Achieving work-life balance

Work-life balance can be elusive for successful advisors. After all, their work requires them to dedicate many hours to building client relationships, networking with peers, and improving their skills, while at the same time fulfilling time-eroding administrative and regulatory requirements. It helps to be backed by a firm that believes advisors need to be well rounded and that gives them space to pursue interests outside of work.

Aleem Visram, a financial advisor with Transform Financial in Toronto, found that kind of support when he joined Carte Wealth Management in 2014. One of his priorities is philanthropy. In fact, he was a 2023 winner of the Edward Jones Award for Excellence in Philanthropy and Community Service at the 2023 most recent Wealth Professional Awards. Mr. Visram is also a professor of marketing at York University’s Schulich School of Business and at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management.

Philanthropy and teaching take time, which Visram is able to carve out, in part, because Carte has created an environment that streamlines his work. Access to technology that optimizes efficiency and enables Visram to focus more time during the workday on his clients has been paramount to his ability to manage competing priorities. Reduced paperwork at the end of the day allows Visram more time to spend on life beyond work.

“The technology is amazing. Everything is prefilled and so automated in a world where there’s so much compliance, where we have to get clients to sign fund facts, know your products, new account application forms, fund trade tickets, company applications—the amount of paperwork is horrendous,” he says.

“If I were to do it manually, I can tell you, on average per client, it would take me two hours. I have 52 client meetings this month. I focus on what I do best, which is reviewing clients’ financial goals and ensuring clients have the best possible product based on their circumstance, [while] I let the systems and the staff do the other work. [As a result], I almost doubled my revenues last year.”

Furthermore, Carte’s strong foundation of compliance procedures saved Visram the time-consuming hassle of a Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) client complaint in 2023. The complaint was based on investment losses in 2022, when the client’s portfolio was down 4% while the market was down 18%. However, because of the firm’s insistence on clear documentation, including sign-off on client meeting notes and comprehensive fee disclosure, CIRO concluded it will not be taking further action in respect of the matter and closed the file.

It helped that Visram already felt up to speed on litigation and how to avoid lawsuits, thanks to expert speakers, including regulatory and legal experts, regularly brought in to speak with Carte advisors.

Flexibility empowers advisors

“If you try to divide yourself between work and family, you’ll always have stress. It’s not good for work, not good for your family,” says Irena Marzec, a financial advisor with Carte Wealth Management in Mississauga, Ont. “It was one of the reasons why I decided to change [after 10 years] and go to Carte Wealth—to have flexibility in my scheduling to balance my life better.”

As an independent advisor, Marzec has full control over her hours. She says her firm is also careful to set expectations in regard to communication and trade cut-off deadlines.

Marzec felt deeply supported from the time she joined Carte in 2018. She appreciated the assistance the firm provided to help her adapt to a new business model, compensation structure, software, and products. On the product front, Marzec values Carte’s determination to provide a platform with solutions to satisfy every client.

“It’s easier for you to keep clients if you have what they want,” she says.

A couple of months after joining Carte Wealth, Marzec attended the firm’s annual conference for the first time. There, she had the opportunity to mingle with wholesalers, portfolio managers, and fellow Carte advisors, whom she quickly discovered weren’t overly competitive and aggressive but instead eager to share everything from investment and insurance strategies to business practice guidelines.

“What is the biggest achievement of this dealer?” she asks. “To create a team culture, not a competitor culture.”

The team culture Carte fosters, along with the presentations, workshops, and mentorship opportunities she has taken advantage of over the past six years, have helped Marzec grow professionally as an advisor and also personally. She notes that presentation and workshop themes go well beyond typical industry fare, including everything from time management tips to rest and relaxation strategies from a wellness coach.

The president of Carte Wealth, Maria Jose Flores, provides weekly market reports to help advisors manage their day-to-day tasks. The reports provide insight on everything from trend analysis to managing client expectations and emotions. Quick responses from branch managers and compliance officers and transparency from the leadership team are important to Marzec. She applauds the Carte team for clear communication regarding policies, procedures, and decision-making practices.

“You feel like you have a partner with trust and integrity. If you have a problem, you know how, when, and who will help you. [Also], you feel that your opinion matters [and] it’s a two-way conversation.”

In the end, both Visram and Marzec feel their firm has their back—eager to build on their professionalism, stepping in to help during challenging periods, and committed to ensuring they have access to the resources they need to pursue career and personal interests. That all-in support gives them confidence to find and sustain an appropriate balance of work and life.