THE Priority for Improving Canadians' Personal Financial Success: Advisor Professionalism

Like it or not, bloggers like me, and even mainstream financial media like the Globe and Mail and the Financial Post, have little influence on the financial success of most Canadian adults over 35. Last February the Investor Education Fund's GetSmarterAboutMoney.ca website published the results of a survey with the tell-all title Advisors Top Source of Information for Older Canadians. People in that age group overwhelmingly rely on financial advisors (see Exhibit 1 in the study report for the over 34s) - and primarily those within banks or other financial institutions - as the experts to guide their financial decisions.

The report foresees more and more new advisor relationships being started up over the coming years so it is time to get going now. A higher degree of professionalism, such as doctors, engineers and accountants have, is what is needed.

Two things are required of those advisors and their recommendations to clients that really are not sufficiently the case today. They must be:

• broadly well-informed to give holistic or integrated recommendations - knowledge of investments, taxes, plan types (RRSPs, RESPs, TFSAs etc), mortgages, insurance;
• bound by fiduciary duty with strong sanctions and enforcement of ethics so that client interests come first.

The national priority is not financial literacy or a national securities regulator but better advisors. Few people have the time or the inclination to develop the skills to be DIY financially. Though we all can and should always bear the ultimate responsibility for our finances, just as we do for own health, it does not mean we should not expect to find ready availability of expert financial "doctors" to give us trustworthy impartial advice.

Btw, bloggers need not despair. The under 35s use the Internet extensively to find financial information. 48% read online forums and blogs according to chart C-1 in the key findings for the 20-34 age group.