Dan Loney of Loney Financial is part of this year's Wealth Professional Canada's Hall of Fame
Owner and president,
Loney Financial
Years as an advisor: 30
It was a family tragedy that first inspired Dan Loney to become a financial advisor three decades ago. “I naturally had an interest in investments and working to help people improve the quality of their lives,” he says. “My father was a successful businessman and was killed in an airplane crash. When his corporate assets were frozen in lawsuits, I saw what insurance can do to protect a family and maintain a good standard of living.”
Today, Loney provides that same service to clients through Loney Financial, the company he founded in 1995. His career arc hasn’t been a straight upward trajectory, but after some lean early years, Loney was able to establish himself and eventually open his own practice. Now a veteran of the business, he is worried about the lack of young advisors making the same journey he did.
“Thirty years ago, there were many great companies that would train a new advisor and help them get started in the industry,” he says. “Today the list is limited, and we have an average age around 60, whereas when I started, there were lots of advisors in their 30s.”
Another obstacle new entrants must overcome is the often negative public opinion of the industry – which isn’t entirely unwarranted, Loney admits. “Research has shown that the public is not really keen on the advisory industry, but are very positive about their personal advisor,” he says. “In recent times the industry’s reputation has suffered through dishonest advisors like Bernie Madoff and the negative coverage of the Canadian banks pressuring advisors to sell products that clients don’t need.”
Such behaviour didn’t go unnoticed by the regulators, but in Loney’s opinion, the response has been disproportionate. “Regulators seldom stop the crooked advisors from their activities, but their compliance regulations have become burdensome for the industry,” he says. “Regulation is not bad, but it must represent both the client and the industry to move forward. England is an example of regulation gone bad, where it hurt clients and many advisors left the business.”
Such an outcome could materialize in Canada, too, and with a lack of new advisors coming in, could prove devastating for the industry. But Loney believes there’s an obvious way to avoid this. “I would like to see a compensation package that makes it easier for young advisors to get started in the industry,” he says. “Compensation has been declining, and it hurts the young advisors more than anyone.”
Loney Financial
Years as an advisor: 30
It was a family tragedy that first inspired Dan Loney to become a financial advisor three decades ago. “I naturally had an interest in investments and working to help people improve the quality of their lives,” he says. “My father was a successful businessman and was killed in an airplane crash. When his corporate assets were frozen in lawsuits, I saw what insurance can do to protect a family and maintain a good standard of living.”
Today, Loney provides that same service to clients through Loney Financial, the company he founded in 1995. His career arc hasn’t been a straight upward trajectory, but after some lean early years, Loney was able to establish himself and eventually open his own practice. Now a veteran of the business, he is worried about the lack of young advisors making the same journey he did.
“Thirty years ago, there were many great companies that would train a new advisor and help them get started in the industry,” he says. “Today the list is limited, and we have an average age around 60, whereas when I started, there were lots of advisors in their 30s.”
Another obstacle new entrants must overcome is the often negative public opinion of the industry – which isn’t entirely unwarranted, Loney admits. “Research has shown that the public is not really keen on the advisory industry, but are very positive about their personal advisor,” he says. “In recent times the industry’s reputation has suffered through dishonest advisors like Bernie Madoff and the negative coverage of the Canadian banks pressuring advisors to sell products that clients don’t need.”
Such behaviour didn’t go unnoticed by the regulators, but in Loney’s opinion, the response has been disproportionate. “Regulators seldom stop the crooked advisors from their activities, but their compliance regulations have become burdensome for the industry,” he says. “Regulation is not bad, but it must represent both the client and the industry to move forward. England is an example of regulation gone bad, where it hurt clients and many advisors left the business.”
Such an outcome could materialize in Canada, too, and with a lack of new advisors coming in, could prove devastating for the industry. But Loney believes there’s an obvious way to avoid this. “I would like to see a compensation package that makes it easier for young advisors to get started in the industry,” he says. “Compensation has been declining, and it hurts the young advisors more than anyone.”
