Sometimes, it’s just good to talk. When the pandemic hit and when markets swung south, Kelvin Rampersad, of Carte Wealth, rang all of his clients one by one, not just to impart financial advice but often only to make sure they were simply doing ok. He kept doing it and he found the bond with his clients grew stronger. It’s these relationships, he says, that resulted in him being named in WP’s top 50 Advisors for 2023.
James: Hello everyone and welcome to this WP TV special. My name is James Burton, managing editor of Wealth Professional Canada. And today I'm delighted to welcome Kelvin Rampersad, Financial Advisor at Wealth Management. Now, Kelvin was recently named one of WP's top 50 advisors, so a huge congratulations to him and his team. Kelvin, thanks for joining us.
Kelvin: Yeah. James, Thank you for inviting me.
James: With that in mind, then what better opportunity to dig a little deeper into what makes Kelvin tick. What do you think has enabled you to stand apart?
Kelvin: You know, when you sent me that question, I really thought about it. And what I think is that since the pandemic started 2020 April, I mean, before that our business was as usual. But that that really made me change. What happened was what made me stand out, I think, is I started in April 2020 calling every client not just to talk about their money, but their health. How are they doing, their family holiday, surviving this, what's happened to us? Right. And then I got to thinking, every three and one and a half months, I'm going to reach out to them to give them a heads up on their money and just reach out to see how they were. And I think what happened by doing so, a simple little thing enabled me to solidify my relationships with the clients only because of doing little things about asking about themselves. The markets, as you go up and down, up and down, I can have nothing to do with that. But I think it's just and I think that what really helped me grow my business over the past little while.
James: Interesting. Yeah. Communication is key. So as you alluded to that, you managed to grow your business. How else did you manage to do that? And obviously what was a really tough period for markets.
Kelvin: Yeah, you know, I when I these questions really that you're asking really makes me think about my life and my business. Since I started like 30 years ago, actually, I relied on my past experiences of the years, like 2000, 2000, eight, 2018, when the world was in turmoil like it is today, you know, not just financially, but everything else. So so I thought about what did I do then? And just applied it to last year. And also, I got to give credit to my wife, Veronica, and my team, Hilary and Julia, because together we learned and lean on each other last year and the years before. And I always say, remember, teamwork makes the dream work. And that's how we that's how we roll.
James: Excellent. You mentioned turmoil there of obviously recent recent market gyrations. If you listen, read a lot of people's outlook for the year ahead. It contains some worrying words, recession and more volatility. What from your perspective, from where you're sitting, what do you think will be the biggest challenges and opportunities for you over the next 12 months?
Kelvin: Yeah, so so I think like in every crisis there's opportunities and everything you listen to in the news from, say, November til now, it's all bad news, recession, interest rates, house prices, you name it, it's happening, right? So I think the biggest challenge for me is to do more of what I did last year, just add another support to my wheel keep my head down and focus on what's important. So remember, I can't control the markets. Therefore, my job is control my clients expectations and keep more in contact with them to find out what their thoughts are, how do they really feel and manage through that for them. And I think that's my biggest challenge for the year now.
James: I wonder if maybe could lift the hood up slightly on on investment strategies for the year ahead. How do you position yourself, how have you positioned yourself for what might lay ahead?
Kelvin: Yeah, so so my investment strategy is actually since I started in the business till now, it's pretty much always been the same. You know, I let the portfolio managers at the fund companies let them manage the allocation. They're way smarter than I am. They have more they're more in tune to what's happening in the markets than I am. I am, but not as aware as they are. So so my job, like I say, is to manage expectations of the clients, to know how they feel if they make 7%, but more importantly, how do they feel if they lose 7%? See, I'm not a portfolio builder or manager. My job is not that my job is to is to manage clients expectations. That's typically all I do.
James: Just a follow up to that, Kelvin, What's what's been the biggest question, biggest concern amongst your clients at the moment?
Kelvin: I think the biggest concern for them is how are we going to are we going to get through this? Many of them haven't been through what we what we just went through in the last, say, six months. Interest rates going way up, went from 0 to 6 clients, inflation going up. They never had to deal with that. So that's their biggest concern. I don't think they're really too much concern about the stock market's going up and down because I think many of them have been through the ups and downs and a lot of them, you know, there's a lot of news out there now in our industry. There's lots of news to make people feel, you know, not to worry too much. Adjust your portfolios and you'll be okay. So, yes, I think the biggest thing for clients is, you know, they want us to reassure them that everything is going to be okay. And I think all of us advisors do the same thing. So, yeah.
James: Thanks. Finally, Kelvin, what's next? What's your ambitions personally and as a business?
Kelvin: So I always believe that both of them go hand in hand. If you've got a great business going, your personal life is great. If you've got a good personal life, your business is good. So I believe I believe in both men. Like a good balance. Balanced effect, right? So my ambition is to work more effectively with my team so that as we head into the nice months, the markets settle down and all the good things are happening and we're into the summer that we have more time to spend with our friends and family. I always say we live once, so enjoy your life, have fun, save for the rainy day and we'll be good. So that's my that's what's up next.
James: What a perfect way to end. That wraps up another WP TV special. Thanks so much, Kelvin, for joining us and sharing your thoughts.
Kelvin: Yeah, thank you, James. Enjoy.
James: And you can find out more information on Kelvin and his team at askkelvin.ca. And Don't forget to check wealthprofessional.com for all the latest news and views on the industry and if you haven't already, please sign up to our free daily newsletter. I'm James Burton. Until next time.
