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Jeremy Dahms Interview
First, tell us a little bit about Dahms Wealth Management Group.
Dahms Wealth Management Group manages ~$450 million in assets and is a team comprised of investment professionals. We help clients with their financial objectives. We work with National Bank Financial—Wealth Management, Inc., which is the fifth leading investment dealer in Canada with approximately $104 billion in assets under management and nearly 1,000 investment advisors in more than 100 offices across Canada who serve over 400,000 clients.
What are your primary responsibilities within the group?
I oversee the management of ~$450 million in assets and lead a team of investment experts. More specifically, my role, and the role of my team, is to help our clients with their financial goals, while considering their unique lifestyles and risk tolerance.
How is your approach unique from other wealth management groups?
We have a simple philosophy that guides us: “It’s all about you.” Our approach to asset allocation and diversified investing is a holistic one. This helps us to identify opportunities and weather unpredictability within the market. We devote time and energy to getting to know each of our clients: where they are now and where they want to be. Then we build a specific wealth management program just for them.
For many, we guide their investment choices in conjunction with personalized retirement planning, estate planning, and insurance through our in-house estate and insurance advisors. For those who prefer a more hands-off approach, we offer discretionary portfolio management services through National's Ambassador programs.
Other than your approach, what sets Dahms Wealth Management apart from others?
First, we consider how the overall economy, global affairs, and local events affect the stock and bond markets. We devote a significant portion of every day to researching and understanding these events, and then make recommendations geared toward helping our clients meet their specific objectives.
Second, beyond guiding their wealth management strategies, we are committed to being available to our clients, to counsel them and pinpoint opportunities. We’re always just a phone call away.
Third, we have private banking services for our affluent clients, more like a concierge handling daily needs in pretty much every aspect, including daily banking and credit.
Tell us about your path from financial advisor to leader of a wealth management group that bears your name.
December 2019 marked 26 years in the financial services industry. At 22—and six interviews later—I started at The Woodman Financial Group. I’m pretty sure they hired me just to stop my phone calls. Now at 48, there aren’t many with the experience that I can provide to our clients to help guild them through not only the different market cycles but through the many stages of life. One of the reasons I moved into a full-service brokerage business was I found early on that when you get fully licensed, you’re able to take the time to see what someone needs and take into account their specific objectives and goals—very different from pushing or only offering a product.
What traits are vital to the success of a financial advisor, in general, and your team, in particular?
As an investment advisor, I live by our group’s motto: “The sole purpose of our advisory group is to have a positive impact in our client’s lives.” The key when you’re in this business is empathy, where you truly want to help someone succeed. Being intelligent about investing is not the only skill required. I’ve found that to help someone, you have to actually know what they’re looking for and what they need to achieve their goals. You also must know what wealth management means to your client, whether it’s managing cash flow, volatility and risk, building a nest egg for retirement, or estate planning for heirs.
As a group, the only reason we can do what we do for our clients is because we have a wonderful team that helps handle all facets of the business. Although it is top-down direction, I have incredibly smart and talented people working for me. Adhering to our core values and working together keeps us cohesive and efficient, and we’re continuously improving our skills to ensure we’re always able to help our clients meet their goals. There is no complacency here.
Jeremy was awarded “Investment Advisor of the Year” for the Alberta and the Okanagan Region in 2018 and 2014 and was nominated for the award in 2015, 2016, and 2017. He was also one of only four advisors across Canada nominated as the “Investment Advisor of the Year” in 2018 for National Bank Financial.
Jeremy Dahms
Senior Investment Advisor, Senior Vice President — National Bank Financial, Dahms Wealth Management Group
10655 Southport Rd. SW, Suite 1100
Calgary, Alberta T2W 4Y1
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jeremy-dahms
National Bank Financial - Wealth Management (NBFWM) is a division of National Bank Financial Inc. (NBF), as well as a trademark owned by National Bank of Canada
(NBC) that is used under license by NBF. NBF is a member of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) and the Canadian Investor Protection
Fund (CIPF), and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of NBC, a public company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: NA).