Twelve years into Paul Sawtell’s financial planning career, he picked up and moved his practice halfway around the world. And Sawtell’s practice has survived the move to Peace River, Alta., from Maleny, a town in Australia’s Sunshine Coast Hinterland region of Queensland, surprisingly unscathed.

“I’ve lost a few clients along the way,” Sawtell says, “but most of my clients are very understanding that I’m still committed to looking after them.”

Born and raised in Brisbane, Sawtell, 45, and his wife had long considered moving overseas. Eager to make the move before their two children — now ages 7 and 8 — settled into school, the Sawtells jumped at a job opportunity in northern Alberta for Sawtell’s wife, a psychiatrist.

Upon visiting Peace River, a town of 6,500 located 500 kilometres northwest of Edmonton, Sawtell was immediately taken by its amenities and friendly, small-town vibe. The family bought a house on 160 acres near Peace River, and made the move in May 2007.

Sawtell had begun his independent financial planning practice in 2003, after five years of working as a planner at two firms. He’d previously worked for the Australian Taxation Office, and had earned a financial planning diploma and the certified financial planner designation.

A sole practitioner, Sawtell now operates under the banner of Queensland, Australia-based dealer Millennium3 Financial Services Pty. Ltd. He focuses on “holistic” financial planning, helping clients meet their insurance, investing and savings needs.

“It’s the holistic, life-planning part that I like,” Sawtell says. “My job isn’t just to look after the person’s money; it’s to help them through life.”

Sawtell has generated a base of about 50 clients, with total assets under management of about $10 million. He offers clients the choice between paying fees or commissions but will adopt a fee-only structure by July 2012, when the Financial Planning Association of Australia implements a ban on commissions for investments.

A large portion of Sawtell’s clients are farmers or retirees who have settled in the rural region around Maleny, where Sawtell owns a cattle ranch. With clients widely dispersed throughout that region, Sawtell had already adopted a mobile approach to business before leaving Australia. Rather than having clients come see him for meetings, he goes to them.@page_break@“Some of the best discussions I have are around the kitchen table with a cup of tea,” Sawtell says. Clients love this concept, he adds, because it saves them from travelling to him and keeps the meetings casual. “It’s a more relaxed environment.”

This mobile business model partly explains why Sawtell’s transition to Canada went so smoothly.

Sawtell sees his Australian clients once or twice a year, which he considers often enough. He flies to Australia for a few weeks in April or May every year for portfolio review meetings and, when possible, makes another trip later in the year. The rest of the time, Sawtell keeps in regular contact with his clients via phone, email and Skype.

“On Skype, I can get a really good feel for how [clients] feel about certain things,” he says. “You can get the non-verbal cues that you can’t get over the phone.”

While the 17-hour time difference between Alberta and Queensland would appear to present a challenge, it’s manageable for Sawtell, who is a night owl by nature. His workday begins around 4 p.m. and ends around 1 a.m., which coincides with regular working hours in Queensland. This schedule allows Sawtell to spend more time with his family than if he worked more traditional hours. “Most of my work is done after the kids go to bed,” he says. “In some ways, it’s really good for work/life balance.”

Sawtell has stopped taking on new clients in Australia. Instead, he’s turning his attention to the Canadian market, in which he plans to begin building a base of clients. He’d like to put his Australian expertise to use by targeting a niche of Australian ex-patriots who have immigrated to Canada.

“I have the expertise in the Australian financial planning environment that most Canadian planners won’t have,” he says, adding that he could help ex-pats understand the Canadian financial system and manage their Australia-based assets.

Establishing a Canadian practice has taken longer than Sawtell had anticipated. He’s surprised that he must register under three licensing regimes in order to distribute stocks, mutual funds and insurance products. In Australia, a single regulator oversees all three aspects of the financial services industry. “To me, the financial planning world in Australia is years ahead of that in Canada,” he says. “I hope it changes soon.”

Sawtell recently earned his Canadian CFP designation, but is still pursuing the licensing necessary to operate as a holistic financial planner here.

Outside of work, Sawtell enjoys cooking and teaching fencing, and is actively involved in the Society for Creative Anachronism Inc. — a group dedicated to exploring medieval history and culture. He also volunteers with Rotary International and is a director of a local ski club. IE