The worst of the market downturn is now in the past, but how firms supported their advisors during that tumultuous time had a profound impact. The results of this year’s Brokerage Report Card show that advisors were most at ease when their firms encouraged seasoned advisors to share their expertise and fostered collaboration within their sales forces.
Toronto-based Richardson GMP Ltd. and Winnipeg-based Wellington West Capital Inc. led the pack in responding to a supplemental question regarding their firm’s support during the downturn.
The two boutiques have partnership structures and rosters of experienced advisors. Another commonality is that both dealers increased their communication efforts during and since the downturn. As well, executives enlisted experienced advisors to support the younger generation and provided advisors with research and seminars.
“We had weekly conference calls in which we talked about ideas and actionable items,” says Andrew Marsh, managing director of national sales with Richardson GMP. “When the market really got hit, we engaged a sales practice coach.”
Says a Richardson GMP advi-sor in Ontario: “They were excellent in the storm we went through. I am one of the senior guys here, so I was helping. But management also got very involved.”
Meanwhile, Wellington West advisors were pleased with the care with which their firm handled the precarious situation. “There was a lot of sensitivity to some of the issues,” says a Wellington West advisor in Saskatchewan. “They made sure that we had all of the communication tools we needed to talk to clients, and that all brokers had the financial resources to keep going.”
Adds a colleague in Manitoba: “There were lots of marketing pieces and conference calls, but there was more than that; Wellington West is an integrated firm, so there’s a sharing of ideas. We are all partners, so we all helped each other.”
Wellington West’s rating regarding support during the downturn increased to 9.2 from 8.8 last year, indicating that the firm had refined its method of fostering collaboration over that time.
Among other highly rated firms, Vancouver-based Odlum Brown Ltd. , Calgary-based Leede Financial Markets Inc. and Montreal-based MacDougall MacDougall & MacTier Inc. also saw an increase in their ratings. The reason? They followed a similar model to that of the boutiques.
“We think that the best way to communicate with your client is to be right in front of them,” says Debra Hewson, Odlum Brown’s president and CEO. “Not only have we encouraged our advisors to do that on a one-to-one basis, but the firm has done that as well.”
Odlum Brown executives have been touring branches since 2008, Hewson adds, and will continue to do so this year.
Leede focused on encouraging seasoned brokers to speak with younger ones. Says Robert Harrison, the firm’s president and CEO: “The main thing we did was have brokers talk.”
“They surrounded us,” says a Leede advisor in British Columbia, “told us everything would be fine — and it was.”
Similarly, 3Macs’ rating rose because of increased communication within the firm. Daniel Thompson, 3Macs’ president and CEO, says the firm provided additional reports from the research department and encouraged experienced advisors to share their past experiences.
Says a 3Macs advisor in Ontario: “They gave us realistic expectations of what was going on by providing historical and analytical data.”
“There was strong moral support and a collegial atmosphere,” adds a 3Macs advisor in Quebec. “The older guys personally talked to the younger guys and told them not to get discouraged.”
On the flip side, some firms’ ratings dropped in advisors’ satisfaction with the support they were getting during the downturn.
“They focused on the importance of bringing in new assets,” complains an advisor in Alberta with Toronto-based ScotiaMcLeod Inc., “and did not pay attention to existing clients.”
“They didn’t do anything to help us,” says an advisor in Ontario with TD Waterhouse Private Investment Advice. “The firm’s focus was on finding new clients. The focus should have been on our current clients.”
IE