The collective shift toward comprehensive financial planning has been talked about for years. Those who predicted it would occur in the 1990s jumped the gun, but, fast-forward a decade; it now seems that financial planning is finally a household practice at most brokerages, mutual fund and full-service dealers, banks and insurers.

Investment Executive’s 2008 Report Cards show that half of all advisors’ clients have a financial plan in place, a strong indicator that many advisors are adopting a holistic client-service mindset.

“The fact that I do a financial plan without earning a cheque right away doesn’t mean I’m not getting rewarded down the line,” says Bill Bell, president of Bell Financial Inc. in Aurora, Ont., which is affiliated with Waterloo, Ont.-based Manulife Securities International Inc. Bell, who champions comprehensive financial planning, wishes more advisors — regardless of which arm of the industry they’re in — would take a longer-term approach to client service.

Bell cites two reasons why more advisors aren’t creating comprehensive financial plans: “One, the money always comes from somewhere else; and, two, because of the old-school training.”

Other advisors in our surveys can add other reasons. “Financial planning is very time-consuming,” says a Great-West Life Assurance Co. advisor in Alberta, “especially if clients don’t pay for it.”

An advisor in Saskatchewan with Markham, Ont.-based Professional Investment Services (Canada) Inc. likens written plans to diets because “no one follows them.”

“The idea of financial planning is marketing gobbledegook,” adds an advisor with Toronto-based brokerage Raymond James Ltd. in British Columbia.

But Bell maintains that comprehensive financial planning yields huge returns over time in terms of commissions, referrals and long-lasting relationships. “We need to ask our clients whether they plan on buying a cottage or travelling the world or staying in their jobs,” he says. “My clients are so happy that I’m engaged in their lives; it’s the best way to keep them, long term.”

Bell believes firms need to step up to the plate, to advocate financial planning and make it a mandatory aspect of rookie training: “We should have young advisors, those who aren’t already entrenched in a certain way of doing business, trained in a way that’s better for our clients.”

Indeed, the firms surveyed in this year’s Report Cards say they are stepping up their support — either financial or philosophical — for financial planning. Advisors surveyed at the mutual fund or full-service dealers remain the most committed to comprehensive financial planning, with 57.2% of their clients having a financial plan in place.

“In our training,” says Kevin Regan, executive vice president of financial services for Winnipeg-basedInvestors Group Inc., “we emphasize that our advisors not just be product focused but client-needs focused.”

Manulife shares a similar, client-centric mentality. “Our ideal advi-sor is someone who takes a planning approach to meeting their client’s needs,” says Manulife Securities president and CEO Rick Annaert.

And he is not just paying lip service to the topic, as Bell attests: “Manulife has never said, ‘You know, Bill, you’re spending too much time on planning and not enough time selling insurance’.”

Insurance advisors have the second-largest percentage of clients with a financial plan in place, with 48.7%. “Financial planning wasn’t my practice before, but it is now,” says an advisor in Ontario with London, Ont.-based Freedom 55 Financial, who estimates that half of his clients have financial plans.

“We take a holistic approach to financial planning,” says Mike Cunneen, senior vice president of the firm’s wealth and estate planning group.

A significant number of advisors with investment dealers are also taking a planning approach and asking their clients questions about their plans and dreams. Says Hamish Angus, head of Toronto-based ScotiaMcLeod Inc.: ““As one advisor said to me, ‘You can’t dream for a client, unless you understand what their dreams are’.”

This sentiment is shared by many of the brokerages, with executives touting the importance of comprehensive financial planning. Montreal-based National Bank Financial Ltd. has made “major investments” in financial planning, says Gordon Gibson, senior vice president and managing director.

“NBF has great tools,” agrees a NBF advisor in Quebec.

Advisors with Toronto-based RBC Dominion Securities Inc. also praise their firm’s support for comprehensive financial planning, which includes a team of 50 centralized planners and assistance at the branch level. David Agnew, DS’s national director, says an increasing number of advisors are taking advantage of these services: “They realize it is very, very key.”

@page_break@On average, 47.4% of brokers’ clients have financial plans in place, compared with 44.8% of account managers’ clients. However, at least two of the Big Six banks say they’re substantially beefing up their support for financial planning.

Toronto-based Royal Bank of Canada, which uses NaviPlan software, plans to roll out a Web-based planning platform this autumn. And Toronto-based Bank of Montrealis also set to launch a new NaviPlan platform this autumn, which will be used by all of the institution’s subsidiaries and divisions. IE