trends are going on [there], you’re able to get a little head start on those trends in Canada.”
Christina Anthony, vice-president, director, and portfolio manager, Odlum Brown Ltd.
“Whether you call it compassion or kindness … I have this feeling inside me of wanting to help people,” says Ms. Anthony in Vancouver. “From the minute I’m meeting with somebody … I’m trying to solve whatever problem they have or create whatever opportunity they need to make their lives better.”
She says that a joint love of math and connecting with people brought her into the business. It was only once she had started working as an advisor that she realized how much the profession could put her in the position to make a difference and leave things better than where they started.
Like Mr. McClelland, Ms. Anthony sees herself as a problem-solver who is always looking for better approaches.
“I will keep going and turn over every rock until we find a way to fix something or make it work,” she says. “It’s just thinking about it constantly from a different angle and seeing what else there is that we can do and work together to come to a solution.”
Ms. Anthony believes advisors need to look for opportunities to learn and expand their skills, and she is a chartered financial analyst charter holder. That said, she doesn’t believe a designation is enough to make someone a good money manager. Hard work, determination, lessons learned from mentors, and lived experience working through volatile markets and complex client scenarios are also critical.
In addition, it’s important to find balance in life to be successful in the long term – something she does in part by getting involved in her community.
Darren Carmosino, portfolio manager and senior wealth advisor, Carmosino Wealth Management, CIBC Wood Gundy
One thing Montreal advisor Mr. Carmosino believes sets him up for success is focusing his energy on controlling the controllable.
He concentrates on financial planning and goals-based investing rather than short-term returns. He spends time educating clients to set reasonable expectations for performance. And he has a strong service commitment to clients that includes not letting phone calls go to voicemail.
“Sometimes, saying no is powerful, too,” he says, adding he only works with clients with whom he’s aligned.
“I like everybody who calls me, and for me, that’s much more important than money … If you come to work every day and you like the people that you sit next to [and who] call you, it makes things easier.”
He’s able to turn down prospects because he’s good with his own money. The hard work he put into establishing his financial independence allows him to set aside the monetary value of a client relationship and direct all his attention to finding the best way to meet clients’ needs.
He adds that his chartered investment manager designation is vital because it enables him to offer discretionary portfolio management.
Mr. Carmosino’s patience also stands him in good stead.
“It’s really a marathon … building a fully transparent business [and] trying to attract the type of clientele that shares your philosophy and your lifestyle, too,” he says. “These are key components and it takes a lot of time.”
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