Growing Your Financial Advisory Practice | Insights for Financial Advisors, Planners and Investment Managers

What does it mean to think outside the box when it comes to financial planning? And what do financial advisors need to know about working with clients through turbulent and volatile events, such as the coronavirus pandemic? Today’s episode will explore some of those questions.

Lucas MacMillan has been working in personal finance for 10 years. He is a Certified Financial Planning Professional and graduated from the University of Manitoba with a Bachelor of Science. Lucas manages Camber Private Wealth’s financial planning effort; where all prospects are given a financial plan before investing and all clients receive ongoing financial planning support using Camber’s immersive custom financial dashboards. Lucas also leads Camber’s data science team.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode 

• How Camber approaches building a plan with clients (5:43)
• How client dashboards work and what their goal is (12:06)
• How Lucas starts with dashboards (14:30)
• The client response to recent market volatility (24:20)
• The goal of Lucas’s data science project (30:49)
• How Lucas’s firm has been acquiring clients (37:35)
• Lucas’s advice for listeners (43:31)

Links and Resources:

Lucas MacMillan

Camber Private Wealth

Quotes by Lucas:

“We really wanted to go way outside the box on financial planning.”

“Just getting people a financial plan is a huge win.”

“It isn’t extremely important that you get their financial life 100% accurate the first time you touch them. It’s something that you can massage over time, as you get to know the client.”

Lucas provides a fresh perspective on the future of the financial planning industry. His practice is using technology and data science to change the way their clients interact with their financial plans, creating a unique way to attract and retain clients. Whether you’re a seasoned wealth manager who is comfortable with status quo, or you are building your financial advisory practice and want to employ fresh tactics, you can learn from the innovative ways Lucas approaches his work.

Below, we’re sharing three key ideas from this episode:

• How Lucas customizes client experience using data visualization
• How Camber is leveraging data to combat low conversion rates in the financial industry
• The importance of client education and continuous marketing during times of financial instability

To tune in to the rest of the episode, find the podcast on iTunes or Stitcher, or hit the link at the top of this post. 

How Lucas Customizes his clients’ experience using data visualization

What does it mean to think outside the box when it comes to financial planning? And what do financial advisors need to know about working with clients through turbulent and volatile events, such as the coronavirus pandemic? Today’s episode will explore some of those questions.

Lucas MacMillan has been working in personal finance for 10 years. He is a Certified Financial Planning Professional and graduated from the University of Manitoba with a Bachelor of Science. Lucas manages Camber Private Wealth’s financial planning effort; where all prospects are given a financial plan before investing and all clients receive ongoing financial planning support using Camber’s immersive custom financial dashboards. Lucas also leads Camber’s data science team.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode 

• How Camber approaches building a plan with clients (5:43)
• How client dashboards work and what their goal is (12:06)
• How Lucas starts with dashboards (14:30)
• The client response to recent market volatility (24:20)
• The goal of Lucas’s data science project (30:49)
• How Lucas’s firm has been acquiring clients (37:35)
• Lucas’s advice for listeners (43:31)

Links and Resources:

Lucas MacMillan

Camber Private Wealth

Quotes by Lucas:

“We really wanted to go way outside the box on financial planning.”

“Just getting people a financial plan is a huge win.”

“It isn’t extremely important that you get their financial life 100% accurate the first time you touch them. It’s something that you can massage over time, as you get to know the client.”

Lucas provides a fresh perspective on the future of the financial planning industry. His practice is using technology and data science to change the way their clients interact with their financial plans, creating a unique way to attract and retain clients. Whether you’re a seasoned wealth manager who is comfortable with status quo, or you are building your financial advisory practice and want to employ fresh tactics, you can learn from the innovative ways Lucas approaches his work.

Below, we’re sharing three key ideas from this episode:

• How Lucas customizes client experience using data visualization
• How Camber is leveraging data to combat low conversion rates in the financial industry
• The importance of client education and continuous marketing during times of financial instability

To tune in to the rest of the episode, find the podcast on iTunes or Stitcher, or hit the link at the top of this post. 

