When it comes to a firm’s efforts to keep its advisors informed about the issues they need to be aware of, the dealers that received the greatest kudos were those that take a proactive approach. Open lines of communication to senior leadership and disseminating information in a variety of ways and in advance of changes coming down the pipeline were practices lauded by advisors surveyed for the 2015 Dealers’ Report Card.
Advisors with Toronto-based HollisWealth Inc., Mississauga, Ont.-based Investment Planning Counsel Inc. (IPC), Winnipeg-based Investors Group Inc., Richmond Hill, Ont.-based Global Maxfin Investments Inc., Calgary-based Portfolio Strategies Corp. and Windsor, Ont.-based Sterling Mutuals Inc. rated their firms higher by half a point or more in the “firm’s effectiveness in keeping advisors informed” category for taking just such an approach. Toronto-based Assante Wealth Management (Canada) Ltd. continued to perform strongly in the category.
For many advisors, having open lines of communication with their dealers is an intrinsic aspect of the relationship. Advisors look to their firms to provide them with timely information on compliance developments, best practices in the industry and news of what’s going on internally.
“We have due diligence meetings. We also have the ability to pick up the phone and speak to someone in senior management if we want,” says an Assante advisor in Ontario. “It’s not something I do a lot, but it’s important that the opportunity is there.”
Having senior leadership that communicates directly with advisors is a sure sign of firms that take this responsibility seriously. “It’s good to be on a first-name basis with the senior management,” says an IPC advisor in Alberta. “We even get direct emails from the CEO.”
Specifically, Chris Reynolds, IPC’s president and CEO, takes a proactive approach in letting advisors know what matters to them. Reynolds records video commentaries for advisors on industry issues every two weeks, a practice that has been very well received.
But IPC goes beyond that, Reynolds notes: “What we’ve learned over the years is that there’s no one specific methodology that works well for everyone. Every two weeks, we do a company newsletter. On top of that, we have videos and we have a learning centre.” (Advisors can use this centre to learn more about developments in topics such as marketing and compliance.)
Advisors not only laud their dealers for providing different ways to access information that matters, but also for disseminating the information well in advance so advisors can prepare appropriately.
“They always give us a heads-up ahead of time on anything coming up,” says an Investors Group advisor on the Prairies. “They’re trying to give us more information in multiple forms – such as in workshops, through our division managers and email newsletters.”
Some firms, though, are finding that an email newsletter doesn’t fulfil its role. That’s why Sterling Mutuals recently phased out its newsletter, says the firm’s CEO, Nelson Cheng: “The feedback was not positive because advisors get bombarded all the time with emails from different companies. So, now, when we send anything out, it’s more on an ad hoc basis.”
In addition, Sterling places important information on the firm’s extranet so that advisors read the information and acknowledge it before accessing Sterling’s back- office software. This method has been effective, says Cheng, because it creates an audit trail.
“We don’t have to go fishing for information,” says a Sterling advisor in Ontario. “The firm is very strong on that. Anything new, they make sure you know.”
Although many dealers provide their advisors with needed information in an effective manner, that remains a challenge for other firms. This difficulty was evident in that the category received a modest overall average performance rating of 7.8 compared with a much higher overall average importance rating of 8.5. And a few firms were rated lower than average in the category.
For example, advisors with Desjardins Financial Security Independent Network rated their firm at 7.2 in the category, down from 7.6 in 2014, because the firm’s bureaucratic structure can pose problems in getting important information to advisors.
“Everything has to go through local management at my branch, so that extra layer can cause miscommunication,” says a Desjardins advisor in Alberta.
Meanwhile, advisors with Oakville, Ont.-based Manulife Securities, who rated their firm at 7.4 for its effectiveness to keep advisors informed, down significantly from 8.1 in 2014, said they receive too much information from their firm – and find it difficult to decipher what’s actually important.
“We’re overwhelmed with email, and they don’t flag what’s important and what isn’t,” says a Manulife advisor on the Prairies, while a colleague in Ontario adds: “When there is relevant information, it’s buried in irrelevant information.”
Shawna Dennis, director, marketing and communications, advisory services, with Manulife, spearheads internal communication with advisors. She is aware of the issues and is working to improve communications with advisors: “Every advisor has feedback on how they’d like to be communicated with, and I know they can be frustrated with the sheer number of emails that land in their inboxes. So, making sure that we get our message across in different media is very important.”
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