Become an independent wealth manager

Hi there. My name is Jason Ayres, CEO of the Croft Financial Group, and here’s what you need to know when considering going independent.

Well, the idea of going independent is not about going it alone. You know, you’re not leaving the mainland to go live on an island to sort things out yourself. What you’re doing is you’re moving into an environment where you have more flexibility and freedom to grow your business, to entertain new ideas, to adapt, evolve, to experiment if you will, of course within the constraints of our regulatory environment.

I just, I think that’s something that everybody reall needs to understand because oftentimes the word “independent” is, you know, mistaken for alone versus freedom, which is really what this is all about.

So when I think about entrepreneurship, I mean, really at the core of it, if I just look at it from an individual and maybe, to a certain extent, selfish standpoint, it’s about being able to invest in one’s own success and to benefit from the hard work, the time and the effort and the passion that you put in. But I think it’s important to recognize that that has to start with the desire, and again, I’ll use the word “passion,” to solve a problem, to make a difference, to implement the change to the betterment of others. And for us, you know, it may be our clients, it may be your investors. For our firm, it’s a portfolio manager who’s looking to maybe spend more time with their clients and do what they love and to do better for their clients. And how can we help them achieve those goals?

The goal of the independent space is to provide portfolio managers and advisors with the services and solutions that they need to deliver, you know, a high level financial service to their clients, to do so at a comparative, if not lower cost to the clients, while ultimately protecting and preserving their margins and in a lot of cases, actually increasing their margins. I can’t think of any other better solution than that if you are somebody who is—you know, possesses the entrepreneurial spirit. It’s a win for the client, with greater flexibility and services and solutions; it’s a win for the portfolio manager or the advisor in that they have more time to spend with the clients to build those relationships, to build their business; their margins are greater; and they’re able to build an exit strategy that allows them to benefit from the years and years and years that they’ve put in, the hard work and the passion while ensuring a warm hand-off to the clients on a comfortable timeline.

Again, what more could you ask for as a professional?

This goes without saying but it is and always will be about delivering value, service and solutions and support to our clients.

My name’s Rob Townsend and I’m the CEO of Camber Private Wealth in Calgary, Alberta.

Today, I’m going to tell you what you need to know about starting an independent financial advisory firm.

When you believe that anything is possible because there’s no boxes around you, it’s just your own abilities and your own creativity is the only limit or governor on your system, it allows you to think and operate in a totally different way. And it allows you to bring to life those things that you feel should be there for clients, whether that be tools or experiences or service schedules. And so, it’s really that yes-you-can mentality that does trickle into the business as it starts, the brand, the name, and then trickles into that client experience which, ultimately, is what we all do every day, is try and enhance the lives of people and their relationship with the money that they’ve saved and created. And we want to create a safe place for that, an innovative place to build new tools.  And that’s what’s possible once you’re out on your own and you take those boxes away.

From marketing to compliance to data security, financial planning and of course portfolio management and trading, all of those are well-developed systems that you’re probably using at the firm right now.  And those are all available to you and it’s much easier than people think to get access and, in this day, and age, much more affordable than ever possible.

There were people, the true pioneers, who started these firms 30, 40 years ago and did it on their own and I do think that was a much bigger undertaking than it is today. But we’re in an age of innovation and disruption and that is—all trickles down to you, the advisor, who has more tools, more readily available, at a cheaper cost than ever before. So, the time is now.

We need the thinkers and the dreamers and the entrepreneurs and the people that are going to bring these tools to life. The industry is controlled by very few large firms, and true innovation starts with the small scrappy ideas, back of the napkin, passion and creativity. And it’s bringing those tools to life that your clients care about and that this industry needs.  So, I really view it as a call to those advisors, those people that have already done the hard part, which is building a book of business and running clients and dealing with markets, and just taking that last step so you can develop the tools that this industry needs to see. We need to pull it out of the dark ages and innovate and create competition so that we do achieve better for clients and raise the bar of financial advice in Canada. And we can all be a part of that journey.

This industry needs change. This industry needs people that are thinking differently and that’s possible now because you can do it under an umbrella of your own firm. And it’s those sorts of tools and experiments and creative process that’s going to lead to a better client experience and going to lead to an industry that’s healthier in Canada and makes people’s lives with money better. And so, that’s what I want the independent advisor of tomorrow to know and to feel and to get after it. We need you. It’s a call. And if we can do it, they can do it. Come on.

National Bank Independent Network (NBIN) is a division of National Bank Financial Inc. (NBF Inc.). Please note that comments included in this video are for information purposes only. The opinions and endorsements expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of NBIN.