Advisor reshapes father’s practice

Running a high-end hotel teaches a person all there is to know about providing seamless service. It’s an art form that Natalie Jamison, an advisor with Jamison Family Wealth Management, RBC Dominion Securities, took with her when she made the transition to succeed her father, Neil, at his established advisory practice in Oakville, Ont.

“Working in a hotel is 24/7, 365 days a year and that wasn’t going to work, having a family,” she notes. So, in 1996 she made the decision to leave hotels and join up with her father, who was looking for a partner to help grow the business. Natalie already had the Canadian Securities Course under her belt, so the shift made sense.

“That was 14 years ago and was probably the best transition and most rewarding decision I’ve ever made,” she says. “I started with a successful career and this one is more rewarding; most definitely.”

Natalie dove right in, starting with marketing and public relations within the team and then expanding those efforts to ultimately “re-brand absolutely everything.” This included the newsletter, Web site and even the team name, which changed from Jamison Investment Advisory Team to Jamison Family Wealth Management, at RBC Dominion Securities.

“Neil was what you’d call a stock broker. He loved picking the stocks and managing portfolios,” she says. “But I saw a different way to move the business. I wanted to do holistic wealth management and manage clients’ emotions as well as their money.”

Over a period of several years, clients were transitioned to the broader platform – which tapped into, among others, RBC Wealth Management Services, a team of more than 90 experts capable of conducting highly detailed tax and financial planning, estate and legacy planning, and insurance planning. Taking advantage of the broader service offerings, and getting those concepts in front of clients, let the team move in a new direction – integrated wealth management.

“We also started culling our book and dealing with more affluent families, as opposed to investors who were concentrated in one stock,” Natalie says. “What makes our team unique is that we have a combination of transactional business and fee business.”

They have also taken advantage of Natalie’s language skills. She’s fluent in French, handy since Oakville is home to a large Francophone population.

“We’re attracting a lot more families and French families,” she says. “Neil working on his own never used to offer services in French, which I now do.”

The move to wealth management has also attracted a large number of women clients, who find Natalie’s emphasis on holistic planning compelling.

One of the challenges for any family- run business is to separate work life from home life. Natalie established a policy from day one to call her father Neil during working hours, and to switch to Dad once they walked out the door. “It was hard to get used to that in the first year,” she says, “but we had to make that transition.”

They’ve also agreed to never discuss business at home or when they’re out in public. In addition to the work-life balance benefits, the policy ensures client matters stay confidential. “You never know who might be eavesdropping,” says Natalie. “I learned confidentiality in Switzerland, where I earned my degree in hotel management.

“Our business is our reputation – who we are and the integrity of what we offer. That’s one of the reasons why Neil and I act the way we do out of the office. We’re representing our business at all times.”

Natalie took charge of the team’s overall business direction in 2007 and has emphasized the need to serve women clients.

The shift, she says, is evidence the mantle pass from her father has truly taken place. She’s the lead investment advisor, and Neil would technically be considered her associate, although he’s a vice-president.

“That reflects the changes in our business and the fact we want to do wealth management, not investment picking,” she says. “In the very beginning, I’d learn from him. In the last few years, he’s been seeing things more my way and assimilating more from me.”