The Behind the Advice series asks advisors about their relationship with money growing up and how their experiences influence the advice they give clients today.The Globe and Mail
Advisors are expected to offer objective financial advice to their clients, but even the most dispassionate money managers bring a piece of themselves into client meetings – and that’s a good thing.
Globe Advisor’s ongoing Behind the Advice series asks advisors about their relationship with money growing up and how their experiences influence the advice they give clients today.
We also launched a Behind the Advice podcast – catch up on all episodes over the holidays.
How this advisor turned her difficult childhood into a professional superpower
Jackie Porter, certified financial planner at Carte Wealth Management in Mississauga, studied psychology but hit a wall during her fourth-year practicum, when she learned to listen to people as a therapist but couldn’t give advice. “I loved it but realized that people kept telling me the same thing over and over again,” she says. “I wanted to give them advice so badly, but I couldn’t. I realized that being a therapist wasn’t for me.” In the first episode of the Behind the Advice podcast, she speaks about being raised by a single mom who passed away when she was 16 and the job loss that led her to a career in financial services.
This former pro baseball player-turned-advisor got some relatable advice from Warren Buffett
In his 20s, as a member of the New York Mets organization, the team kept asking Ross Ferrier if he was okay because he wasn’t depositing his cheques. “I didn’t need the money; my housing and food were paid for,” says Mr. Ferrier, a branch manager and portfolio manager with Commerce Valley Financial Group at CIBC Wood Gundy in Thornhill, Ont. “Given my upbringing, I wasn’t used to buying many extra things.” He has an Omaha Royals jersey signed by Warren Buffett, who gave him some advice about baseball and investing.
How this advisor went from being a broke, single mom to a successful entrepreneur and financial planner
For Julia Chung, financial savvy and independence were important from a young age. “At the dinner table, we would talk about the importance of having a strong work ethic and discuss different monetary systems around the world,” says the co-founder and chief executive officer of Vancouver-based Spring Planning Inc. She discusses growing up with hippie parents, surviving as a single teenage mom, and her drive to seek career opportunities both in and outside the financial services sector.
Reading The Wealthy Barber and investing early helped this advisor launch his own firm
Jeff Pollock started investing early. “Not long after graduating from university, I bought some real estate,” the CEO and portfolio manager at Schneider & Pollock Wealth Management Inc. says. “The decision scared my parents, especially as I needed my mother to co-sign my Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. insured loan.” But he paid off the mortgage and had the financial flexibility to start his own portfolio management business.
Investing isn’t about always being right, this advisor says – it’s about not being really wrong
As a teenager, Darren Coleman worked part-time at stores that sold cameras and electronics. “I couldn’t believe I got paid to talk to people while learning about cameras and photography,” says Mr. Coleman, senior portfolio manager with Coleman Wealth at Raymond James Ltd. “So, the other thing I learned is that work can and should be fun.” He discusses his first experience with a credit card, lessons learned from well-known mutual fund manager Larry Sarbit, and why advisors need to be good team players.
Why this estate planning professional wishes she could go back in time to advise her entrepreneur parents
Akua Carmichael, vice-president of estate planning and services at Estate Stewards Inc. in Toronto, didn’t have a positive association with money growing up. “The lessons I’ve learned about money, saving, the importance of advisors and getting good financial advice came much later in life for me,” she says. Watching her parents start and run a business inspired her money and career decisions.
A meeting with Vanguard founder John Bogle inspired this pro hockey player to become an advisor
Kent Manderville, an advisor in Ottawa, spent 16 years playing professional hockey for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Edmonton Oilers, Hartford Whalers (now Carolina Hurricanes), Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins. “It’s a short career,” he says. “You never know how long you’re going to be playing for. And there’s an opportunity cost because when I was chasing a puck, other people were building their careers.” He talks about being raised by a widowed mom, driving a Toyota Camry while playing in the NHL, and settling on a career in finance.
An early-career trading mistake taught this advisor to avoid hubris, especially when managing clients’ money
For Samantha Sykes, it was a love of people, problem-solving and technical analysis that led her to financial advice. But the senior investment advisor with Sykes Wealth Management at Raymond James is concerned about public trust in her profession. “What I worry about is people getting bad advice from the countless people who don’t have the qualifications to give sound financial advice,” she says.
‘Avoiding FOMO is my superpower,’ says this advisor who learned about debt the hard way
Mark McGrath was terrible with money until his early 20s. The certified financial planner and associate portfolio manager with PWL Capital Inc. in Squamish, B.C., used to max out his credit card and took out an $11,000 student loan he didn’t need – and then he quit university. “The emotional and psychological burden of being thousands of dollars in debt was very scary,” he says. “I never wanted to have that feeling again, so I immediately began strategizing how to pay it off.” He talks about avoiding FOMO and why he hates budgeting.
How owning a successful Canadian retail stock helped this advisor advance her career
Rebecca Teltscher’s mom was in an abusive marriage with her dad for 28 years. “I remember as a kid telling her, ‘Just leave him,’” says the portfolio manager at Newhaven Asset Management Inc. in Toronto. “One of the reasons she stayed as long as she did was because she had no financial independence.” But her difficult childhood forced her to get smart about money.