How Brandon Durant cultivates talent and relationships in the wealth management space
Brandon Durant is an Ottawa-based certified financial planner who brings comprehensive and holistic financial planning services to his clients at Brandon Durant Financial Management (BDFM).
An independent advisor and business owner, partnered with Desjardins Financial Security Independent Network (DFSIN) Ottawa, BDFM’s primary focus is serving business owners, medical professionals, and their families.
These services include:
- financial assessments
- goal setting
- investment management
- retirement planning risk management
- tax and estate planning
Learning and growing at work
With over a decade of experience in the industry, Durant has risen through the ranks of DFSIN advisors as a highly respected and accomplished advisor among his peers.
His expertise and insights have made him a sought-after speaker at industry events, where he shares his knowledge on growth strategies and the unique challenges of starting a successful business at a young age.
Before joining DFSIN, Durant was slated to take over a family-run home and auto insurance company, Irving H. Miller Ltd. (1957), built through three generations before him. When that fell through due to unresolved issues between business partners, he decided to pivot and at the age of 22, he founded his own business.
Durant learned two valuable lessons from that experience:
- the significance of having a shareholders’ agreement and the concept of a shotgun clause
- the challenges faced by family businesses in Canada in successfully transitioning to the next generation
“A mere four percent of the Canadian family businesses make it to the fourth generation. I find that a depressing reality. That, and my own experience with my family business is why I have decided I wanted to help change that,” says Durant.
Recognizing the importance of experience and expertise by acquiring as much knowledge as possible, Durant firmly believes that knowledge is power. Within the first five years of his career, he obtained his Certified Health Specialist (CHS), Certified Financial Planner (CFP), and Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) designations.
Subsequently, he pursued and earned the Trust and Estate Practitioner (TEP) designation, a unique distinction that sets him apart from many advisors in the profession. He achieved these designations by the age of 29.
However, that mindset hasn’t stopped as Durant still regularly attends educational events and conferences organized by STEP, CALU, and MDRT. Additionally, he has actively participated in mastermind groups with fellow advisors where best practices and insights are shared.
A purpose beyond business
Giving back to the industry and improving advisor standards have always been important to Durant. In 2011, he joined Advocis and eventually became the youngest Ottawa Chapter President in 2016. He currently sits on the Advancer Education Committee for CALU.
“In my opinion, humility is a crucial trait for becoming a leader in the wealth management profession,” he reveals. “It is often overlooked but is incredibly impactful. A leader who demonstrates humility acknowledges they don’t have all the answers and actively seeks different perspectives. It is essential for a leader to foster a collaborative environment where team members feel valued and empowered to contribute ideas.”
Durant’s team, with the backing of DFSIN, has the skillset and ability to offer comprehensive succession planning to business owners and other financial advisors who may have difficulties in transitioning and are not sure where to turn.
He put together one such plan for an advisor who also ran a family firm that started 45 years ago. They found succession rather challenging and were unsure of how their clients and legacy would thrive after their departure.
Durant and his team were able to present a plan to put their clients’ minds at ease and offer them fair value for their life’s work, ensuring their own financial future is looked after. They are also actively seeking the next advisor or advisory team that qualifies for succession.
“I am fortunate and grateful that I found a partnership in DFSIN, which offers me all-around services but still allows me to remain independent,” he says. “Under the leadership of our managing director and mentor David Feldberg, the management and administrative teams have always supported me in the day-to-day operations as well as in strategic decisions such as forming a succession partnership with a veteran advisor.”
Durant adds, “At our financial centre, we have a slogan, ‘Meet Good People,’ which perfectly describes how in our workplace, like-minded people come together and work toward the same goal under the same professional, client-centric philosophy.”
