Founder
Haven Wealth Management
Age: 23
Years in industry: 4
Certifications: CFP
The youngest member of this year’s Young Guns list, at just 23, Josh Olfert has already made his mark on the wealth management industry. Olfert is the youngest Canadian to earn his Certified Financial Planner certification and started Haven Wealth Management two years ago when he was just 21. At Haven, Olfert and his team have leveraged technology to create a human/robo financial advisor hybrid that reduces the cost of financial planning and investing, all while maintaining access to human advice.
Olfert has had an interest in the industry from a very young age, no doubt a reason why even in just his early 20s, he has found tremendous success. “When I saw an open outcry exchange floor for the first time on TV as a kid, I was immediately curious,” remembered Olfert. “The world of investments seemed to be a place of mass confusion and I felt inspired to be a light of competence in the industry. A few years later, at the age of 14, I picked up Rich Dad Poor Dad and The Wealthy Barber. I began trading stocks in my bedroom and in spares at school. I grew up wanting to be a hedge fund manager. As I matured, I came to realize my personality would be better equipped to find meaning in a client-facing role as opposed to a Bloomberg terminal. Sitting across the table from people, helping them solve personal problems is where I needed to be. Wealth Management was the perfect fit.”
That foundation can now be seen in Olfert’s approach. “My motto has always been: educate, don't sell. With very few exceptions, we take the time with every single client to discuss how finance works from A to Z. Our initial meetings aren't ‘fact finds’, they are learning sessions. We prefer to explain the world of capital from end-to-end and then let them decide. We assume every client has a baseline knowledge of zero. By building up their understanding of personal finance we find that our clients end up much more clear in our discussions and decision making.”
