How Can a Financial Coach Help Me Reach My Financial Goals?

In Canada, when looking for a Financial Planner, I would suggest finding someone who holds the Certified Financial Planner designation or CFP®.  The CFP® designation is formal recognition of expertise in the areas of financial planning, estate planning, and retirement saving.   CFP® holders are required complete the CFP Board’s initial exam and then continue ongoing education programs to keep up with industry changes. The most important aspect of a CFP® is that they must be a fiduciary of your assets, which means they will make decisions with your best interest in mind.

A Financial Advisor will talk to you about your financial goals and create a plan to help you reach those goals.  This plan may include how much you need to invest each month, what investments you should invest in, and how long it will take to reach your goals.

A Financial Coach will take you one step farther.  A Financial Coach will help you develop the habits needed to reach those financial goals.

Unfortunately, at this time, there is no formal recognition of qualifications a Financial Coach must have.  So, why do I call myself a Financial Coach?

Well, here is my origin story!  I completed my CFP exam in 2003.  At the time I was working as a Financial Advisor at BMO Bank of Montreal.  I had recently completed my Bachelor of Commerce degree and was feeling very lucky to have got the role of Planner at the bank I had been working at for the past few years.  Being a teller at a bank got me through college and university!

After while, I took a job at ATB Financial in their Wealth division as a Financial Advisor.  I worked there for over 15 years, watching clients grow and reach their financial dreams with my help!  It was the most rewarding experience I have ever had – knowing I had helped these people reach their goals!

(ATB Jail was a yearly fundraiser for Alberta Children's Hospital and tons of fun for us staff!)

However, I thought there was more to advising than just setting goals and telling people how to reach them.  That is when I heard a speaker talk about Behavioral Finance.  Behavioral Finance is an area of study focused on how psychological influences can affect market outcomes.  Basically, investors are not always rational and can influence how the markets perform. 

I wanted to learn more about this, but on a more personal level.  That is when I discovered Financial Psychology (of which Behavioural Finance is a subset of).   I searched and searched for more education is this area.  That is when I discovered Creighton University and Dr. Brad Klontz.  I completed my Masters in Financial Psychology and felt like I was way better equipped to help my clients reach their goals!

I then took it one step further and started to dive into coaching. This opened a whole new world to me! I decided to obtain even more education and completed my Associate Certified Coach accreditation through the International Coaching Federation.

TL:DR – there is no formal recognition of what a Financial Coach is, however through my over 20 years of experience as a Certified Financial Planner, Master’s in Financial Psychology, and certification as a Associate Certified Coach, I believe I have the knowledge, expertise and experience to be a great Financial Coach!