I was lucky to have the mentor that I did, albeit for a very short time.  However, that being said, due to his patience and teaching I began to appreciate holistic financial planning as opposed to investment planning only.  He helped me to understand that investments and investing was only a very small component of the discipline of financial planning as a whole.  Not only did he train me (and give me the opportunity) to become a financial planner in conjunction with taking the required courses for the CFP designation, but he actually helped me to choose my ultimate career path.

Being fresh out of university, majoring in finance, at the time, holistic financial planning was not at the forefront in Finance Faculties of many universities across Canada.  Knowing that I wanted to help clients, but still not 100% comfortable in being an investment advisor only, he helped me see a path that would lead to more self-satisfaction in terms of my career choice.

Besides the typical training given to a junior planner or para-planner, one key aspect that I learned from him was to always maintain your empathy, and to not lose that innate compassion for clients that most planners have.

Although his mentorship was a relatively short one, I am happy to say that I am still in contact with him regularly.

- mtd.