Benjamin Waite of Your Investment Manager is part of the Wealth Professional Canada Young Guns 2017.
Investment advisor
YOUR INVESTMENT MANAGER
Age: 27
Years in the industry: 7
It was during his time at the University of Regina that Benjamin Waite decided to become a financial advisor. By age 20 he had made his start, and now seven years down the line, he manages a $25 million book of business. However, he admits that success stories like his don’t come easy for his generation.
“Generally the avenues of access are sales-based, which doesn’t always attract graduates,” Waite says. “The real challenge is it makes starting up tough; most advisors have to go through a starvation phase to get to where they want to be.”
Another impediment is the fact that millennials’ wealth is often too small to require management. This makes the prospecting phase more difficult for advisors of that generation.
“Young advisors’ natural market – their peer group – doesn’t have the money to invest, and older advisors don’t seem to be retiring/passing on their books of business,” Waite says.
However, he is evidence that younger advisors can succeed – their ability to harness technology is a clear advantage over their older competitors. “In 2016, my AUM grew by 36%,” Waite says, “and 15% so far this year, which has necessitated greater use of technology to monitor portfolios, as well as keep track of client interactions. Being younger, technology has always been a factor in the workplace for me, but now it is becoming a bigger factor by the day.”
YOUR INVESTMENT MANAGER
Age: 27
Years in the industry: 7
It was during his time at the University of Regina that Benjamin Waite decided to become a financial advisor. By age 20 he had made his start, and now seven years down the line, he manages a $25 million book of business. However, he admits that success stories like his don’t come easy for his generation.
“Generally the avenues of access are sales-based, which doesn’t always attract graduates,” Waite says. “The real challenge is it makes starting up tough; most advisors have to go through a starvation phase to get to where they want to be.”
Another impediment is the fact that millennials’ wealth is often too small to require management. This makes the prospecting phase more difficult for advisors of that generation.
“Young advisors’ natural market – their peer group – doesn’t have the money to invest, and older advisors don’t seem to be retiring/passing on their books of business,” Waite says.
However, he is evidence that younger advisors can succeed – their ability to harness technology is a clear advantage over their older competitors. “In 2016, my AUM grew by 36%,” Waite says, “and 15% so far this year, which has necessitated greater use of technology to monitor portfolios, as well as keep track of client interactions. Being younger, technology has always been a factor in the workplace for me, but now it is becoming a bigger factor by the day.”
