Halifax advisor forges her own path

“Hanging out my own shingle changed how people look at us,” Stephenson says. “Sometimes, I take out the garbage. It sends a message to other entrepreneurs.”

That message is reinforced by Stephenson’s approach to serving her clients. Stephenson has hired two younger advisors to her firm, Starboard Wealth Planners, who lend a hand in serving the children of existing clients and new, younger clients.

“We do a lot of intergenerational work,” says Stephenson, who also is a member of the Million Dollar Round Table. “I often meet with 22-year-olds, but I think they’d rather deal with people their own age.”

That’s not all, though. When it comes to the financial planning aspect of Stephenson’s practice, what particularly appeals to her is what she calls “smart work,” which entails going above and beyond the basics.

“I like taxes,” Stephenson says. “Anyone can recommend a mutual fund or an RRSP, but we look at the client’s risk and other solutions. We can offer repeatable tax savings.”

In fact, Stephenson has spent time learning about Canada/U.S. cross-border tax planning and intends to spend more time on this topic because, she says, few advisors specialize in it.

As well, Starboard also has an independent chartered financial analyst on retainer. “We’re looking at things with an unbiased eye as much as we can,” says Stephenson, who is now the sole owner of her firm.

Six years after leaving Freedom 55, Stephenson amicably struck out on her own and rebranded her independent firm as Starboard. “It was always my dream to have a boutique firm with a funky building,” she says. “I’m not the corporate type.”

For Stephenson, the building that houses Starboard reflects her open-door approach toward her clients and community. While the former house was undergoing a “massive renovation,” clients stopped by to see how things were taking shape and neighbours dropped in to introduce themselves and to learn more about Stephenson and Starboard.

“This space feels like a place where you can come and know that we’re listening to you, and, more important, hearing you,” Stephenson says. “I’ve been relationship-driven from the beginning.”

Building relationships explains Stephenson’s success and her passion for financial planning: “I spent a lot of time looking at why I do this. There are other jobs out there.”

The answer to Stephenson’s self-directed question comes down to being part of her clients’ lives: “You grow with them and share their successes. You also share their sorrows. I’ve practically become a member of their families and a trusted advisor. I haven’t done it for the money.”

Stephenson, 52, is a native of Port Joli, N.S. She got into financial planning because she couldn’t find a job in publishing, her first love. After completing her bachelor’s degree in English at the University of Waterloo in Ontario and her master’s in English at Mount Allison University in New Brunswick, Stephenson spent a short period teaching, first in the Caribbean and then in Toronto. It was while she was in Canada’s financial capital that she was courted by London Life Insurance Co. (which later rebranded its distribution arm as Freedom 55), which was looking for someone with a sports background. Stephenson, who played field hockey and basketball in university, fit the bill.

Stephenson committed to the firm for a year. A year turned into a decade and, in 1999, she headed back to her home province. She retained several of her Toronto clients, many of whom were lawyers. Stephenson continued to serve those clients, both from Nova Scotia and through frequent trips to Toronto for face-to-face meetings. Today, Stephenson still has clients in Ontario.

Many of the self-employed professionals and business owners whom Stephenson has as clients were, like most Canadians, affected by the global financial crisis. “[The year] 2008 changed our industry a lot,” she says, “but people are already forgetting. They are less worried about what is happening in the market and more [worried about] how I can maximize their returns.”

Stephenson’s approach now is cautious, a lesson reaffirmed by the ensuing economic recession and its impact on her clients. “The majority of business owners take so much risk just being business owners,” Stephenson says. “On the investment side, they’re more of conservative investors.”

That “conservative” label surprised many clients, post-2008. Prior to that, many clients saw themselves as being aggressive investors, says Stephenson, only to discover that they weren’t. Not only did the recession affect clients, it also had an impact on advisors and how they manage their clients’ investments, she adds: “For advisors, we’ve always talked about liquidity, but we probably weren’t liquid enough. We are much more liquid now. Clients need two to three years of cash.”

Fortunately, for the majority of Stephenson’s retired clients, she had moved them out of the market before 2008; so, financially, they were fine. But Stephenson took the lessons learned from that recession to heart: “I’m much firmer in terms of what I’m recommending.”

Those recommendations aren’t given to just anyone who walks through the door. Stephenson’s business is built upon retaining clients with whom she has a connection, and almost all of her business is generated by referral. “We say no to lots of people,” she says. “The common denominator among our clients is that we like them and that we can be honest with them.”

Stephenson also is up front about her own life goals, which come down to having time for herself and her passions. “I want to craft this business so I can have a life and others can have a life,” Stephenson says. “Everything is seamless to the client.”

Each year, Stephenson takes 12 weeks for herself to ski, read a good book, go kayaking and cycle. “I need that time,” she says, “[to] just unwind, get away and disconnect.”

Stephenson is keen on sharing her passion for getting away from work with her staff. Last year, for example, when 40 centimetres of snow fell on Nova Scotia, Stephenson closed the office and took her staff to nearby Ski Wentworth. “It was,” she says, “the most epic snowboarding I’d ever done in Nova Scotia.”

How to establish a solid business foundation

Building a successful financial advisory practice is about more than just products and processes, says Laurie Stephenson, owner of Starboard Wealth Planners in Halifax.

Here are some of her tips for establishing a solid foundation for your business:

– Build relationships. This is a “people profession,” says Stephenson, so you need to “build networks, meet people and deepen your relationships.”

– Build a business that stays ahead of the curve. Complacency can be fatal, Stephenson stresses. Thus, it’s critical to stay abreast of changes within the sector. As an example, Stephenson points out that she now does more fee-for-service work.

– Build a board of directors for your practice. Identify mentors and experts who can help you build your business and call upon them as needed – but judiciously, Stephenson advises: “Every time I’ve ever done it, people have been receptive.”

– Create some “napkin” topics. Have four or five concepts you can sketch on a napkin for people. It helps to create greater understanding and greater confidence in yourself.

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