Bev will be on CBC Radio’s “Ontario Today” from noon to 1:00pm on Wednesday, December 7, 2011. The topic: Retiring Comfortably.

The call in show is based on the recent StatsCan survey about Canadians working beyond the normal retirement age. Listeners will call in with their questions about preparing for retirement and the investment strategies they can employ so they won’t have to work after the normal retirement age.

January 19, 2010 by Roma Luciw, Globe and Mail

Investor frustration with the people who managed their money was feverish during the brutal equity market downturn of 2008 and early 2009 Michael Harding had just switched financial advisers when the 2008 stock market meltdown sliced his investment portfolio by 25 per cent.

“Everything I had been saving and trying to protect – all of a sudden it was under attack,” said the 56-year-old small business owner from Caledon, Ont.

Mr. Harding, the president of Inline Reference Check Inc., credits frequent communication with his new adviser as what kept him from panicking.

“My adviser was able to talk me through what was happening. If I phoned him, he would respond within 24 hours. He put out newsletters and e-mails, especially when things were going into the dumps. Without that regular contact, I would have worried myself sick.”

Throughout the downturn, Mr. Harding says he never considered switching financial advisers. “I felt confident with where we were going. And clearly I have loyalty to him now.”

“My adviser was able to talk me through what was happening. Without that regular contact, I would have worried myself sick.”- Investor Michael Harding

A wealth management survey released by Vancouver-based market research consultancy Vision Critical, the offspring of pollster Angus Reid, found that Canadian investors’ satisfaction with their financial advisers improved steadily last year.

Investor frustration with the people who managed their money was feverish during the brutal equity market downturn of 2008 and early 2009, with record numbers considering ditching their advisers. Of course stocks and sentiment have since rebounded, so it’s not exactly shocking that Canadians are again feeling increasingly warm and fuzzy toward their advisers.

“As sentiment improves, we also continue to see a decrease in per cent of investors investigating other adviser options,” says Demitry Estrin, senior vice-president of Vision Critical’s financial services practice.

As was the case with Mr. Harding, their research also shows that advisers who provided their clients with consistent reassuring advice were the ones who have inspired the most loyalty. Among those surveyed, dissatisfied investors say they spoke with their financial adviser four times a year, compared with nine times for satisfied investors.

Among investors who felt they received quality advice to help them weather the storm, only 6 per cent considered leaving their adviser. That number soared to 50 per cent among those who felt they did not get quality input.

“Last year was a tough one for the industry, especially the first six months. It was not enough to have one check-in, it was about frequency of contact and the quality of that contact,” Mr. Estrin said. “Those advisers who have weathered the storm with their clients and gave them solid advice, the levels of loyalty are more cemented than ever before.”

The Vision Critical survey also ranks Canadian wealth management firms, using three measures to define investor loyalty: overall satisfaction with a financial adviser, the share of assets allocated to that adviser and how long the investor has been with the adviser.

The online survey of 20,000 Canadians was conducted in four waves during 2009 and results are broken down by investor affluence. It found that among Canadian investors with $25,000 to $100,000 in investable assets, Desjardin Securities grabbed the top spot, followed by Royal Bank of Canada, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Bank of Nova Scotia and Bank of Montreal.

“Desjardin clients are very loyal and typically allocate 80 per cent or more of their share of assets with their financial adviser. But within this emerging affluent category, it is the major five banks that are really coming up strong,” Mr. Estrin said.

RBC Dominion Securities was the top pick among investors with $150,000 to $250,000 in assets, while ScotiaMcLeod ranked No. 1 among Canadians with $250,000 or more in investable assets.

******
Investors’ satisfaction with their financial advisers has been improving since the stock market meltdown. Here’s a look at the firms with the most satisfied clients:

Source: Vision Critical

Vikram Barhat / January 01, 2011

For many years, Bev Moir worked in an environment that kept her committed to people’s physical health. These days she’s more concerned about their financial health.

The Investment Advisor and Financial Planner at ScotiaMcLeod started out as a health services professional, but for the past 16 years she has been nursing people back to financial health.

The serendipitous discovery of her aptitude for financial services came about when her job in the health industry was eliminated. “I wasn’t ready to stop working, but the jobs that were available in healthcare weren’t ones I wanted to apply for.”

