It's a rainy Sunday today here in Thunder Bay, and I'm taking the day to rest and prepare for a great week ahead. Hoping you are as well!
It's been just over a year operating as Chénard Wealth & Advisory, and I'm so grateful for the support from clients, our community, and family & friends through this journey.
Through having conversations with friends, and re-connecting with many people, I've realized that there is still lots of people that are unsure how it works to work with us. I've taken this as an opportunity to do some research and make some small changes, which were just updated on the website today.
Over the past six months or so, I've been quietly working behind the scenes gathering insights from clients, consultants, financial advisors, and many local business owners, to streamline our services and focus on what matters most to our core audience.
I've simplified our client onboarding process and our "Get In Touch" form, and have made it easier for people to book a call with us to see if we're a good fit before digging into any financials. If you're looking to work with one of our advisors, or to ask some questions before deciding, the first step is to Get In Touch with us and we'll guide you from there :)
Part of my research was to find out what makes most people come to work with us in the first place - and that usually starts with some type of "pain point" with the other alternatives available, that is consistent among many people.
The most common "pain points" that we hear is how when they had their investments at the bank, there was lots of turnover in their advisor relationship, and they always felt they had to start over in establishing trust and comfort. We hear that loud and clear, and our business model makes it so that when you work with us, as an independent financial firm, we are with you all the way.
The other most common "pain point" was that people found they were limited in the advice and service they would get from their bank advisor, so the meetings would stop at reviewing investments and bank accounts. This is not usually the individual's fault - it may be due to the bank's policies around advising on products they do not offer, and not having the expertise that an accountant or Certified Financial Planner would to advise on those pieces. We're proud to capture a full picture of our clients finances when we work together, and being able to advise on not only investments but also insurance needs, day to day money management, and even being there for you at tax time truly adds value.
This one wasn't identified as a pain point quite yet, but I've streamlined it just to be sure. We've explored offering a fee-only financial planning piece to our business (i.e., paying us directly for service), and had it available on our website. For the sake of making it easier for people to know how they can work with us, I've removed this option from our services, and will re-evaluate in the future how it may fit. In the meantime, clients pay for our services via investment fees and commissions from our industry partners - just like the other firms and banks you are used to working with.
One very exciting piece - is that I've also officially decided to grow our group benefits part of the business! We currently manage six group benefits plans for small-medium size businesses in Thunder Bay, and are thrilled to continue to grow these relationships and connect with more businesses that value having a relationship with their broker. As a passionate supporter of our local small business community, this will be an awesome way for us to connect with business owners, and allow them to improve the financial security of their employees. If you know someone we should be in touch with, let's be in touch!
Thank you for following Chénard Wealth's journey as we grow and build our roots in Thunder Bay. Have a great week and take care,
- Dominique
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