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

What’s the best way to offer financial advice to business-minded clients? For starters, it helps to be clear on what it means to be a business owner yourself. Today’s guest has taken serious steps to develop himself as an entrepreneur, which helps him work with his own clients, most of whom are business owners. 

Dustin Serviss of Serviss Wealth Management has been featured as the number 1 Top 40 Under 40 leader in 2014 by the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce. In 2017, Serviss Wealth Management was awarded the Top 10 Wealth Builder Award by its previous investment dealer (consisting of over 800 advisors). Serviss Wealth Management was also voted one of the Top 3 Micro Businesses in Kelowna by the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce in 2018.

Listen in to hear how Dustin helps business owners manage their wealth – and their businesses. 

What You’ll Learn in This Episode: 

• How Dustin went from day trading as an engineer to running a successful practice (4:10)
• Dustin’s unique approach to leadership (11:25)
• Three lessons learned from working with a business consultant (20:20)
• How Dustin leverages what he learns from his clients to offer even more value through consulting (28:15)
• Why ongoing learning is critical to business success (33:35)
• Overcoming the grind of the first few years in business (36:35) 

Links and Resources: 

Serviss Wealth Management 

Quotes by Dustin Serviss:  

“Now when we are going and talking to clients, we are talking on a level that is business-minded first, financial planning second.” 

“When you’re exposed to bigger stuff you realize that other people think differently than you do.”

“As entrepreneurs, we have a lot of good ideas and we have even more great ideas… And before you know it, you’ve got so many things to do, so many processes, so many touchpoints, so many this, so many that.”

Serving business owners and lawyers, Serviss Wealth Management is a powerhouse of an independent financial planning firm. Acting as the quarterback (as he puts it) for his clients’ financial affairs, and taking his own entrepreneurship very seriously, Dustin has a lot to share about the business side of financial planning.

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

• Three lessons learned from working with a business consultant
• Dustin’s unique approach to leadership
• Why ongoing learning is critical to business success

Three lessons learned from working

What’s the best way to offer financial advice to business-minded clients? For starters, it helps to be clear on what it means to be a business owner yourself. Today’s guest has taken serious steps to develop himself as an entrepreneur, which helps him work with his own clients, most of whom are business owners. 

Dustin Serviss of Serviss Wealth Management has been featured as the number 1 Top 40 Under 40 leader in 2014 by the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce. In 2017, Serviss Wealth Management was awarded the Top 10 Wealth Builder Award by its previous investment dealer (consisting of over 800 advisors). Serviss Wealth Management was also voted one of the Top 3 Micro Businesses in Kelowna by the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce in 2018.

Listen in to hear how Dustin helps business owners manage their wealth – and their businesses. 

What You’ll Learn in This Episode: 

• How Dustin went from day trading as an engineer to running a successful practice (4:10)
• Dustin’s unique approach to leadership (11:25)
• Three lessons learned from working with a business consultant (20:20)
• How Dustin leverages what he learns from his clients to offer even more value through consulting (28:15)
• Why ongoing learning is critical to business success (33:35)
• Overcoming the grind of the first few years in business (36:35) 

Links and Resources: 

Serviss Wealth Management 

Quotes by Dustin Serviss:  

“Now when we are going and talking to clients, we are talking on a level that is business-minded first, financial planning second.” 

“When you’re exposed to bigger stuff you realize that other people think differently than you do.”

“As entrepreneurs, we have a lot of good ideas and we have even more great ideas… And before you know it, you’ve got so many things to do, so many processes, so many touchpoints, so many this, so many that.”

Serving business owners and lawyers, Serviss Wealth Management is a powerhouse of an independent financial planning firm. Acting as the quarterback (as he puts it) for his clients’ financial affairs, and taking his own entrepreneurship very seriously, Dustin has a lot to share about the business side of financial planning.

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

• Three lessons learned from working with a business consultant
• Dustin’s unique approach to leadership
• Why ongoing learning is critical to business success

Three lessons learned from working

For many families, the wealth-building process is one that crosses several generations. It’s just not always easy to keep everyone on the same page. However, the benefits of building on family values and past lessons is a huge advantage that family businesses can tap into.

Jamie Townsend is an advisor who recently completed his designation in the Family Enterprise Advisor (FEA) program, which focuses on helping families manage their greatest asset through continuity. Jamie works with business owners and professionals to help simplify their financial lives. He was recently recognized by Wealth Professional Magazine for his work as a Top 50 Advisor in Canada.

Listen in to hear what Jamie has to say about the challenges that family businesses face, the best ways to help, and the part of financial advising where shortcuts just won’t cut it. 