When Moir finally made the transition, she was able to seamlessly transfer her ability to care for people and her dedication to education.

“I think that I have a very strong commitment to educating my clients,” says Moir.

In fact, as an investment advisor and financial planner she feels it goes beyond that.

“It’s a belief that I’m working on behalf of my clients, and it’s my role and my opportunity to help them make informed decisions.”

Her approach is as simple as it is effective: Make clients feel comfortable enough to ask questions.

“I think that they feel cared for, and I think that it certainly builds rapport and the sense that you’re comfortable sharing information that’s relevant to them and personal to them.”

Recent volatility and the inconsistent level of returns have created some cynicism and wariness among clients, she notes, as have high-profile financial scams involving the likes of Bernie Madoff and Earl Jones.

“Clients have the right to ask questions and want to know your experience and your background and look at references,” says Moir. But an understanding advisor should not be troubled by that, and Moir isn’t. “I understand where they’re coming from,” she says.

In fact, she believes an environment like this underscores the value of trust and the importance of referrals.

“I just think that referrals are so important nowadays, whether it’s a referral from a lawyer or an accountant, a friend or an existing client. It gives them confidence.”

It’s all about who you know. The days of promoting oneself as the cold-call cowboy are long over. “I could not imagine attracting the kind of clients who I want to work with, or them wanting to work with me, if that were my approach.”

A trusted advisor who has wisdom and expertise can help clients chart their course and accomplish their financial goals.

“That’s part of what I do. I also hold seminars in which I try to talk about the value of a financial plan when looking at the whole family situation, and see the value of investing as a part of that.”

Not only does Moir value client relationships but it’s something she loves the most about her business.

“I’m helping them, and they’re trusting me to give them good, relevant advice. It’s very rewarding.”

There are, however, a few things about the business that breed frustration and therefore need to change.

“I put it down to the paperwork. I understand where that’s coming from, but I get clients that are frustrated about all this paperwork and are concerned about the environmental impact of paper usage.”

It gets worse every year, leaving clients confused and overwhelmed, she says.

“And it’s gotten worse partly because of compliance and regulations, and anti-terrorism and anti-money laundering laws.”

When overwhelmed clients question the relevance of this paperwork, Moir knows how to help them make sense of it all.

“When I meet with clients, I go through paperwork with them and show them what should be retained and what could be reasonably discarded.”

Filed by Vikram Barhat, editor@Advisor.ca
Originally published in Advisor’s Edge

This week Dr. Condoleezza Rice was in town and I had the opportunity to hear her spirited and thoughtful presentation. As a pro-democracy advocate, she supports the need to protect open societies against terrorism, which she sees as a real threat. Despite the economic downturn, she believes economic capitalism will prevail. She believes great societies, that are multiethnic democracies where openness, inclusiveness, and education are key values, will survive and prosper. History has a long arc in her view.

Emily Chiu, Bev Moir and Ingrid Sojka consult in the Moir Team office

Finally spring is approaching and we can say good riddance to winter garb, all that snow, and dark winter days!! It also means we’re getting closer to the end rather than the beginning of this terrible stock market downturn and economic malaise. It’s a matter of time before markets and the economy recover, and I have no doubt they will – I just don’t know when, nor does anyone.

It has been very difficult for all of us to see the depressed state of our financial assets and real estate holdings. Over the past several months, I’ve had numerous conversations with clients and heard many emotions expressed. Some of these include sadness, cynicism, anger, stress, anxiety, and uncertainty. It’s been difficult for me too to have these conversations. As you know, my investment approach is balanced, diversified, and conservative. To see quality investments drop the way they have has been disheartening. I’m sorry we’ve all had to experience this situation. However, markets will always go up and down and there are some lessons to take away from this current bout of market volatility:

* Have a Financial Plan that includes both short-term and long-term financial goals and stick to it. Just because market conditions change doesn’t mean that one’s long-term strategy needs to change.
* Consider what would happen if tomorrow you couldn’t work, walk, or speak or a loved one became seriously ill. Plan ahead and develop a “comprehensive” Financial Plan.
* For short-term goals (e.g., withdrawing income from a Registered account or for an upcoming purchase), protect yourself from market downturns by holding guaranteed assets (e.g., GIC, Money market) that have a maturity date that matches the date the cash is needed.
* Have emergency savings equivalent to at least three months’ gross income, more if you have job insecurity or uncertainty.
* Long-term investors need to learn to take advantage of inevitable market downturns by overcoming their fear and investing more money or arranging a regular monthly contribution to take advantage of dips. Learn to view these downturns as opportunities to buy assets “on sale”.
* The key to wealth accumulation: spend less than you earn and control debt, not just today but everyday.

