Melissa Shin
Traditional financial planning involves extensive information gathering, detailed reviews, and dedication from both the financial advisor and the client.
As a result, such a rigorous process is often reserved for those with enough assets or complexity to make that type of engagement worthwhile for the advisor.
Yet plenty more people need financial direction according to a 2020 survey from FP Canada, only 57% of Canadians said they were were confident they would meet their financial goals (down 10 points from the previous survey in 2018), and 71% do not work with a professional financial planner.
“A lot of people don’t know what financial planning is; they just know they have a lot of questions that aren’t being answered,” said David O’Leary, founder of Kind Wealth, a Toronto-based fee-only planning firm. “They assume it’s no one’s job to help them.”
Melissa Shin
Traditional financial planning involves extensive information gathering, detailed reviews, and dedication from both the financial advisor and the client.
As a result, such a rigorous process is often reserved for those with enough assets or complexity to make that type of engagement worthwhile for the advisor.
Yet plenty more people need financial direction according to a 2020 survey from FP Canada, only 57% of Canadians said they were were confident they would meet their financial goals (down 10 points from the previous survey in 2018), and 71% do not work with a professional financial planner.
“A lot of people don’t know what financial planning is; they just know they have a lot of questions that aren’t being answered,” said David O’Leary, founder of Kind Wealth, a Toronto-based fee-only planning firm. “They assume it’s no one’s job to help them.”
The Globe and Mail Published December 24, 2020 Bookmark Please log in to listen to this story. Also available in French and Mandarin. Log In Create Free Account
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The financial services industry was already facing disruption from various directions prior to the arrival of COVID-19, but the pandemic presented novel challenges and opened the door to even more significant changes.
From more diverse and inclusive advisory teams, to new rules affecting many financial professionals, to even greater adoption of technology among both advisors and their firms, to an increasing shift toward advisor independence and greater levels of stress among advisors, these themes are likely to persist well into 2021 and beyond.