In a relationship built on trust, financial advisers are tasked with guiding clients through the complex, at times murky, world of investments.
For the second consecutive year, Edward Jones ranks highest in investor satisfaction with full-service brokerage firms, according to the J.D. Power 2014 Canadian Full Service Investor Satisfaction Study (SM).
The study determining the rankings measures overall client satisfaction with full-service investment firms based on a number of performance factors. Edward Jones scored 791, above the industry average of 755, in a study that looked at factors including investment adviser, investment performance, account offerings, fees and commissions.
Tyler Knibbs, financial adviser at Edward Jones in Estevan, said through his role, the business requires a relationship built on trust with the client.
"Trust is inherent in this relationship. It has to be. When you build a financial plan for somebody, and they tell us they want to retire at a certain age, and they entrust us with their RRSPs, their tax-free savings accounts, with their pension, there is inherently a great deal of trust in that relationship. Really, when you start looking at things like J.D. Power two years in a row, a happy, satisfied client is the highest measure of success we could ever hope to obtain," said Knibbs.
"I really work with one client. I work with conservative long-term investors. That's it," he added.
Despite how simple and minute that clientele sounds, he noted the term describes a lot of people, not a few.
"That describes people who are 20 years old. That describes people who are 80 years old."
While things are more complex than that, Knibbs gives the conservative long-term investment a blunt evaluation: "It works," he said.
"The primary thing people are looking for when they're coming to me is a financial plan. I've built my business primarily around financial planning, so whether someone's coming to me to figure out how they're going to put their children through university, or when they can retire and with what lifestyle, everything we do here comes back to that financial plan," said Knibbs.
He said he wants his clients to understand what's going on, adding that ensuring clients understand their goals, their plan and, ultimately, their investments is a key to maintaining satisfied customers.
Communicating the reason for portfolio performance, communicating the fees and commissions that are paid, all comes down to investor education.
"My own personal argument is an educated investor is a good thing. Do you understand investment performance? It's nice to win in an up market. It's probably more important to win it in a down market because you can control your reaction to markets, but you can't control the markets itself."
He said everybody who comes through the doors goes through the five-step process.
The process has aspiring investors go through a series of five broad questions that are relevant to anyone at any stage of life, no matter the age, goals or financial position, covering topics like goals, how they may be achieved and how one stays on target. While the process is the same, it's the details that change, and a client's answers to those questions will change in varying and unpredictable ways as they go through life.
"You can take two people, the kid who just started out on the oil rig and the guy who owns it. The questions apply to both," noted Knibbs. "I don't want to imply that it's a one size fits all, but the same basic process is repeatable. If you have a repeatable process, it becomes smooth. If you have a repeatable process people understand what on earth you're doing.
"The needs of people boil down to the same basic things: what are your goals?"
Regarding the top customer ranking his company received for another year, he added, "It is an honour that Edward Jones was recognized with the top customer ranking by J.D. Power because I believe that it is confirmation that our effort to provide exceptional value to my clients is being recognized.
"I strive to make a difference in my clients' lives by providing value through a personalized approach and tailored solutions."
