Christopher Dewdney is the new Vice Chair of the FP Canada Board of Directors. He’s also Principal and Founder of Dewdney & Co., a boutique financial planning firm.
The financial services sector often provides powerful incentives for advisors and planners to focus on wealthy clients. This is one of the issues, says Christopher Dewdney, that will be a key focus in his role as the newly appointed vice chair of FP Canada’s board.
A 20-year industry veteran, Dewdney heads up his own boutique firm in Toronto, which specializes in high-net worth clients. But as an immigrant and the child of a single mother, he’s keenly aware that access to financial planning services remains out of reach for many.
Among strategies to boost access, Dewdney suggests raising the overall number of financial planners in Canada, providing a tax credit for financial planning fees, and leveraging technology to make financial literacy more attainable.
But the most important shift, he says, needs to come from financial services firms. “I think change starts at the top,” he says. “Organizations could find a way to structure compensation so that it’s not at the expense of the advisor to service smaller accounts.” Dewdney is a keen supporter of leveraging technology to achieve these goals. He’s on FP Canada’s Fintellect Task Force and sees tech as a key tool for providing more value for clients.
“In the old days, it was back and forth, we were sending faxes or snail mail,” he says. “Now we have virtual data storage systems that will automate the info request. They’ll also automatically send reminders to the client to update the advisor using algorithms we didn’t have before.” Among other topics, the task force is researching best practices for advisors, including how to deal with regulatory requirements.
He’s also a strong supporter of AI. Rather than feeling threatened by it, advisors should embrace its potential he says.
“At the end of the day, AI is simply a tool. Used correctly, it’s a tool that can enhance both your practice, and the accessibility of financial guidance.”
When he’s not at work, Dewdney is either at his daily work out—he’s a regular participant in triathlons— indulging in his passion for horology (the study of watches and timepieces), or spending time with his family.
