How ambitious advisor overcame vision loss to build successful career at Sun Life
Ryan Bradley Chin has met his share of challenges as a Paralympian swimmer and successful, though blind, financial advisor. The next one he’s set for himself is to find an advisor who wants a successor, so he can continue to grow his five-year-old, $40 million southern Ontario business.
“It’s certainly been a challenge, in some cases, but it’s been a very exciting ride as well,” Chin, who has been a financial advisor with Sun Life in Hamilton for five years, told Wealth Professional.
Chin, who was born in Guyana and grew up in Barbados, was diagnosed with macular degeneration at age eight. His mom didn’t want to send him to the local blind institute to learn how to cane chairs, weave baskets, and make brooms, so she sent him to his dad and the School for the Blind in Ontario.
“That, in itself, gave me some incredible opportunities to allow me to explore a whole new life and a whole new range of opportunities,” said Chin.
He then joined the national swim team representing Canada on the Paralympic stage, and swam across North America and internationally.
“I think that lit that inner fire to make sure that I was able to succeed in any way that I set my mind to,” he said.
After Chin was restructured out of his long-term job in the not-for-profit sector, he was ready to take on more challenges. So, he graduated from Athabasca University with an MBA, which he said marked a turning point in his life, and then began studying to be a financial advisor.
“Being someone with vision loss coming into the industry was a challenge unto itself,” said Chin, noting it was tough to convert all the charts, diagrams, and graphs to speech.
“I have to read text from left to right, top to bottom, so I’m getting every nuance of text read to me,” he said, “In many cases, lots of those charts do not transcribe clearly, so I had to infer what they were trying to say based on the understanding of what’s going on around me and obviously leaning on those with some vision in some cases.”
Even the CFP exam was a challenge as he was assigned a scribe he hadn’t worked with before and who didn’t have any financial background. Chin even had to teach the scribe how to use a calculator just before the exam. “It’s like asking your neighbour,” he said. “They wouldn’t have a clue.”
Even though he has some down days, Chin retains his amiability and sense of humour. “I’ve always had to work harder than my sighted compatriots,” he said. “But, it’s that Olympic spirit that sort of brings it out: you have to push harder, you have to push stronger if you want to success. You don’t go to the Olympics to come fourth. You go to the Olympics to win gold, and I live that each and every day.”
How does he translate that into his practice?
“I’m focused on growing my practice. I don’t have to win gold by any means, but I can be the best advisor for my clients. That’s my focus,” said Chin, restating his commitment to provide top service.
The increasing digitization has helped him in a paper-dominated industry, though he said his screen readers are only as good as their programmers. He’s hired staff to provide visual support, though that’s increased his expenses. Like a Paralympian in training, he’s moved steadily ahead.
“I’ve hit a point where I’ve got a good stride going,” he said, “and I think I will continue to be successful.”
Chin has also found that clients don’t shy away from him, and other advisors even solicit his expertise in a variety of areas, including the Registered Disability Saving Plan (RDSP) and tax credits.
He has about 1,800 clients, some of whom have RDSPs, which he’s had experience with. Even though he notices his sight is decreasing a little, he is incorporating his business and starting to reach out to other advisors who might want to join him to have a safety net and good coaching.
Chin’s next step is to reach out to other advisors to see if anyone wants a retirement succession plan with a good advisor willing to continue their clients’ service. He hopes to line that up with enough time to plan the transition to ensure all the clients remain well-represented.
“Where do I want to go? I think the sky’s a limit in our industry,” said Chin. “There really isn’t a cap.”
