Advisor’s Edge hails industry’s unsung heroes

(December 1, 2003) They’re the backbone of the industry, the advisors who quietly build a strong relationship with their clients through superior service. They might not seek fame, but sometimes it finds them.

The cover story for the December issue of Advisor’s Edge is entitled “Unsung heroes,” referring to five dedicated advisors who have earned the title Advisor of the Year for 2003.

“We’ve put together an extensive package that culminates the Advisor of the Year Awards program,” says Sheila Avari, assistant editor of Advisor’s Edge. “They’ve demonstrated that they are clearly dedicated to their clients’ financial well-being.”

The five winners hail from across the country — from Vancouver, Regina, Burlington, Quebec City and Fredericton. Each of them received their Advisor of the Year Award at the Advisor Forum in their region.

“We’ve featured summaries of their five winning case studies, each of them discussing estate planning strategies, tax and succession planning, getting their clients out of debt and reassuring their clients that they will be secure in their retirement,” says Avari.

Another unsung hero was honoured with the Career Achievement Award: Tom Rice, founder of Rice Financial.

“Over the 30 years of his career, he has demonstrated his dedication and perseverance to making the industry better,” says Avari. “All of these advisors have clearly put their clients first and are models for the rest of the industry.”

The December issue also includes the second installment of the RRSP Survival Guide, a special section featuring tips and information advisors can use for the upcoming RRSP season.

The leadoff story in the supplement tackles the issue of convincing clients to rebalance their portfolio.

“During the bear market there was a tendency for clients to move everything into more fixed income products, which they deemed as safe,” says Deanna Gage, managing editor of Advisor’s Edge. “The problem is the portfolio is no longer diversified, so it is the opposite of what happened in the bull market, when everyone wanted to be in tech.”

Richard Shillington’s article “Avoiding RRSPs” questions the wisdom of low-income investors even using the RRSP structure. Gage says Shillington’s opinion is sure to stir up controversy.

“Maybe RSPs aren’t the best investment for clients who have less than $40,000 in savings, maybe there are other things they should be considering instead,” she says. “Shillington believes that the Guaranteed Income Supplement could be enough for these people and that if they do have more investments, they should not be registered. The author says it’s not really beneficial, in terms of tax savings, if you have only $40,000 or less to put in your RRSP.”

There is also a story by tax guru Jamie Golombek on the Lifelong Learning Plan (LLP), which allows clients to withdraw RSP savings to pay for continuing education.

Gage says that as unemployment remains high, many people who should be in their prime earning years are heading back to school to upgrade their skills and the LLP allows them to fund this from their RRSP.

Filed by Steven Lamb, Advisor.ca, steven.lamb@advisor.rogers.com