The transition from big box to independent

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 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.

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