Advisor confidential | James Pelmore

James Pelmore

Title Senior Investment Advisor, Director of Private Client Group, DWM Securities Inc.

City Vancouver

In the Business 22 years

Asset Base in excess of $100 milllion

Minimum Client Net Worth $1 million in investable assets

INVESTMENT APPROACH

Managed portfolios. “I don’t have conversations with clients to determine what they [want] to own. When I talk to clients, I use a hockey analogy. They’re the team owners and I’m the coach. Owners don’t decide who goes on the ice; I do.”

REFERRAL RECLUSE

“I’m uncomfortable asking for referrals but really enjoy giving them. Whenever I come across someone I respect and trust—from plumbers to mechanics to accountants—I go out of my way to send them business. Many reciprocate. “A casual chat with the owner of a restaurant I frequent concluded with his father contacting me to talk about the sale of an ancestral home, assisted living choices and estate planning. My realtor, golf pro and boat mechanic have sent me referrals that have materialized into relationships. When you send somebody business on a regular basis, at some point it becomes a two-way street.”

TRANSPARENT TRANSACTIONS

“When we transitioned to a fee-only model in 2003, I asked clients to tell me how much they paid me. Few could. I showed them how our compensation was bundled inside various products, and how the fee-only model would allow me to unbundle it and expand the investment products I could choose from. It was easy to convince them transparency was better for our relationship, and their wealth.

“Before we switched, our portfolios were comprised of managed funds paying a commission and a 1% trailer. We now buy the same funds’ F-Class shares, completely stripped of commission and trailer fee and directly bill our clients a 1% annual fee. We’ve also introduced investments that have no embedded compensation, such as ETFs.”

Read Pelmore’s tips for advisors using social media