Advocis conference update: Opportunity, professionalism buzzwords at opening session

(May 27, 2004) The Advocis 2004 national conference officially kicked off in Calgary today, with one industry insider stressing the importance of striving for professionalism and highlighting opportunities that the informed advisor can capitalize on.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty out there and there’s a lot of change in product and distribution, mergers and acquisitions and in the regulatory environment, but I’m absolutely certain that a professional, trusted advisor will do exceptionally well in the industry today,” Paul Rooney, senior vice-president of individual insurance for Manulife Financial, told a packed room during Thursday’s opening plenary session.

According to Rooney, one key area of opportunity for advisors is Canada’s booming immigrant population. “There’s a huge net immigration into Canada and over time, the population and the demography of the population is going to change dramatically,” said Rooney. “Any advisor who can tap into that now and build a practice around that going forward will have a huge opportunity and I think a huge competitive advantage in the future.”

Noting that “time has become today’s currency,” Rooney underlined a second area of opportunity for advisors. “[Consumers] can’t just magically take time off [from work] and manage their financial affairs,” said Rooney. “What they’re going to need is advice, guidance and support from a professional who can help them achieve those goals.”

For those fearing they have been — or soon will be — replaced by the Internet, Rooney assured his audience that the “delegation of financial management” is here to stay. “As products become more complex, as the regulatory environment becomes more complex, as the tax regime becomes more complex, what you’re going to see is, consumers more and more will want to delegate. It creates an opportunity for you, it also creates a responsibility.”

Professionalism and marketing games

Rooney also discussed market conduct and advisor professionalism. In his 14 years working in the U.S., Rooney witnessed first hand the games played with insurance product illustrations, which ultimately resulted in the National Association of Insurance Commissioners stepping in with “draconian” measures that removed all competitive advantage from the product shelf. “No one plays illustration games the way they used to in the U.S.,” said Rooney. “What I would encourage us to do is to not fall into that trap, the onus is on us to regulate ourselves.

“If you really want to be a professional, you must make a personal commitment to yourself to be professional and ethical every day,” he added. “But more importantly, I believe you need to make a commitment to each other, to your colleagues in this room, to be professional in all of your dealings and to call each other when you don’t see that happening.” In the spirit of the conference, Rooney closed by encouraging his audience to view fellow advisors more as colleagues than competition. “They have knowledge and advice and experience that you may not have and vice versa,” said Rooney. “Working together for the consumer — I’ve seen it work many times with advisors and they actually build better practices and serve their clients better.”

Filed by John Craig, Advisor.cajohn.craig@advisor.rogers.com.