What a financial advisor does
Financial advisors meet with individual clients to understand their goals, savings, debts and comfort with risk, then recommend suitable products such as mutual funds, GICs and registered plans like RRSPs, TFSAs and RESPs. At a bank branch or credit union, the advisor is often the main contact for a household's everyday investing and borrowing questions. At an independent mutual fund dealer, they may manage their own client base and grow it through referrals and community connections.
In Ontario the title itself is regulated. Under the Financial Professionals Title Protection Act, 2019, anyone calling themselves a Financial Advisor must hold a credential approved by FSRA, such as approval by CIRO as a registered representative or mutual fund dealing representative, or the Professional Financial Advisor (PFA) credential from Advocis' Institute for Advanced Financial Education. Hiring someone who cannot use the title, or whose registration has lapsed, creates a compliance problem before they serve a single client. Finch checks this first.
Typical responsibilities
- Meet new and existing clients to review goals, cash flow, time horizon and risk tolerance
- Complete know-your-client and suitability documentation and keep it current
- Recommend and open mutual funds, GICs, RRSPs, TFSAs, RESPs and other products allowed under their registration
- Hold regular account reviews and adjust recommendations when a client's circumstances change
- Refer clients to colleagues for mortgages, lending, insurance or estate questions
- Meet the service, sales and compliance standards set by the firm
Qualifications and credentials
- An FSRA-approved credential that permits use of the Financial Advisor title in Ontario
- Registration as a mutual fund dealing representative or registered representative, sponsored by the hiring firm and approved through CIRO, depending on the products offered
- An FSRA life insurance licence, earned through the LLQP, if the role includes life insurance or segregated funds
- Client-facing experience in a bank, credit union, dealer or insurance office
- A degree or diploma in business, finance or economics is common but not always required
Who hires a financial advisor
- Banks and their branch networks
- Credit unions across Ontario
- Mutual fund dealers and independent wealth firms
- Insurance agencies that also offer investment products
- Trust companies
Where we recruit financial advisor candidates
We fill financial advisor roles for employers across Toronto and the GTA, including North York, Scarborough, Etobicoke, Vaughan, Markham, Richmond Hill, Mississauga, Brampton, Oakville, Burlington, Oshawa and Pickering, and for employers across Canada. GTA employers can meet us at our North York office by appointment.
What Finch checks before you meet a candidate
- Registration category and dealer history, checked in public records kept by Canadian securities regulators
- Any disciplinary history or client complaints, and how the candidate explains them
- Ability to explain products in plain language, tested in a mock client conversation
- How they have built and kept client relationships in previous roles
- Eligibility to work in Canada and willingness to work branch hours, evenings or across locations
Interview questions to ask
- A client wants to cash out an RRSP to pay down a credit card. How would you handle that conversation?
- Walk me through how you update know-your-client information and what triggers a new suitability review.
- Tell me about a time you sent a client to someone else because your product was not right for them.