What You’ll Learn in This Episode: 

• Why Jamie got the FEA designation and how it has served him (2:35)
• What it’s like being in business with a parent (5:45)
• Insights gained from serving multiple generations of families (9:25)
• Why success is never a finite state (14:55)
• Why Jamie accepts new clients by referral only (17:35)
• How financial information is different from financial knowledge (24:10)
• Jamie’s advice for new advisors (26:35) 

Links and Resources:

Lawton Partners Wealth Management 

Quotes by Jamie Townsend: 

“We are able to have an incredible impact on people when it matters most.” 

“If you think about this conversation in terms of generations, you have the next generation coming up with their own energy, their own ideas, their own goals. And sometimes those align perfectly with the generation above, and sometimes they’re completely different.” 

“When you spend time with someone, if they’re ultimately going to work with you, they need to get to know you, they need to like you, and then eventually they start to trust you.”

Jamie Townsend is well-versed in family business. Not only does he run a practice with his dad, but also between the two of them, they’ve worked with some families over as many as four generations. Don’t miss out on learning from his unique perspective. 

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

• Insights gained from serving multiple generations of families
• Why success is never a finite state

For many families, the wealth-building process is one that crosses several generations. It’s just not always easy to keep everyone on the same page. However, the benefits of building on family values and past lessons is a huge advantage that family businesses can tap into.

Jamie Townsend is an advisor who recently completed his designation in the Family Enterprise Advisor (FEA) program, which focuses on helping families manage their greatest asset through continuity. Jamie works with business owners and professionals to help simplify their financial lives. He was recently recognized by Wealth Professional Magazine for his work as a Top 50 Advisor in Canada.

Listen in to hear what Jamie has to say about the challenges that family businesses face, the best ways to help, and the part of financial advising where shortcuts just won’t cut it. 

What You’ll Learn in This Episode: 

• Why Jamie got the FEA designation and how it has served him (2:35)
• What it’s like being in business with a parent (5:45)
• Insights gained from serving multiple generations of families (9:25)
• Why success is never a finite state (14:55)
• Why Jamie accepts new clients by referral only (17:35)
• How financial information is different from financial knowledge (24:10)
• Jamie’s advice for new advisors (26:35) 

Links and Resources:

Lawton Partners Wealth Management 

Quotes by Jamie Townsend: 

“We are able to have an incredible impact on people when it matters most.” 

“If you think about this conversation in terms of generations, you have the next generation coming up with their own energy, their own ideas, their own goals. And sometimes those align perfectly with the generation above, and sometimes they’re completely different.” 

“When you spend time with someone, if they’re ultimately going to work with you, they need to get to know you, they need to like you, and then eventually they start to trust you.”

Jamie Townsend is well-versed in family business. Not only does he run a practice with his dad, but also between the two of them, they’ve worked with some families over as many as four generations. Don’t miss out on learning from his unique perspective. 

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

• Insights gained from serving multiple generations of families
• Why success is never a finite state

How does charitable giving factor into wealth management? How can you help your clients pursue their charitable goals and earn great financial returns? Today’s guest has mastered helping clients balance their finances with their values—something that most financial advisors aren’t doing because they’re not taking the time to even understand their clients’ goals.

Ryan Fraser is a nationally known Planned Giving expert. His firm, Quiet Legacy, helps individuals incorporate their personal values into their financial planning experience. Ryan is a past president of the Estate Planner Council of London and a past chair of the Canadian Association of Gift Planners (CAGP) London Roundtable. He has served extensively in leadership positions on boards and committees of numerous not-for-profit organizations including the Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada, London Heritage Council, Trillium Plus Music and Letters and many others.

Listen in to hear what Ryan has to say about how his firm serves clients, how to balance personal values with financial returns, and what is most misunderstood about charitable giving.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode::

• Why Ryan’s firm focuses so much effort on helping charities (3:15)
• Niching down by purpose and outlook—rather than demographic (6:10)
• Ryan’s top tools and strategies for prioritizing clients’ values (19:00)
• The major challenge around balancing values with returns (29:00)
• Why and how you should calculate the cost of serving your clients (39:50)
• What people misunderstand about charitable giving (45:55)

Links and Resources:

Quiet Legacy Planning Group

Canadian Association of Gift Planners (CAGP)

CAGP Conference

Ted Talk: The Way We Think About Charity is Dead Wrong (Dan Pallotta)

Quotes by Ryan Fraser:

“Before we have the numbers conversation, we’ve had some really deep conversations about what are the motivating factors in their lives and what are the things in their past that led these values to be really strong for them.”

“The thought that the most important thing to a client wasn’t the return is not something our industry ever contemplates.”

“I like to joke that my underlying business plan is I don’t want to deal with jerks.”

For some time now, Ryan’s career has been partly in the not-for-profit world and partly in financial services. His current practice, Quiet Legacy, is the perfect blend of the two: about 30% of his firm’s time is spent working with charities, including audits of their c

How does charitable giving factor into wealth management? How can you help your clients pursue their charitable goals and earn great financial returns? Today’s guest has mastered helping clients balance their finances with their values—something that most financial advisors aren’t doing because they’re not taking the time to even understand their clients’ goals.