How Lucas Customizes his clients’ experience using data visualization

In theory, everyone wants to constantly be improving their financial planning skills, but what does it mean to put that into practice? Today’s guest is a relatively new financial planner who has already achieved more than many who have been in the industry much longer. He’s here to share his proven methods for improving his craft.

Zak Smith is the Senior Manager of Financial Planning and Wealth Strategies at Sagium, an independent wealth management firm in Calgary. He is a founding member of the newly formed Financial Planning Association of Canada and volunteers his time as a mentor for the Mount Royal University business department as well as with the CPA Financial Literacy Program. His recent successes include being named the 2019 winner of the PlanPlus Canada Financial Planning Awards, and 2nd runner up of the PlanPlus Global Awards program for the Americas region. 

Listen in to hear Zak talk about how feedback and competition make him a better financial planner, how he’s helping clients through the recent volatility in the markets, and what it’s like to serve clients as a team.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode: 

• What made Zak switch from accounting to planning (3:20)
• Zak’s typical process for clients (6:00)
• How Zak prepared clients for volatility in the markets (11:30)
• How feedback and competition make Zak a better financial planner (15:05)
• The challenges Zak encounters in his practice (23:45)
• How Zak’s team can provide a personal touch while working as a group (30:30)
• How Zak applies different perspectives to his work (34:15) 

Links and Resources:

Zak Smith

Sagium

Why Financial Planning Software Doesn’t Make Advisors Faster

Quotes by Zak Smith:

“Whether volatility exists now or in the future, we know it’s going to happen.”

“I was always cognizant that hey, is there any metric to what we actually do in this industry as far as a standard for what we’re delivering to our clients?”

“Clarity became the utmost piece in developing our plan reports so that it just made the conversation a lot easier with the clients.” 

Zak is unique as a guest on this show: he’s only five years into his career as a financial planner, and he doesn’t run his own practice. And yet, he’s built into his career ways to constantly improve himself as a planner. So whether you’re just starting or have been doing this a long time, and whether you run your own firm or not, you can draw from his experience and find ways to build on your skills.

In theory, everyone wants to constantly be improving their financial planning skills, but what does it mean to put that into practice? Today’s guest is a relatively new financial planner who has already achieved more than many who have been in the industry much longer. He’s here to share his proven methods for improving his craft.

Zak Smith is the Senior Manager of Financial Planning and Wealth Strategies at Sagium, an independent wealth management firm in Calgary. He is a founding member of the newly formed Financial Planning Association of Canada and volunteers his time as a mentor for the Mount Royal University business department as well as with the CPA Financial Literacy Program. His recent successes include being named the 2019 winner of the PlanPlus Canada Financial Planning Awards, and 2nd runner up of the PlanPlus Global Awards program for the Americas region. 

Listen in to hear Zak talk about how feedback and competition make him a better financial planner, how he’s helping clients through the recent volatility in the markets, and what it’s like to serve clients as a team.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode: 

• What made Zak switch from accounting to planning (3:20)
• Zak’s typical process for clients (6:00)
• How Zak prepared clients for volatility in the markets (11:30)
• How feedback and competition make Zak a better financial planner (15:05)
• The challenges Zak encounters in his practice (23:45)
• How Zak’s team can provide a personal touch while working as a group (30:30)
• How Zak applies different perspectives to his work (34:15) 

Links and Resources:

Zak Smith

Sagium

Why Financial Planning Software Doesn’t Make Advisors Faster

Quotes by Zak Smith:

“Whether volatility exists now or in the future, we know it’s going to happen.”

“I was always cognizant that hey, is there any metric to what we actually do in this industry as far as a standard for what we’re delivering to our clients?”

“Clarity became the utmost piece in developing our plan reports so that it just made the conversation a lot easier with the clients.” 

Zak is unique as a guest on this show: he’s only five years into his career as a financial planner, and he doesn’t run his own practice. And yet, he’s built into his career ways to constantly improve himself as a planner. So whether you’re just starting or have been doing this a long time, and whether you run your own firm or not, you can draw from his experience and find ways to build on your skills.

