Mathieu Paradis

Top 5 things clients need to know

My family doctor would make a fantastic financial advisor. He tells me what I need to hear, not what I want to hear. That’s what most clients want from their financial advisors.

By Mathieu Paradis | May 15, 2013

3 min read

Planning and Advice

Why you should be a control freak

I focus all my energy on what I can control and don’t stress about the rest.

By Mathieu Paradis | February 13, 2012

3 min read

Planning and Advice

Besting online sites, discount brokerages

Investment and insurance products are now commodities. If we try to compete on cost we will lose because there will always be a cheaper alternative. However, we can compete on another level that an online site or brokerage cannot – we can compete with personalized advice.

By Mathieu Paradis | November 9, 2011

1 min read

Planning and Advice

Save money, dazzle clients with Excel

We work with a lot of numbers in our role as advisors. Part of the challenge is to make numbers meaningful to our clients without having to re-invent the wheel at every review. Here are a few features of Microsoft Excel we use in our practice to save time and wow our clients.

By Mathieu Paradis | September 19, 2011

4 min read

Planning and Advice

Justifying your annual fee

Our clients see exactly how much we earn on their investments. For our average client, that’s well over $3,000 a year, which can sometimes lead to sticker shock.

By Mathieu Paradis | August 25, 2011

3 min read

Planning and Advice

Study shows financial planning works

Hiring a CFP professional to create a financial plan will improve your financial situation and give you peace of mind. I’ve always believed in that statement and observe the results daily in our practice, but there wasn’t any statistical evidence to back up my claim. Now, there’s plenty.

By Mathieu Paradis | July 6, 2011

3 min read

Planning and Advice

Financial planning not investment advice wins clients

I’m willing to go out on a limb and say the clients I’ve met value a financial plan showing them step-by-step how to achieve their goals more than just investment advice. Here are two recent success stories illustrating how focusing on planning met the needs of the clients and resulted in new business.

By Mathieu Paradis | April 14, 2011

3 min read

Planning and Advice

Netting new clients

There is no doubt that referrals are the preferred way to grow our practice but sometimes clients don’t always send along the right type of prospects. Also, what if you want to target a specific market such as business owners for the first time? Direct mail has helped us grow our practice and target specific markets over the years. Here’s how it works and how it can work for you.

By Mathieu Paradis | February 2, 2011

3 min read

Planning and Advice

Tech every advisor needs – Part 3

Advisors love their technology so in the final article of our three part series, we’ll share 3 more pieces of technology that help us service our clients.

By Mathieu Paradis | December 10, 2010

4 min read

Planning and Advice

Growing with a fee-based model

During the fee debate on Advisor.ca, one of the comments made was that it was impossible to grow a business without DSC commission. DSC and fee-based commissions are both viable models, however, in the end, I chose to grow my book without ever charging a DSC. The only way I survived those first lean years […]

By Mathieu Paradis | November 10, 2010

4 min read

Planning and Advice

Tech every advisor needs – Part 2

In Part 1 we covered three pieces of technology that have paid for themselves several times over. Here are four more that have also had such a big impact on our practice that we just can’t live without them. 4. OneNote ($100 – or included with some versions of MS Office) Sometimes you just want […]

By Mathieu Paradis | September 21, 2010

6 min read

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