Manulife PlanRight advisors, commission free Certified Financial Planners (CFP) and CFP candidates who assist the company’s benefits plan members, have discovered in recent weeks that many Canadians are keen to take advantage of the current economic downturn – a stark contrast to attitudes witnessed during the 2008 recession.
They say Manulife Securities new business volumes are up, trading activity is up, and there is a substantial increase in the number of plan members interested in creating financial plans for themselves.
They say existing clients are increasingly looking for reassurance about their plans, as well. Many are focused, not on returns, but on the impact recent events might have on their plans and goals.
“Focusing on a plan instead of a rate of return removes a lot of stress from conversations, for both the client and the advisor,” says Nicolas Samaan, PlanRight regional leader at Manulife. “It can be likened to long-distance driving. If you know your destination, and know when you want to get there and plan properly, it doesn’t matter if you have to slow down for traffic or make a detour. You can always track how well you are doing individually against your estimated arrival time. A good plan will average out the good and bad periods and allow you to keep your eyes on the destination during the bad moments. Simply knowing that your goal, and knowing it is still attainable by following the plan, changes the focus.”
Manulife says more of its plan members are proactively working with their advisors to address their long and short term financial planning objectives. They also say they’ve observed a new willingness to communicate – plan members who were previously not interested in phone or video meetings are requesting them now, and more new clients are requesting face-to-face meetings at a future date.