Ryan Fraser is a nationally known Planned Giving expert. His firm, Quiet Legacy, helps individuals incorporate their personal values into their financial planning experience. Ryan is a past president of the Estate Planner Council of London and a past chair of the Canadian Association of Gift Planners (CAGP) London Roundtable. He has served extensively in leadership positions on boards and committees of numerous not-for-profit organizations including the Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada, London Heritage Council, Trillium Plus Music and Letters and many others.

Listen in to hear what Ryan has to say about how his firm serves clients, how to balance personal values with financial returns, and what is most misunderstood about charitable giving.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode::

• Why Ryan’s firm focuses so much effort on helping charities (3:15)
• Niching down by purpose and outlook—rather than demographic (6:10)
• Ryan’s top tools and strategies for prioritizing clients’ values (19:00)
• The major challenge around balancing values with returns (29:00)
• Why and how you should calculate the cost of serving your clients (39:50)
• What people misunderstand about charitable giving (45:55)

Links and Resources:

Quiet Legacy Planning Group

Canadian Association of Gift Planners (CAGP)

CAGP Conference

Ted Talk: The Way We Think About Charity is Dead Wrong (Dan Pallotta)

Quotes by Ryan Fraser:

“Before we have the numbers conversation, we’ve had some really deep conversations about what are the motivating factors in their lives and what are the things in their past that led these values to be really strong for them.”

“The thought that the most important thing to a client wasn’t the return is not something our industry ever contemplates.”

“I like to joke that my underlying business plan is I don’t want to deal with jerks.”

For some time now, Ryan’s career has been partly in the not-for-profit world and partly in financial services. His current practice, Quiet Legacy, is the perfect blend of the two: about 30% of his firm’s time is spent working with charities, including audits of their c

Compliance has a bad rap in the financial services industry, but today’s guest has a unique perspective. Now a compliance officer, he actually started his career in the financial services industry as an advisor, so he understands exactly how compliance affects—and can even improve—your business. He’s also passionate about helping advisors run their own independent practices while staying compliant. 

Joining the podcast today is Eric Wachtel. Eric is the national chief compliance officer for IDC WIN where he is responsible for maintaining and strengthening IDC WIN’s compliance programs and initiatives. He has 24 years of experience in the life insurance industry and has worked steadily to build IDC WIN’s compliance programs while maintaining a pro-business environment.

Eric is also the compliance chair of Legislative Affairs for the Canadian Association of Independent Life Brokerage Agencies (CAILBA) where he participates in numerous insurance industry working groups and committees which help shape the direction of compliance in the life insurance industry. 

What You’ll Learn in This Episode: 

• What fair treatment of consumers means and why it’s becoming so important (3:55)
• What exactly you need to do to be compliant (11:00)
• How templates can make compliance a lot easier—but they don’t do the work for you (17:10)
• How good compliance is good for business (33:05)
• Why Eric is excited about how the insurance industry is handling compliance lately (39:15)
• Why it’s critical to have the right support when it comes to compliance (41:10) 

Links and Resources: 

Email Eric

Call Eric at: 905-366-3866 EXT#3228 

Quotes by Eric Wachtel:

“Good compliance equals good production and good service to consumers.”

“I tell advisors to resist the temptation to take your template, customize it, get it done, then throw it in a drawer and don’t look at it for a year. Because that is a pitfall.”

“Compliance these days is synonymous with professionalism.”

Historically, there has been a lot of angst around compliance because advisors haven’t been clear on what exactly they have to do. That’s because insurance compliance is principles-based (rather than rules-based like securities), which can lead to ambiguity and uncertainty. But Eric is here to share the exact steps you need to take to be compliant and have peace of mind.

Hint: If you’d like to hear more about compliance in wealth management, listen to our episode with Jamie List where he explains

Compliance has a bad rap in the financial services industry, but today’s guest has a unique perspective. Now a compliance officer, he actually started his career in the financial services industry as an advisor, so he understands exactly how compliance affects—and can even improve—your business. He’s also passionate about helping advisors run their own independent practices while staying compliant. 

Joining the podcast today is Eric Wachtel. Eric is the national chief compliance officer for IDC WIN where he is responsible for maintaining and strengthening IDC WIN’s compliance programs and initiatives. He has 24 years of experience in the life insurance industry and has worked steadily to build IDC WIN’s compliance programs while maintaining a pro-business environment.

Eric is also the compliance chair of Legislative Affairs for the Canadian Association of Independent Life Brokerage Agencies (CAILBA) where he participates in numerous insurance industry working groups and committees which help shape the direction of compliance in the life insurance industry. 

