From fashion to finance

Before Andreana commits to a client relationship, she asks the potential client to complete a detailed financial planning checklist, designed to enable Andreana to complete an analysis of the client’s financial situation. Andreana requests documents such as copies of any previous financial plans and investment policy statements, pension plan statements, tax returns, investment statements, group benefits information, insurance policies, business ownership records, mortgage statements and a detailed monthly budget.

“The checklist is like a medical,” Andreana says. It provides her with the information she needs in order to understand the client’s situation and create a plan. At the same time, the effort required on the part of the client in providing the information indicates the client is committed to the process as well. “If I have that,” Andreana says, “I have a ‘forever relationship’.”

If a potential client walked in, Andreana says, and simply said he or she had $50,000 and wanted to know the best place to put it, Andreana wouldn’t be able to answer that question.

“The product is the last piece of the puzzle,” she says. “Once we know what the priorities are and what types of products are needed to address the client’s needs, we can make the product decisions.”

Andreana specializes in products that cover both the insurance and investment needs of clients. The assets managed by her firm reflect this balance between investing to achieve goals and insuring against unexpected misfortune. Andreana, a licensed insurance salesperson and a certified financial planner, is able to sell life, critical illness, long-term care and disability insurance, as well as annuities and guaranteed minimum withdrawal benefit investment funds. She also sells mutual funds and pooled funds, focusing on conservatively managed portfolios with stable management and a strong long-term track record.

“There is always a portion of guaranteed income in the [client’s financial] plan,” Andreana says, “with the amount depending upon the client’s situation, including the type of pension they have. The plan is multi-layered to create security of income as well as some flexibility and inflation protection.”

Andreana is selective about the clients she takes on. The diligence required to answer her checklist questions is a good filter for weeding out those clients unable to take a disciplined approach to saving and investing. Andreana’s preferred way to grow her business is to develop relationships with the friends and family of established clients who appreciate her approach rather than employing sales and promotional strategies that bring strangers into her circle.

“We like clients who are conservative, hard-working and prudent; who are steady, long-term thinkers trying to accomplish something,” she says. “It’s not just about investment advice or insurance advice and [creating] the plan. Clients must stick to the plan.”

Andreana’s rough guide for a minimum initial account size for clients is $250,000. Her roster includes retirees, professionals, executives and small-business owners. Andreana also designs group-benefit plans for business owners.

“Our firm is known for client retention, which is well over 90%,” Andreana says. “If you’re addressing all the financial issues and doing it well, clients are not looking to go somewhere else. It’s about keeping people happy.”

Andreana is careful to make conservative projections in her financial planning calculations, assuming moderate growth rates for assets and long lifespans for clients. If the portfolio delivers a 6% or 7% average annual return when the client needs only 5% to meet his or her goals, the client will be happy, Andreana says. Any client basing expectations on the advertised two-year performance of the latest hot mutual fund will be disappointed when that doesn’t continue, she adds, and won’t be happy with any advisor.

“The focus is not on short-term returns; it’s on achieving goals,” Andreana says. “It’s not so much about a high return; it’s about the comfort of the ride. You don’t want to run out of funds before breath, so I build in some contingencies so that if returns are not as high as planned or the client lives longer than projected, they will still be OK. If you focus on achieving the plan, clients are more realistic and happier with the results.”

Andreana found her way into the financial advisory business during midlife, at the age of 43. Her fashion-design career had evolved into a job selling sewing machines and fabric for Singer Sewing Co. Eventually, Andreana became the owner of four Singer stores as she settled into married life and raised two children. Subsequent changes brought about by the decline of sewing, as well as her divorce, motivated her to seek out a new career that would grow and mature with her.

Andreana’s insurance advisor then suggested Andreana try her hand at the insurance business. She joined London Life Insurance Co. in Burlington, Ont., where her social skills were easily transferable to the sale of insurance products. Still, learning the business was a “huge learning curve,” she says. Andreana’s sales success led her to become one of four women in a group of 150 selected for advanced training in wealth and estate planning for high net-worth clients.

Andreana’s independent streak led her to branch off and help to form Continuum II in 2000. She co-founded the firm with two partners from London Life: Stuart Small and Lori Latvala. In 2005, Andreana’s son, Peter Andreana, joined the firm after gaining experience at London Life in Mississauga, Ont.

Now, at age 65, Andreana is cutting back on the time she spends at the office. She recently sold most of her share in Continuum II to her partners. By the end of the year, she plans to semi-retire and focus exclusively on advising clients and developing financial plans, leaving the product implementation to her partners.

Andreana is looking forward to spending more time with her grandchildren and with her husband, Gerry Kowalchuk, who recently retired as a financial advisor with CIBC Wood Gundy Inc. in Burlington. The couple enjoys a second home in Tucson, Ariz., and have fun hiking, biking, cooking and travelling. They have hiked several long-distance trails, such as a three-week trek from Nice on the French Riviera to Cinque Terre in Italy.

Andreana also is looking forward to having more time for writing. She is working on her third book, Inheritance: How to receive one. How to leave one. Her two previous books are Financial Care for Your Aging Parent (2014), now being carried in Shopper’s Drug Mart stores, and No More Mac ‘n’ Cheese!: The real-world guide to managing your money for 20-somethings (2011).

“The books lead to more exposure, and writing is fascinating,” Andreana says. “They add value to the client relationship and help focus attention on the various aspects of financial planning.”

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