Seasoned wholesaler Tanja Mirazic shares her thoughts on trends that are reshaping the wealth space
Tanja Mirazic has acquired a plethora of profitable relationships over the course of her 21-year career in the finance industry. At the heart of it is a strong commitment to not only meeting, but exceeding, the expectations of her adviser clients.
“I’ve been wholesaling in the territory for 17 years now, so we’re very fortunate to have deep-rooted relationships,” the 5-star wholesaler from Manulife Investment Management told Wealth Professional in an interview.
Aside from those strong connections, Mirazic has developed a keen understanding of the industry, which allows her to pick up on where the next inflection could take place.
According to Mirazic, recent regulatory developments, particularly around know-your-product obligations, have turned up the heat on competition for advisor shelf space among wholesalers. It's also put more pressure on investment salespeople to educate advisers about the role their products can play in their customers' portfolios.
Importantly, she sees ESG's rise as a defining trend in the Canadian financial scene. While the topic has long been on institutional investors' radar, the COVID-19 epidemic, as well as rising calls for action in the face of terrible environmental disasters, have pushed it to the forefront.
“Gone are the days when clients would have a ‘set it and forget it’ attitude with respect to their investments,” she says. “Now they want to know what’s in their portfolios, and what portfolio managers are doing to change the world even as they seek returns.”
Compared to her initial job’s sole focus on product conversations, Mirazic says her duties and capacities have expanded since then, which reflects the need for wholesalers to take a more comprehensive and wide-ranging view.
“Today you really have to be holistic as a wholesaler because guess what? Advisors aren’t just discussing investment management anymore,” she says. “They’re also discussing estate planning, tax planning, and behavioural economics with their clients, so you have to know that language.”
To read her full profile in an interactive digital content format, click here.
