How one advisor uses the slow summer season

The pace of life, and the pace of work, slows in the summer. July and August, the so-called ‘dog days’ between Canada Day and Labour Day, are pockmarked with vacations and accompanied by a slightly more relaxed attitude. For advisors, it’s a time when many clients are away prioritizing time abroad, at the cottage, or with families. It’s also a time when many advisors will take some time off themselves. That time can be a gift for advisors though, and it’s a gift that Laurel Marie Hickey uses every year.

Hickey is the Wealth Advisor & Portfolio Manager at iii Global Wealth of National Bank Financial in Calgary. During the summer months she notes that the pace of work does not slow so much as it shifts. Clients’ will have different questions and talk about different goals. Her own work includes more reflection and investment in ‘summer projects.’ What underpins her summer work, however, is a year-round policy of proactive communication that ensures clients are comfortable, well informed, and able to relax.

“We’re proactive throughout the year, which gives our clients a chance to enjoy their summer, they don’t feel like they need to use their time off to catch up with what’s going on in their investments,” Hickey says. “But the flow of our days is a bit different. At our daily 9am team meetings, we’re always talking about how we can uplevel our client service.”

Summer is a time when Hickey and her team put an intentional focus on that idea of levelling up. That takes myriad forms. Hickey will normally catch up on the latest industry trends and developments. This year she took a trip to New York to meet with analysts from JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, and AllianceBernstein to gain some asset management insights. The whole team, she says, will pay extra attention to their continuing education in the summer months.

While her team is learning and planning, Hickey says they also field a somewhat different set of questions from clients in the summer months. When clients are taking time off in the summer, they experience something like a preview of their retirement. As they have those experiences, they may ask their advisors about different ideas related to their goals. That could include an RV or vacation home purchase, or a conversation about travel expenses.

“We don’t get calls about investments in portfolios, because we get those all year long,” Hickey says. “We get calls about all the things we’re asking them to think about, their goals, dreams, and desires.”

That’s not to say that day to day topics don’t arise as well. Hickey says that this year, with the cost of living still rising, many of her clients are coming to her already with cash flow questions. They may be asking about how they can maintain cash flow in their portfolios or ask if they are saving enough now to be ready for retirement. Sometimes it’s simply a question about affording a summer project, like a new roof or new driveway for the house.  

Hickey is also seeing an uptick in next generation inquiries this summer. More young millennials and even members of Gen Z are coming to her, largely with questions around home purchasing. She says that the new First Home Saving Account (FHSA) has spurred a lot of that interest.

For all the work she puts in over the summer, Hickey makes a point of taking some time for herself. This year she’s taking an RV trip across the Northern United States with her husband, pulling up at golf courses and scenic viewpoints along the way. She says that the holidays she and her team members take are crucial aspects of the work they do, especially as they reflect on what they can do better.

As other advisors look to make use of these summer months, Hickey accepts that her core approach is around intentionality. Rather than just letting the summer pass by, she seizes opportunities to reflect, engage, and recharge, putting real intention behind every action.

“I love a summer project, because it’s a different vibe,” Hickey says. “But it’s always got to be intentional. It’s got to be about finding out how we can do a better job.”