What You’ll Learn in This Episode: 

• What fair treatment of consumers means and why it’s becoming so important (3:55)
• What exactly you need to do to be compliant (11:00)
• How templates can make compliance a lot easier—but they don’t do the work for you (17:10)
• How good compliance is good for business (33:05)
• Why Eric is excited about how the insurance industry is handling compliance lately (39:15)
• Why it’s critical to have the right support when it comes to compliance (41:10) 

Links and Resources: 

Email Eric

Call Eric at: 905-366-3866 EXT#3228 

Quotes by Eric Wachtel:

“Good compliance equals good production and good service to consumers.”

“I tell advisors to resist the temptation to take your template, customize it, get it done, then throw it in a drawer and don’t look at it for a year. Because that is a pitfall.”

“Compliance these days is synonymous with professionalism.”

Historically, there has been a lot of angst around compliance because advisors haven’t been clear on what exactly they have to do. That’s because insurance compliance is principles-based (rather than rules-based like securities), which can lead to ambiguity and uncertainty. But Eric is here to share the exact steps you need to take to be compliant and have peace of mind.

Hint: If you’d like to hear more about compliance in wealth management, listen to our episode with Jamie List where he explains

The conflicts of interest within embedded compensation models are well known, but how can you actually get away from it and maintain a stable and comfortable revenue stream? Today’s guest mastered his business’ transition to a fee-based model, and he’s on a mission to share what he’s learned with other advisors. 

Adam Chapman is a native of London, Ontario, where his practice is currently located. He completed his B.ACS at Western University, back when it was UWO, and has added his CFP and CLU designations since starting his business back in 2005.

Adam focuses on retirees and people who are about to retire. He's paired this niche audience with a business model that has him focused on switching his services over to an almost exclusively fee-based and fee-for-service offering in the next one to two years. 

What You’ll Learn in This Episode: 

• Why a young advisor like Adam is the perfect fit to work with retirees (3:45)
• Adam’s transition to a fee-based practice (7:10)
• Adam’s process for wealth management (17:15)
• The psychology behind transitioning to retirement (22:00)
• Why Adam has left behind the transactional model of financial planning (26:20)
• 3 compensation mistakes Adam sees other advisors making (34:05)
• How the delivery of financial advice is evolving in Canada (42:50) 

Links and Resources: 

Email Adam 

Quotes by Adam Chapman: 

“It didn’t seem fair that I have to take a pay cut just to do what’s right for the client.” 

“That fear of running out is what prevents people from using the money.” 

“If we can help clients step out of their comfort zone a couple times in retirement and do something they never thought they could ever do, that’s phenomenally motivating and powerful for me.”

Over the last three years, Adam has entirely switched his practice over to being 100% fee-based. This unique experience, along with his insight into the psychology of retirement, has brought advisors to him asking for advice about running their own fee-based practices; today, he’s sharing these insights with you.

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

• Transitioning to a fee-based practice

• 3 compensation mistakes Adam sees other advisors making

• The psychology behind transitioning to retirement

Transitioning to a fee-based practice

The conflicts of interest within embedded compensation models are well known, but how can you actually get away from it and maintain a stable and comfortable revenue stream? Today’s guest mastered his business’ transition to a fee-based model, and he’s on a mission to share what he’s learned with other advisors. 

Adam Chapman is a native of London, Ontario, where his practice is currently located. He completed his B.ACS at Western University, back when it was UWO, and has added his CFP and CLU designations since starting his business back in 2005.

Adam focuses on retirees and people who are about to retire. He's paired this niche audience with a business model that has him focused on switching his services over to an almost exclusively fee-based and fee-for-service offering in the next one to two years. 

What You’ll Learn in This Episode: 

• Why a young advisor like Adam is the perfect fit to work with retirees (3:45)
• Adam’s transition to a fee-based practice (7:10)
• Adam’s process for wealth management (17:15)
• The psychology behind transitioning to retirement (22:00)
• Why Adam has left behind the transactional model of financial planning (26:20)
• 3 compensation mistakes Adam sees other advisors making (34:05)
• How the delivery of financial advice is evolving in Canada (42:50) 

Links and Resources: 

Email Adam 

Quotes by Adam Chapman: 

“It didn’t seem fair that I have to take a pay cut just to do what’s right for the client.” 

“That fear of running out is what prevents people from using the money.” 

“If we can help clients step out of their comfort zone a couple times in retirement and do something they never thought they could ever do, that’s phenomenally motivating and powerful for me.”

Over the last three years, Adam has entirely switched his practice over to being 100% fee-based. This unique experience, along with his insight into the psychology of retirement, has brought advisors to him asking for advice about running their own fee-based practices; today, he’s sharing these insights with you.

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

• Transitioning to a fee-based practice

• 3 compensation mistakes Adam sees other advisors making

• The psychology behind transitioning to retirement

Transitioning to a fee-based practice