Jay Dowhaniuk of Raymond James is part of the Wealth Professional Canada Young Guns 2017.
Wealth manager
RAYMOND JAMES
Age: 35
Years in the industry: 16
In becoming the financial advisor he is today, Jay Dowhaniuk identifies two figures who were instrumental in his life: his grandfather, who ran a successful gravel business in Edmonton, and family friend Paul Johnson. Johnson, who had his own practice at Raymond James, was a mentor to Dowhaniuk after he joined the firm.
The two later became partners, an arrangement that lasted for 12 years until Johnson’s untimely death last year. Dowhaniuk looks back on those early years with great fondness, and identifies why younger advisors sometimes struggle to make their mark. “Unless a young advisor can partner with a well established veteran advisor, like I did, it’s almost impossible for them to earn a decent living in the first few years,” he says. “I think more mentorship programs would be a great help to those wanting to enter this business.”
Now that he is established, Dowhaniuk is thankful to have had the support of a firm the size of Raymond James. In his 16 years in the business, he has seen many independent names swallowed up as the banks extended their reach. “Over time, the bank-owned firms slowly started to interfere and influence how their financial advisors dealt with their clients,” he says. “They incentivized advisors to build ‘model portfolios’ and become the client’s actual portfolio manager. I see a time down the road when all financial advisors at bank-owned firms will be on salary selling bank-branded products. I’m not convinced this is the best solution for clients.”
RAYMOND JAMES
Age: 35
Years in the industry: 16
In becoming the financial advisor he is today, Jay Dowhaniuk identifies two figures who were instrumental in his life: his grandfather, who ran a successful gravel business in Edmonton, and family friend Paul Johnson. Johnson, who had his own practice at Raymond James, was a mentor to Dowhaniuk after he joined the firm.
The two later became partners, an arrangement that lasted for 12 years until Johnson’s untimely death last year. Dowhaniuk looks back on those early years with great fondness, and identifies why younger advisors sometimes struggle to make their mark. “Unless a young advisor can partner with a well established veteran advisor, like I did, it’s almost impossible for them to earn a decent living in the first few years,” he says. “I think more mentorship programs would be a great help to those wanting to enter this business.”
Now that he is established, Dowhaniuk is thankful to have had the support of a firm the size of Raymond James. In his 16 years in the business, he has seen many independent names swallowed up as the banks extended their reach. “Over time, the bank-owned firms slowly started to interfere and influence how their financial advisors dealt with their clients,” he says. “They incentivized advisors to build ‘model portfolios’ and become the client’s actual portfolio manager. I see a time down the road when all financial advisors at bank-owned firms will be on salary selling bank-branded products. I’m not convinced this is the best solution for clients.”