When it comes to the question of how open to be with clients, at what point of the spectrum do you fall? Do you teach them enough that they feel invested in the plans that you build? Do you bore them to tears with lectures about the industry that have nothing to do with them? Today’s guest has found the balance between transparency and relevance, and he’s here to show you how you can increase the value of your service for your clients.

Sasha Djurdjevic, CIM, FMA, DMS, is a portfolio manager serving global private and institutional clients at his firm, River Wealth. He has extensive capital markets experience and has held senior investment roles at prominent investment companies in Canada. Listen in to hear what Sasha has to say about his educational approach to financial planning, his tricks for communicating complex ideas to clients in a way that’s relevant to them, and how he balances his business with raising four children.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode: 

• Sasha’s unusual niche (6:40)
• Sasha’s 70% rule for financial planning (13:10)
• How Sasha acquires clients who live abroad (20:00)
• How Sasha uses idea generation to communicate complex ideas to clients (24:20)
• The value of transparency and openness (28:05)
• How Sasha balances running his practice with his personal life (38:20)
• Why it’s important to know yourself as an independent advisor (46:10) 

Links and Resources:

Sasha Djurdjevic

Aligned Capital Partners Inc.

Quotes by Sasha:

“Trying to bucket people, and say that if you’re a non-resident you have these unique issues, is useful to a point, but the reality is that every client is different.”

“Help people to understand the context a little more, and you’ll end up with a more satisfied or self-actualized client, who then will value your work more highly.”

“Instead of trying to come up with a perfect plan, come up with a plan that does a pretty good job of reflecting what’s in front of you and what you know, then put your full effort into that plan.”

With Sasha’s experience working with a mix of institutional, retail, and global clients, he’s had to shift contexts, meet people where they’re at, and translate difficult concepts into learning opportunities relevant to each unique client.

Below, we’re sharing three key ideas that he’s imparting to you:

• How Sasha approaches educating his clients
• The value of transparency and openness
• Sasha’s 70% rule for financial planning

For the rest of the episode, find th

When it comes to the question of how open to be with clients, at what point of the spectrum do you fall? Do you teach them enough that they feel invested in the plans that you build? Do you bore them to tears with lectures about the industry that have nothing to do with them? Today’s guest has found the balance between transparency and relevance, and he’s here to show you how you can increase the value of your service for your clients.

Sasha Djurdjevic, CIM, FMA, DMS, is a portfolio manager serving global private and institutional clients at his firm, River Wealth. He has extensive capital markets experience and has held senior investment roles at prominent investment companies in Canada. Listen in to hear what Sasha has to say about his educational approach to financial planning, his tricks for communicating complex ideas to clients in a way that’s relevant to them, and how he balances his business with raising four children.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode: 

• Sasha’s unusual niche (6:40)
• Sasha’s 70% rule for financial planning (13:10)
• How Sasha acquires clients who live abroad (20:00)
• How Sasha uses idea generation to communicate complex ideas to clients (24:20)
• The value of transparency and openness (28:05)
• How Sasha balances running his practice with his personal life (38:20)
• Why it’s important to know yourself as an independent advisor (46:10) 

Links and Resources:

Sasha Djurdjevic

Aligned Capital Partners Inc.

Quotes by Sasha:

“Trying to bucket people, and say that if you’re a non-resident you have these unique issues, is useful to a point, but the reality is that every client is different.”

“Help people to understand the context a little more, and you’ll end up with a more satisfied or self-actualized client, who then will value your work more highly.”

“Instead of trying to come up with a perfect plan, come up with a plan that does a pretty good job of reflecting what’s in front of you and what you know, then put your full effort into that plan.”

With Sasha’s experience working with a mix of institutional, retail, and global clients, he’s had to shift contexts, meet people where they’re at, and translate difficult concepts into learning opportunities relevant to each unique client.

