Personal Finance

Vancouver Financial Advisor - phone call before meeting.

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  • May 12th, 2019 7:00 pm
Member
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Apr 30, 2011
203 posts
13 upvotes
Vancouver BC

Vancouver Financial Advisor - phone call before meeting.

Trying not to over analyze this situation but maybe someone could help translate.
I contacted a Vancouver financial advisor who was recommended through an out of province family member (with a financial background) and her network of financial colleagues. A few days ago, I emailed the advisor with an intro of my needs providing a brief summary of our connection and requested an appointment. An assistant followed up with an email suggesting a phone call which I agreed to and scheduled.
I'm left wondering if it's typical for an advisor to suggest a phone call before meeting in person.
6 replies
Member
Aug 27, 2018
247 posts
226 upvotes
I've had this. They want to sound out if you are in their client bracket. For example if an advisor typically deals with high net-worth individuals with say over $5M in assets or a very high salary, they are not going to want to deal with someone who wants to figure out how they can start to save $100 a week.

Why is this a problem for you? Why not just have the call. I'd imagine it's free of charge.
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Apr 30, 2011
203 posts
13 upvotes
Vancouver BC
That makes sense - thanks for feedback georgist.
Deal Addict
Oct 23, 2017
2965 posts
2631 upvotes
GTA West
virtualblu wrote: Trying not to over analyze this situation but maybe someone could help translate.
I contacted a Vancouver financial advisor who was recommended through an out of province family member (with a financial background) and her network of financial colleagues. A few days ago, I emailed the advisor with an intro of my needs providing a brief summary of our connection and requested an appointment. An assistant followed up with an email suggesting a phone call which I agreed to and scheduled.
I'm left wondering if it's typical for an advisor to suggest a phone call before meeting in person.
It sounds like this advisor has a large portfolio of clients. If he can't even make a call for potential new business that is being referred to him without using an intermediary assistant, he doesn't sound too hungry for your business. You have to ask yourself if your future interaction with him is all going to be like this. It shouldn't be as hard to see your financial advisor as your doctor! That being said, financial advisors and clients need to take time to qualify each other.

When I needed a new advisor more than 10 years ago I interviewed half a dozen companies and individuals before finding a compatible one. The more you listen and ask questions, the more you learn. I had several meetings and phone calls with my current guy and his partners before selecting him and handing our assets over to their care. They liked it that way as well, to ensure my wife and I would be compatible with their portfolio management style.
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Apr 30, 2011
203 posts
13 upvotes
Vancouver BC
I'm in no means a private wealth prospect, so I'm going to glean as much information I can from the scheduled phone call. There were 2 assistants arranging the call so I imagine her asset management game is strong.
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Feb 1, 2012
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Thunder Bay, ON
Is the call with the adviser or with the assistant? If it is with the adviser I'd say it is a good way to make the meeting more productive by providing insight on your needs and situation in advance.

I created a list of questions to ask when selecting a financial planner when I was looking for one a few years back. Here is a link to it on Dropbox if you are interested. (Note it is geared towards fee-only financial planners, not investment advisers).
https://www.dropbox.com/s/cshvon4140adw ... r.pdf?dl=0

Here is some info on selecting a financial adviser:
https://www.finiki.org/wiki/Financial_adviser
https://www.getsmarteraboutmoney.ca/pla ... -planning/

Personally I would never use any adviser that made money off trailer fees or asset management fees. There's just too much of a conflict of interest in how they get paid.
When I was young, I was poor. Now, after years of hard work, I'm no longer young.
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Apr 30, 2011
203 posts
13 upvotes
Vancouver BC
Since my last post, I've been ruminating over this and decided to cancel tomorrow's phone call with the Advisor.

In the big world of finance, I'm a very small fish - learning the net and how it works.

Thanks for the resources Deepwater!

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