Behind the Advice

Rona Birenbaum has been a natural saver from day one. Raised in a middle‑class household, she learned to scrutinize every purchase – a habit that took decades to loosen.  After starting her career working as a multi‑branch manager at a credit union, Rona found sales targets and quotas clashed with the individualized financial planning that clients actually needed. In 2000, she took a major leap, g...

We often think of financial planning as a game of math. But for Zainab Williams, the real work doesn't start with numbers; it starts with understanding the person sitting across from her. Zainab is a certified financial planner and dedicated money coach who operates on an advice-only model. She and Brenda discuss why she views financial planning as a form of behavioural therapy, why she’s worried...

After supporting his wife through three midwife-assisted pregnancies, Aravind Sithamparapillai realized that Ontario's midwives were navigating complex tax choices and unique career longevity hurdles with very little support. Today, Aravind is a financial planner at Ironwood Wealth Management Group, where he specializes in advising midwives and women in health care. He speaks with Brenda about his...

After years of climbing the ranks at some of Canada’s largest financial institutions, Shay Steacy felt that the traditional wealth management model often ignored the very people who needed advice the most. Today, she is an independent advice-only financial planner championing a philosophy of “financial independence, live early.”  Shay speaks with Brenda Bouw about the babysitter who taught her an...

Herman Chan’s path to becoming a financial planner was anything but linear. He started out with a journalism degree and a dream of being a sports writer, before a stint in retail management convinced him it was time for a career change. After 15 years of supporting other advisors at major firms such as RBC and London Life (now Canada Life), Herman took the leap into independent advice. We talked a...

Imagine being fifteen years old, sitting in a private school classroom, and being told you have to leave because the tuition hasn't been paid. For Elke Rubach, that moment was the beginning of a crash course in what happens when a family assumes someone else is “handling the money.” Elke’s journey from that uncertainty led her across the globe, from practising law in Mexico City to the London Scho...

Money choices are rarely simple. They come wrapped up in fear, ambition, regret and our own life experiences. On season four of Behind the Advice, we’re going deeper into the world of the adviser. Not just the polished presentations and growth charts, but the late‑night client calls, awkward confessions, and the moments when plans collide with things like illness, divorce, job loss or sudden oppor...

This week, Brenda speaks with Jay Smith, senior portfolio manager at CIBC Wood Gundy. Jay talks about his early career as an academic, how a PHD in philosophy prepared him for the world of finance, and how he talked his way into a job at Merrill Lynch in the 1970s. He also shares some lessons he’s learned over his five decades in the investment industry and how those experiences have shaped the in...

This week, Brenda speaks with Lori Curtiss, a certified financial planner and the founder of A Money Maker Mindset, based in Calgary. The two talk about Lori’s childhood in a small farming community in Alberta, the financial challenges of becoming a single mother at 18, and how she learned to be less controlling with her own money later in life. Lori also discusses why choosing to become an advice...

This week, Brenda speaks with Tina Tehranchian, a senior wealth advisor at CI Assante Wealth Management in Toronto. The two discuss Tina’s childhood in Iran, how losing her family’s wealth during the Iranian Revolution changed her perspective on money, and her experience immigrating to Canada during a recession. They also discuss Tina’s path into the financial services industry and her recent appo...

This week, Brenda speaks with Darren Coleman, senior financial advisor and portfolio manager with Portage Cross Border Wealth Management at Raymond James. The two discuss Darren's entry into the financial services industry at a very young age, how caregiving and longevity are reshaping the business, and why he believes understanding human behaviour is just as essential for an advisor as understand...

In this episode of Behind the Advice, Brenda Bouw speaks with Shiraz Ahmed, founder and CEO of Sartorial Wealth in Mississauga. Shiraz spent more than two decades in the financial services industry, most recently as an advisor at Raymond James, before starting his own firm in 2025. They discuss Shiraz’s earliest days in the industry as a cold caller, the regulatory challenges of being a cross-bord...