Below, we’re sharing three key ideas that he’s imparting to you:

• How Sasha approaches educating his clients
• The value of transparency and openness
• Sasha’s 70% rule for financial planning

For the rest of the episode, find th

Financial advising is a profession that draws in an eclectic mix of individuals who come from different backgrounds and whose career paths haven’t always been straightforward and predictable. Today’s guest formerly served in the military as a forensic accountant; now he not only runs his own financial practice, he’s also the world’s first (and probably only) forensic accountant blockchain professional. He joins the show to share what he’s learned from his military experience that has helped him serve his clients and grow his practice on referrals alone.

Robert Watterson is the owner of Watterson Financial Solutions, a firm that handles financial planning, accounting, compliance, insurance, asset protection and tax services. Listen to hear what Robert has to say about how working in forensic accounting informs his current work, how he remains focused with so many different areas of practice, and how his interest in blockchain technology helped him develop an audit-ready bookkeeping system.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode: 

• How Robert moved from military forensic accountant to advisor (5:00)
• How his military experience informs the way he acquires clients (9:10)
• Staying focused while providing different offerings (18:40)
• How the different parts of Robert’s business build on one another (21:40)
• The blockchain’s impact on the financial industry (23:40)
• Robert’s audit-ready bookkeeping system (30:30)
• Robert’s biggest challenge in growing his practice (35:10)
• Why service is the most important part of running a practice (38:00)

Links and Resources:

Watterson Financial

Send Robert an email

Quotes by Robert:

“In the military, one of the things that they taught us was never look for what’s good for you; look for what’s good for the overall project you’re working on. And if you’re working with a client, that means the overall good for the client.”

“Make yourself referable… If you are referable, they will come back to you for work or they will have somebody come to you for work.”

“If you don’t worry about making money off every client, the client will worry about making sure you make money.”

With Robert’s different interests and areas of expertise – forensic accounting, blockchain technology, compliance and financial planning – it can be difficult to see how everything fits together. And yet, he’s able to pull knowledge and skills from different areas to create a unique practice in a way that we can all learn from.

• How Robert’s military experience informs the way he acquires clients
• Robert’s obsession with learning
• Robe

Financial advising is a profession that draws in an eclectic mix of individuals who come from different backgrounds and whose career paths haven’t always been straightforward and predictable. Today’s guest formerly served in the military as a forensic accountant; now he not only runs his own financial practice, he’s also the world’s first (and probably only) forensic accountant blockchain professional. He joins the show to share what he’s learned from his military experience that has helped him serve his clients and grow his practice on referrals alone.

Robert Watterson is the owner of Watterson Financial Solutions, a firm that handles financial planning, accounting, compliance, insurance, asset protection and tax services. Listen to hear what Robert has to say about how working in forensic accounting informs his current work, how he remains focused with so many different areas of practice, and how his interest in blockchain technology helped him develop an audit-ready bookkeeping system.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode: 

• How Robert moved from military forensic accountant to advisor (5:00)
• How his military experience informs the way he acquires clients (9:10)
• Staying focused while providing different offerings (18:40)
• How the different parts of Robert’s business build on one another (21:40)
• The blockchain’s impact on the financial industry (23:40)
• Robert’s audit-ready bookkeeping system (30:30)
• Robert’s biggest challenge in growing his practice (35:10)
• Why service is the most important part of running a practice (38:00)

Links and Resources:

Watterson Financial

Send Robert an email

Quotes by Robert:

“In the military, one of the things that they taught us was never look for what’s good for you; look for what’s good for the overall project you’re working on. And if you’re working with a client, that means the overall good for the client.”

“Make yourself referable… If you are referable, they will come back to you for work or they will have somebody come to you for work.”

“If you don’t worry about making money off every client, the client will worry about making sure you make money.”

With Robert’s different interests and areas of expertise – forensic accounting, blockchain technology, compliance and financial planning – it can be difficult to see how everything fits together. And yet, he’s able to pull knowledge and skills from different areas to create a unique practice in a way that we can all learn from.