Finally, all too often volatile capital markets cause us to forget about ourselves. The stress and uncertainty of the markets can take their toll on us. I encourage you to take time to maintain your personal health and well-being.

Important News About the Moir Team

We have some good news to report! Ingrid Sojka, my Administrative Associate, is expecting her first baby! It’s a very exciting time for her and her husband Jan. The baby is due October 25th; the not so good part of the message is that Ingrid’s last day in the office is Friday October 3rd.

Her plan is to return following a one-year maternity leave. We’ll miss her; she’s been part of the Moir Team for two years now and I rely on her greatly. She says I can call her if I’m stuck (!!!) and she’ll do some work for us from home once she and the baby get settled. We wish them all good health and much joy!

Here are the plans I’ve put in place to keep things running smoothly: Beverley Thompson (another Bev!) will join us from another ScotiaMcLeod team on Monday, September 22nd to overlap with Ingrid. Bev T. has been part of ScotiaMcLeod for many years; in fact when I joined the firm 14 years ago she was working in the office and was one of the individuals who gave me encouragement. I greatly appreciated her support then and look forward to working with her again!

Bev is an Administrative Assistant. This means she’ll be unable to take orders to buy or sell stocks and bonds. I’ll be staying close to the office and we’ll have other back-up arrangements in place for the times I’m booked and unavailable to come to the phone. The office number remains the same (416-945-4454) and Bev’s email address is beverley_thompson@scotiamcleod.com.

Matt Zavaglia, a third year University of Toronto student, has been hired to work with us on a weekly basis throughout his school year. Matt worked with us this summer (largely behind the scenes) and was a great help. We’re pleased he’ll continue with us.

Please take a moment to introduce yourself when you call in the coming weeks!

Market Update
Jittery markets can upset even the most confident investors. This year’s extreme volatility has been a case in point. We know that a long-term, focused strategy is the best protection against a difficult market cycle. The enclosed colour graph produced by Russell Investments illustrates the importance of maintaining a long-term perspective during this time of market volatility.

Dating back to 1924, the graph shows that positive “bull” market returns outnumber the negative “bear” markets we’ve experienced and, you can see that history shows “bear markets” are generally of shorter duration. We’re currently experiencing a bear market and while we don’t know how long it will last, I can say with confidence that it will be followed by an up-market that will be stronger and will likely last longer!

What to Do Right Now

• The 2008 Federal Budget introduced the Tax Free Savings Account (TFSA). The TFSA is designed to become a part of Canadians’ overall financial plan by helping them save after-tax dollars in a tax effective way. Scotiabank is the first major bank to launch the new TFSA now in order to beat the rush on January 1, 2009. Please call us!
• Please consider the opportunity to go paperless and in the process support the environment.

Upcoming Seminars and Media Events

• Retirement Planning and Transitioning seminars – October and November 2008. Please call to be added to the invitation list.
• CP24 – Tuesday September 23rd @ 2:50 pm “Raising Financially Literate Children.”
• Article in the November Issue of Glow Magazine.

Retirement Tip
Jeremy Siegel is a 62-year-old economist who is affiliated with the prestigious Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania. He wrote Stocks for the Long Run in 1994 and now, 14 years and four editions of his book later, he continues to caution investors from bailing out of stocks during times of market upheaval. As reported by the Globe and Mail’s Brian Milner this summer, here are some pointers based on Dr. Siegel’s research:

• Stocks are safer than bank deposits, over the long term, when inflation is taken into account.
• The biggest winners over the long haul are always stocks with the highest dividend yields.
• No strategy exists that will out-perform the market all of the time.
• No indicator tells you when stocks hit bottom.
• A little knowledge is worse than no knowledge for the novice investor.

I believe the markets are presenting opportunities, especially for the long-term investor.