Practice

Don’t admit liability before the facts are in

In my car’s glovebox, along with a stash of Rolaids and fast food restaurant napkins (real men don’t carry Kleenex), I have a card from my insurance company, which explains what to do if I’m involved in a traffic accident. You probably have one too. Assuming you survive the crash, and have the presence of […]

By Harper Fraze |June 1, 2009

4 min read

Planning and Advice

The advantages of fee-for-service

In times like these, advisors need to focus on their clients, all of whom are asking, “What does this mean to me?” They’re wondering whether their fi nancial plans have been compromised and what they can do to mitigate any negative impact. Those of us who provide comprehensive fi nancial planning are in a unique […]

By Bernie Geiss |June 1, 2009

10 min read

Planning and Advice

Convert your practise to fee-based

In our rapidly evolving industry, with stiff competition from the banks and ever-increasing demands from clients (not to mention decreases in revenue brought on by the extended bear market), many fi nancial advisors have decided it makes good sense now to transition their practices to the fee model. Even though advisors understand the rationales, there […]

By Marc Lamontagne |June 1, 2009

7 min read

Planning and Advice

Help clients solve their "little" problems

The planning of this issue started with a series of conversations with fee advisors. All those chats circled back to a common theme: Times like these show the advantages of not having to earn commissions. That’s no dig at those who do opt for a commission structure. This business is all about choice, starting with […]

By Philip Porado |June 1, 2009

2 min read

Tips for attracting new business

Transition planning Succession planning Insurance planning for businesses Money management A recent event I attended featured one top advisor, Shelley Nesbitt of RBC Dominion Securities, who really stood out among her peers. Here are some of Nesbitt’s tips that could lead to turning points in your business. 1. Focus on only two or three sectors. […]

3 min read

The Tizzy factor: How to beat being overwhelmed

Review the cases in progress and make a plan to clear up the backlog and focus on cases already open and likely to close. Note that the potential revenue from the cases Ernie had “in the mill” amounted to 200% of the revenue he had earned the previous year! Enhance the client process to make […]

4 min read

Are you majoring in minor things?

We know that the secret to growing your business is to ask for referrals and see as many new prospects as possible. This takes time. Unfortunately, too many good advisors are losing time every day putting out fires and taking care of nitty-gritty details. They’re nearly overwhelmed and yet they can’t, or won’t find the […]

4 min read

The future is female

It’s not just me saying it. Enter a room full of financial advisors at any industry gathering and you can see for yourself—women are clearly a minority in the fi nancial world. According to a 2008 FPSC analysis, only one-third of the 17,000 CFP professionals in Canada are female. That’s surprising, considering many studies and […]

3 min read

Helping widows

Despite an avalanche of media attention, advisors are still encountering women who have been left out of the financial loop. This becomes particularly evident soon after they’re widowed. Sometimes wives left decisions to the husband; other times men insisted on control. Either way, we’re still seeing widows who are left confused, and without sufficient income […]

3 min read

Managing maternity

When Kristine Douglas, a CFP with Investment Planning Counsel, first started her career in 2000, she had to contend with a ruthless market meltdown. So when her fi rst child was born two years later she didn’t have the luxury of a maternity leave. She was back at work three days later—her recession-ravaged clients needed […]

7 min read