In the first episode of season 3, Brenda Bouw interviews Lin Sok, an independent financial advisor from Montreal. Lin talks about how her experience growing up with immigrant parents and selling mixtapes in high school sparked her entrepreneurial spirit. They also cover how open banking could give consumers and advisors more control, Lin’s views on crypto in a portfolio, and practical ways to buil...

Brenda Bouw is back hosting season three of Behind the Advice, a podcast from The Globe and Mail that takes you behind the scenes with the people who help Canadians make some of their biggest life decisions. Whether you’re a financial advisor looking for new ideas, an investor curious about the person across the table, or just someone interested in the human side of money, Behind the Advice will h...

At the age of 19, Julia Chung experienced two life-changing events within just a few days: she lost her mother to cancer and gave birth to her son. This combination of loss and new life thrust Julia into adulthood, testing her resilience and requiring a rapid education in financial literacy. Today, Julia is the founder and CEO of Spring Planning in the Vancouver area and serves as the Board Chair...

Bo Banner has been chasing the thrill of competition from an early age. He spent a significant period of his youth competing in amateur skateboarding tournaments before shifting his focus to football. After four successful years on a scholarship at Central Washington University, he landed a pro contract with the Montreal Alouettes in the Canadian Football League. But a few years later, he decided...

When it came to choosing a career, Samantha Sykes explored several different paths, from writing the LSAT with an intent to pursue law to spending three years at culinary school. But it was an impromptu conversation on a cruise ship that set her career as an advisor in motion. These days, Samantha is a Senior Investment Advisor and Financial Planner at Raymond James in Toronto. She and Brenda disc...

Maili Wong has always embraced a challenge. Whether that was pursuing a career in neurosurgery, or, after shifting her focus to finance, moving to New York City to work on the trading floor of a prestigious Wall Street investment bank. But working in a building connected to the World Trade Center on the morning of 9/11 had a profound effect on Maili, forcing her to reevaluate her career path and c...

Growing up, economic stress was a daily reality for Robyn Thompson. Whether it was tagging along with her parents to Money Mart for a cash advance or seeing them rely on welfare to cover basic needs, these struggles instilled in her a strong work ethic and a sense of financial responsibility that she has carried throughout her career. Today, in addition to her role as a financial advisor, Robyn is...

In the first episode of season two, Brenda speaks with John De Goey, a well-known advisor and author who isn't afraid to question industry norms. John's bold ideas and critical perspective have set him apart from most of his peers in the financial services world. With books like "The Professional Financial Advisor" and "Stand Up to the Financial Services Industry," he pushes for changes that bette...

Money weaves its way through all our lives. It influences our choices, big and small, and charts the course of our future. And behind every piece of financial advice, there's a person with a unique story to tell. Host Brenda Bouw is back for season two of Behind The Advice, a Globe and Mail podcast about financial advice and the people who give it. From an advisor who kept their previous experienc...

Adrienne Power is an Olympic sprinter turned financial advisor from East Jeddore, N.S. Raised by a family that fostered a love of competition, Adrienne excelled at sports from a young age and starred for the Dalhousie University track and field team while she pursued her commerce degree.  Following university, Adrienne focused on track and field full-time, representing Canada at the 2008 Olympic G...

Ivan Arturo grew up in Bogata, Colombia. After moving to Toronto in the early 2000s to learn English and study business at York University, he worked briefly in telecommunications until a chance encounter on a sales call put him on an entirely new career track. Today, Ivan is a certified financial planner with IAB & Associates Financial Solutions at Sun Life in Richmond Hill, Ontario. He talks abo...

Kent Manderville is a former NHL hockey player who played over 700 career games for teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs, Carolina Hurricanes and Philidelphia Flyers. But while some of his teammates enjoyed multi-million annual salaries, that certainly wasn’t Kent’s experience. Mostly a 4th line grinder, he strung together several short-term contracts with a salary closer to the league minimum.  Aft...

Tiffany Harding moved out of her mother’s house as a teenager. By the time she was 16, she had her own bachelor apartment and was dividing her time between school and night shifts at a restaurant to support herself. Today, she’s a long-time financial advisor who’s worked for big and small financial firms such as Royal Bank, Manulife, and, currently, Richardson Wealth. Tiffany speaks about her unco...