Despite being under 30, Brandon Yanchus has already grown his client base and AUM considerably with an approach that prioritizes relationships
One of the primary challenges the wealth management industry faces is attracting new advisors. Given the high barriers to entry and significant failure rates for new advisors, it’s easy to see why those entering the working world would choose to bypass the profession. Yet success stories like Brandon Yanchus’ offer hope.
Yanchus was born and raised in Guelph, Ontario, and attended the University of Guelph. Originally, he was headed down a criminology path, planning to become a police officer. However, that changed when he realized he wanted to be more entrepreneurial. He started taking economics, marketing and other classes that gave him a taste of all aspects of running a business.
Soon, Yanchus had an encounter that steered him into wealth management. “I met my mentor, Dwayne Rettinger, at a University of Guelph job fair and went through the interview process,” he says. “I realized this was a perfect fit to build my own business and make a lasting impact in my community and with clients.”
After graduation, Yanchus joined the industry at the age of 23. Since then, he has steadily grown his practice from scratch and is currently a financial consultant with IG Wealth Management. In 2019, he obtained his CFP and RRC designations, achievements that coincided with some of his strongest years in 2018 and 2019. As of the beginning of this year, Yanchus has 187 clients and manages more than $41 million in assets.
“I think what attracted me to the industry was that there are very few professions you get to carry over to your personal life,” he says. “I love that I get to personally use all the strategies that we use with our clients. Also, there is no limit to your growth. I love to learn, and with this industry always changing, you need to always be adapting, growing and changing. I believe that suits my personality type very well.”'
To get where he is now, Yanchus had to overcome plenty of challenges, the biggest of which was being just 23 when he entered the industry. Without any warm market or family connections, he set out to find the most successful advisors he could and figure out their recipes for success. After that, he began tackling the challenge of building his book.
“I began making meaningful connections in my community through networking events, holding seminars and lunch-andlearns, and being a part of service clubs,” he says. “I always found that when I led with education and not sales, I attracted great clients, and that’s something that’s even more prevalent today. Now, we host numerous social interactions like comedy nights, wine-and-cheeses and food tours where we encourage a client to bring a family member or a friend.”
Yanchus strongly believes in reinvesting in his own marketing and providing a personal touch to clients to make them feel like part of the family. Going the extra mile is what he feels can help set an advisor apart.
Now, at 29, Yanchus feels his age is his biggest asset, as he can work with a client for multiple generations and see his plans come to fruition. He bases his approach around those plans and fully understanding clients’ goals and dreams – and he says having his CFP has been a vital tool in that process.
“Our approach is unique in the sense that we truly look at the entire financial picture,” he says. “Only then can we build the financial plan around their goals.”
In addition, working with a firm like IG Wealth Management gives Yanchus access to specialists to handle things like tax and legal issues. This allows him to act as a client’s financial quarterback and decide when to bring in specialists, which strengthens his value proposition.
That value proposition, combined with his dedication to investing in himself, has helped Yanchus find early success in wealth management – and his story gives other young advisors a blueprint for tackling the challenges of breaking into the industry.