• How Robert’s military experience informs the way he acquires clients
• Robert’s obsession with learning
• Robe

Higher returns often mean higher volatility — so how do you know when it’s worth it to be more aggressive and when you should settle for a lower, but more stable, return? And how can you help clients trust that you’re taking the right approach? Today’s guest is always thinking about risk and return and has a framework to help you balance the two.

Martin Pelletier is a portfolio manager and managing director at TriVest Wealth Counsel, a division of Wellington-Altus Private Wealth. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charterholder and has extensive investment industry experience, including senior roles in capital markets, private banking, venture capital, wealth management, and family and multi-family office.

Martin is regularly featured in the media and is a weekly contributor to the Financial Post's Investment Pro section. He is a member of Thomson Reuters Canada’s top 40 social influencers in finance, innovation and risk (2017), was a top-10 finalist for the BlackRock Award for Canadian Portfolio/Discretionary Manager of the Year (2018) and was recently named to Wealth Professional Canada Magazine’s Leading Portfolio Managers (2019).

Listen in to hear what Martin has to say about risk, return, and the foundation of his success.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode: 

• How Martin (accidentally) avoided the financial crisis (2:05)
• How goals-based benchmarking removes unnecessary risk (6:25)
• How asset management differs between high net worth and ultra-high net worth clients (12:30)
• Building trust at scale (17:00)
• How thinking big and building small has contributed to Martin’s success (21:55)
• How advisors need to reposition themselves to succeed in a changing industry (28:20)
• How Martin has eliminated the most challenging aspect of his business (33:40)
• Why he thinks you should never get comfortable (40:40) 

Links and Resources:

TriVest Wealth

Martin Pelletier

Email Martin

Quotes by Martin: 

“With ETFs coming out, it’s democratized the investment industry, and commoditized it.”

“It’s all about building relationships. The number one reason why someone’s going to decide to go with you is trust.”

“If you really want to impose change, you have to think big and build small.”

Martin Pelletier’s financial advice is sought after both by the media, and high and ultra-high net worth families. Today, he’s sharing his expertise with us.

Below, we&rsquo

Higher returns often mean higher volatility — so how do you know when it’s worth it to be more aggressive and when you should settle for a lower, but more stable, return? And how can you help clients trust that you’re taking the right approach? Today’s guest is always thinking about risk and return and has a framework to help you balance the two.

Martin Pelletier is a portfolio manager and managing director at TriVest Wealth Counsel, a division of Wellington-Altus Private Wealth. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charterholder and has extensive investment industry experience, including senior roles in capital markets, private banking, venture capital, wealth management, and family and multi-family office.

Martin is regularly featured in the media and is a weekly contributor to the Financial Post's Investment Pro section. He is a member of Thomson Reuters Canada’s top 40 social influencers in finance, innovation and risk (2017), was a top-10 finalist for the BlackRock Award for Canadian Portfolio/Discretionary Manager of the Year (2018) and was recently named to Wealth Professional Canada Magazine’s Leading Portfolio Managers (2019).

Listen in to hear what Martin has to say about risk, return, and the foundation of his success.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode: 

• How Martin (accidentally) avoided the financial crisis (2:05)
• How goals-based benchmarking removes unnecessary risk (6:25)
• How asset management differs between high net worth and ultra-high net worth clients (12:30)
• Building trust at scale (17:00)
• How thinking big and building small has contributed to Martin’s success (21:55)
• How advisors need to reposition themselves to succeed in a changing industry (28:20)
• How Martin has eliminated the most challenging aspect of his business (33:40)
• Why he thinks you should never get comfortable (40:40) 

Links and Resources:

TriVest Wealth

Martin Pelletier

Email Martin

Quotes by Martin: 

“With ETFs coming out, it’s democratized the investment industry, and commoditized it.”

“It’s all about building relationships. The number one reason why someone’s going to decide to go with you is trust.”

“If you really want to impose change, you have to think big and build small.”

Martin Pelletier’s financial advice is sought after both by the media, and high and ultra-high net worth families. Today, he’s sharing his expertise with us.

Below, we&rsquo