Article September 14, 2021

More and more advisors from large banks are looking to go independent

La pandémie de COVID-19 a changé le monde d’innombrables façons. Dans le secteur canadien de l’investissement, elle a entraîné une hausse du nombre de conseillers en services financiers des cinq grandes banques, à tous les niveaux - succursales, courtage et tous les autres canaux de distribution - qui envisagent à court terme la possibilité de devenir indépendants.

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the world in countless ways. In the Canadian investment industry, it has led to an overall increase in the number of Big Five financial services advisors at all levels - branch, brokerage and all other lines of distribution - who are considering the possibility of becoming independent in the near future.

Since advocating for greater independence for financial services advisors, Financial Planning Association of Canada President Jason Pereira has been receiving regular inquiries from advisors who want to change brokerages. But the trend has accelerated since the start of the pandemic and continues to grow according to the Financial Planning Association of Canada.

According to Pereira, almost all of the advisors who inquired with him in 2021 were working at large banks and are all looking to go independent. What has changed to prompt all these inquiries? It seems to be a combination of old grievances and new realities.

Pressure to make sales and sell in-house products, rumors that advisors are becoming salaried, and the increase in fixed network fees charged to advisors are the main complaints of those who want to leave the banking network, according to Jason Pereira.

Furthermore, many bank advisors felt they had been “sidelined” with minimal, if any, support during the COVID-19 crisis, according to the president of the OCR Financial Planners Association. These same advisors also realized that they could easily operate very productively with their remote teams from home. Both of these factors led advisors to question whether they really needed to work in a large branch office while paying for the privilege - a privilege that has become less and less of a consideration.

You can read the full opinion letter from Jason Pereira, President of the Financial Planning Association of Canada, by following the link below:

https://www-theglobeandmail-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.theglobeandmail.com/amp/investing/globe-advisor/advisor-news/article-why-more-advisors-at-banks-are-looking-to-go-independent/

 

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