DAC 2013 – Day 3: Go Back to the Future – Reaching Higher for Bigger Success

Collaborative wealth management — Reaching Higher for Bigger Successes — was the theme for the final day of DAC 2013. The day started with a grim picture of aging demographics. 

However, the dynamic and entertaining Dr. Robert Ironside wowed the audience with his predictions of the future. He noted that global fertility had fallen from five children per female to 2.7. You need 2.1 children to sustain a population, but Canada averages about 1.6 per female, while the US is holding steady at the required 2.1.

What does this mean for our society? We’ll have to encourage more immigration to make up the difference but that won’t change the fact that the senior population will grow faster than any other demographic, says Ironside, a professor at Kwantlen Polytechnic University. He notes that by 2030 — only 17 years away — one in three Canadians will be seniors, a statistic that affects economic productivity. But, since such a large and global aging population will be uncharted territory, we can expect different kinds of opportunities and be on the lookout for them.

“As our workforces shrink, you have to replace them with more and different types of capital so we’ll likely see more emphasis on technology solutions,” Ironside says. “The coming transformation is both certain and lasting.”

Next, attendees heard from a trio powerhouse: MoneySense editor Jonathan Chevreau, Michael Graham of Michael Graham Investment Services, and Professor Paul Bates of McMaster Divinity College. Chevreau encourages advisors to get clients not to necessarily think about retirement on its own but “financial independence” for the long term. Looking at things in those terms means clients may wish to think about having the choice of working — which is likely necessary for some — or not working, but to come to those conclusions on their own terms.

After 50 years on Bay Street, market volatility can still shake Michael Graham to the core. He jokingly recalls having his life shortened by five years after following the markets in September 2008. But he believes Canada is positioned quite well for the future.

“If only we knew and appreciated how much Canada has to offer: oil, banking system, an energy powerhouse, relative fiscal strength, sound currency, solid profit and dividend growth, strategic global location,” Graham says, “we would be so much more optimistic as a society.” He noted that when he started in the business in 1962, it was bonds that were deemed risky by investors, not stocks.

Bates reminded attendees to continue to take the contrarian position since our job was to be brave and protect our clients from risks. We have an obligation, he said, to ensure that our entire population flourishes financially and for us to take that on requires that we constantly strive to do the right thing and that includes building strong and lasting relationships with our clients and their families.

Next up, attendees heard from advisors Grant McPhail and Jenn Snyder about the secrets to their wealth management success. “Working on both sides of the balance sheets is something we need to do,” advises McPhail.

Snyder emphasizes working with the right centres of influence. “I had the biggest growth when I teamed up with somebody who knew what was not her expertise,” she says.

If you’re a generalist, that person you team up with may concentrate on estate planning like John Poyser of Tradition Law LLP Estates and Trusts. What drives estate planning discussions depends on what’s most important to the particular family. To find out the key issues, Poyser recommends holding a family conference to insert the principles of the family into the drafting of estate plans. This helps to avoid family squabbles down the road when everyone knows what the intentions for the assets are. The goal? To preserve wealth and not needlessly lose all the money to estate taxes or family feuds.

Finally, former TV journalist Diana Bishop encouraged attendees to think about new ways of navigating the path to success. “We all have an act two,” she says, noting that it’s a matter of figuring out what you have learned from the past that you don’t want to take into the future. Moving to the next level often only requires another 5% level of effort or change but it means some soul searching and fine-tuning a focus for your practice. “Define your client type and figure out who you want to help,” Bishop says. This should go beyond people with $1 million or more to invest or people ages 50 and up. Bishop mentioned a successful advisor who decided to focus on active people in their 50s like himself and helping them to achieve their bucket list, rebranding himself and his practice in the process to achieve unprecedented success. She urged the audience to think differently about their successful value proposition for the future and tweak it accordingly.

Evelyn Jacks concluded the conference by thanking all the speakers and MC David Christianson, who did an admirable job keeping the substantial audience and speaker list on time, and urged the delegates to come back to Think BIG in Texas next year, while challenging them to join and form study groups throughout 2014 as a “Sage Society” of wealth advisors. Over $10,000 of tuition-paid courses from Knowledge Bureau were provided to advisors who participated in spot-quizzes over the three day conference. 

Delegates had a fantastic time at the Back to the Future Gala the night before and many new social networks were forged.
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