A version of this article was originally published in the fall 2025 issue of FP Standard Magazine. You can download it or read the full issue online.
It’s no exaggeration to say that Teresa Black Hughes, the new Board Chair at FP Canada, has seen the banking and finance industry from almost every angle. Her career in finance spans more than three decades, beginning in 1980 at National Trust in Edmonton.
From there she went to Coronet Trust (which became SunLife Trust) in 1986, where she oversaw 250 independent deposit brokers, before moving to independent retirement planning firm Solguard Financial Ltd. in 1991. She moved her wealth management practice to RGF Integrated Wealth Management in 2011, and more recently transitioned within the firm as an advice-only (fee for service) financial planner.
While working full tilt, Black Hughes was also making time for her many volunteer activities. Throughout her career she has served and chaired local boards BC Christian Academy and Vancouver’s Union Gospel Mission. She has given her time to the former CAFP (BC) and Advocis, where she became the first female board chair in the organisation’s 101-year history.
“I’ve always had a penchant for giving back, but I’ve received so much more than I’ve given,” she says.
She served on the board of FPSC (now FP Canada) from 2009 to 2012, and returned to hold positions on the board starting in 2020. Looking ahead to the future of financial planning, Black Hughes foresees change, as well as a need to maintain core values. “There’s tremendous opportunity for the profession. An aging population and a transition of wealth between generations are significant events prompting many financial planning questions,” she says. “The planner provides value by checking for gaps, looking at opportunities, and modelling the possibilities.”
Black Hughes acknowledges that clients have access to more sources of information than ever before. “The key is to discern what’s relevant,” she says. “AI can help with organization. What hasn’t changed is the importance of listening, clarifying, and asking (sometimes) tough questions.”
At the same time, there needs to be greater transparency around fees, she says. Financial planning is core to the advisor’s role, and it should probably be a larger proportion of their total compensation. To assist in this transition, she says it’s key that clients become better educated about the makeup of the advisor’s time and the costs they are carrying.
While her work life is busy, Black Hughes, who lives in Vancouver with her husband of more than 40 years, manages to find time to relax. The two are avid travellers, and they also manage to spend time with their two grandchildren.
