Dundee Goodman addresses market concerns
On the heels of a new study commissioned by Dundee Goodman Private Wealth, WP sits down with Senior Vice President and Head of Retail John Cucchiella to discuss that research as well as the challenges facing independent advisors.
Video transcript below:
Sophie Nicholls, Wealth Professional
Sophie Nicholls: An industry study is revealing a surprisingly common concern amongst wealthier Canadians. You their wealth advisors may be no less concerned. It’s a closer look at exactly what’s keeping your clients up at night on WP TV.
Healthcare of all things is the second most important consideration driving investment planning in Canada. Yes, Canada. That’s the major takeaway from the national study by Dundee Goodman Private Wealth Management. The firm’s Senior VP and Head of Retail breaks down those results. He is also offering his take on what advisors will need to know to best serve their clients.
John Cucchiella, Dundee Goodman Private Wealth, Senior VP, Head of Retail
John Cucchiella: I was actually surprised at, at the finding because it shocked me as well. Generally we focus on retirement and having the public come back and say that healthcare needs was a surprise. It’s worth exploring further because I don’t know, we didn’t get into the granularity of it, but it’s definitely worth exploring further to see what’s triggering that. The reality is advisors are going to have to expand the advice that they provide. It’s not solely going to be based on investment. They are going to have to look at talking to and articulating to their clients, the insurance opportunities that lie within their practice. If they don’t I think they are going to miss an opportunity.
Sophie Nicholls: Today’s climate is challenging independent firms in the fight against the big five. But Dundee Goodman is among those actively countering it. Winning top advisors is part of the strategy.
John Cucchiella: I am not a bank basher. There is great advisors all over the firm. In the end I think it comes down to what is the advice they are looking for in an organisation. Independents have the tendency to offer more of an open architecture environment, a little bit more freedom in terms of how they want to, how they want to build out their practice and that’s one of the benefits of being with an independent and looking at independents, because it truly is more of an entrepreneurial environment than your traditional large organisation. You can be at a big bank and have great relationships and you can be an independent and have great relationships. In the end it comes down to the advisor and what is the environment offer that advisor to further assist them with their client.
Sophie Nicholls: The wealth management industry is in flux and regulators are demanding it run an increasingly tight ship. With CRM, many financial advisors are switching to the fee based model as DIY investors rear their heads, perhaps this is a smart move.
Robert Sellars, Dundee Capital Markets Inc., Executive VP, CFO & COO
Robert Sellars: We feel that the fee based model is a more stable revenue stream for our advisors and a lot less volatility which will allow the advisors to have a more stable compensation stream. We don’t feel that it’s necessarily superior [income] to them, but it’s a better, we feel that they are going to be able to grow their revenue stream and have a more stable revenue stream which will improve their compensation.
