What the loss of her family’s wealth during the Iranian revolution taught Tina Tehranchian about diversification

After years of long hours in finance, William Chan realized his career was costing him precious time with his family. When the pandemic gave him a chance to rethink his priorities, he made a bold move: leaving corporate finance to become an independent financial planner.

On his first day at an investment firm, Ryan Bushell expected career advice from his then-boss. Instead, he got a lesson about fancy and ordinary office chairs that still shapes how he manages money.

Millie Gormely grew up on a dairy farm outside Thunder Bay, Ont., where money could be unpredictable and hard work was simply part of life. As a kid, she learned that if she wanted something, she had to earn it. That philosophy carried on into adulthood. It took juggling multiple jobs, and eventually multiple surgeries, before Millie realized she needed to slow things down.

After losing his entire RRSP investment on a hot stock tip, Harp Sandhu learned that building wealth doesn’t have to be exciting.

What happens when you’re forced to navigate an estate before you’ve had much experience managing your own finances? For Kimberly Wood, becoming the executor of her mother’s estate at 23 was a life-changing education and the start of her career in wealth management. Today, Kim is a wealth advisor with Johnstone Wealth Management Group at National Bank in Toronto, where she focuses on investments, estate and financial planning.