PATRICK BRISCOE, CFP® BEd, RIS, Financial Advisor, IPC Investment Corporation, Bayswater Management
PATRICK BRISCOE
"Live Your Dream"
Steve Jobs, founder of Apple Computers, once said, “I’m convinced that about half of what separates successful entrepreneurs from the non successful ones is pure perseverance.” Perseverance is just one of the adjectives I would use to describe Patrick Briscoe, owner of Bayswater Wealth Management. The other is entrepreneur.
Patrick’s entrepreneurial spirit was evident from a very early age - he applied for “BrisCo,” his first business license, when he was in high school. He built and sold computers, designed websites for small businesses, and created a revenue-generating Blog. After university, while working as a teacher abroad, Patrick created a ratings and review site for UK employment agencies, which he successfully sold as he transitioned from school teacher to financial teacher – his true passion.
Early roles in the financial field included Partner of an existing financial office, where he helped re-brand and grow the practice. He also operated as Managing Partner of an in-house insurance brokerage, and led a team of eight mortgage agents. Patrick now focuses solely on financial planning - offering investment, life insurance and tax planning for his clients.
“I learned the value of hard work from my mother who raised a child on her own while instilling morals and the value of helping others. I believe I am a high achiever because of this. My entrepreneurial spirit is also the main reason I decided not to work for a Big 5 bank; I wanted to have the freedom to choose investment products that were in my clients’, not the bank’s, best interests,” the Bayswater Wealth Management founder says.
Patrick holds an Honours BA in Social Justice & Peace Studies and Political Science from Western University, along with a Bachelor of Education from the University of Toronto, and is a recipient of the Governor General’s Academic Medal. He is a designated Responsible Investment Specialist and is enroute to achieving his Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation.
Philosophy & Approach.
Since 2012, Patrick’s main focus has been on providing holistic financial advice. Investing is more than outpacing an index or evaluating each year’s rate of return. Although returns are important, a financial advisor adds real value by looking at other aspects of the client’s financial picture, including taxes, estate planning, risk management, and debt reduction / consolidation.
“Clients benefit when all of these financial aspects work together. If my clients have a need that I can’t fulfill in-house, like drawing up a will, I will sit in on the meeting with their lawyer. This achieves two goals: 1) it makes sure clients have a professional advocate to help represent their interests and 2) it ensures that I am in-the-loop with what’s important to them,” Patrick explains.
“Clients often tell me they appreciate my ability to discuss their investments and financial plans in a way that makes sense to them. Our industry is fraught with acronyms and technical terms that can quickly turn people off. I’m often drawing pictures and charts to help get that light bulb going on for my clients. Whether my clients are a young couple starting an Education Savings Plan for their children or a wealthy retiree deciding how to leave a legacy and estate plan tax efficiently, everyone needs help grasping financial concepts—especially when they are complex and jargon heavy. I enjoy teaching my clients about investments, which unfortunately, is an area most people have not studied. I often joke that I get to use my teaching degree every day; except now, I teach people something they actually want to learn,” Patrick says.
Practice.
Bayswater Wealth Management’s motto is, “Live Your Dream”. When meeting with clients and prospects, Patrick focuses on important questions, such as:
• How much is enough for my retirement?
• How best do I receive income from my investments in retirement?
• How can I reduce taxes?
• How can I ensure my family’s financial security if anything happened to me?
• How best do I leave an estate and legacy?
Patrick utilizes his knowledge as a financial, insurance, and tax advisor while working closely with a team of other professionals including lawyers, accountants, estate specialists, realtors, and mortgage brokers to answer these crucial questions. Many of these services are available in-house, through Patrick’s associated companies: Bayswater Tax Services Inc. (for income tax preparation) and Bayswater Life Inc. (for life insurance). There is also an in-house accounting firm and mortgage broker.
“We offer clients full-service, boutique, wealth management, from our remodelled Victorian building in Downtown London’s historic Woodfield area (https://www.historicwoodfield.com/). The office décor is a mix of contemporary and classical finishes. This blend of styles represents how we run our business - respectful of tried and true principles, while nimble enough to respond to fast-paced changes in technology and the global markets,” Patrick adds.
Henry David Thoreau once said that, “Wealth is the ability to fully experience life” and Patrick and his team do their utmost to ensure their clients have solutions that will help them succeed, both financially and personally. When setting up Financial Plans, Patrick follows IPC’s “Personal Wealth Management Strategy™”. This six-step, repeatable process starts with Your Dream Plan which outlines clients' current financial position and identifies their personal and financial goals.
Responsible Investing.
“While in my fourth year of the Social Justice and Peace Studies program at Western University I undertook a research project on Socially Responsible Investing and people’s perception and attitudes towards it. This was 2008, a few years before I knew I was headed for the financial industry and at a time when responsible investing was not as well formed as it is now. The perceptions that you must sacrifice returns to invest responsibly and that RI only invests in solar panels and wind farms have been quickly fading,” Patrick says.
“Today, responsible investment portfolios implement an ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) analysis when selecting companies to invest in. Research by the likes of Harvard Business School, Deutsche Bank, and RBC Global Asset Management shows that, by adding ESG analysis, portfolios can actually reduce risk and perform better than comparable non-SRI portfolios. I consider my responsible investing philosophy a big win-win: for my clients’ portfolios and for the world in general.” He is an active member of the Responsible Investment Association and he also holds the Responsible Investment Specialist (RIS) designation.
The Team.
Anne Leeson, CFP® and Administrative Assistant Nicole Hill round out the Bayswater Wealth Management team. Anne achieved her Certified Financial Planning designation in 2007. Anne was a former employee of a large insurance company, and a mortgage specialist for nine years. Nicole has 10 years of experience in the customer service industry, and graduated with a diploma in Executive Office Administration from Fanshawe College in 2013.
The Bayswater team also gets a great deal of support from their dealer, IPC Investment Corporation. IPCIC is majority owned by IGM Financial Inc., a firm listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE: IGM). IPC’s 800+ Advisors manage more than $24 billion in investments for over 300,000 Canadians across the country. “Our association with IPC means Bayswater Wealth Management stays on top of the curve in terms of innovation, research, and change,” Patrick explains.
Personal Life.
Patrick is an active Rotarian and volunteer. He spent three summers helping run youth summer camps in Jamaica’s rural communities and participated in a month-long food security delegation to El Salvador. He and his wife Rita have two sons, Hudson and Silas. Their dog, Winston, rounds out the Briscoe family. When he is not working or spending time with family, Patrick enjoys travelling, scuba diving, and rock climbing – he has summited two mountains - Mount Baker (10,781 ft) and Mount Rainier (14,411 ft). “I look forward to helping my clients reach their own personal and financial summits.”
You are welcome to download Bayswater’s complimentary Retirement Income Guide thinking to restart your thinking on retirement.
Suzen Fromstein is the author of Suits and Ladders, Ten Proven Ways to Keep Your Job Safe - with a few jokes thrown in. Suits and Ladders was an Amazon Best Selling Book in the Career Guides Category
Patrick Briscoe is the founder of Bayswater Wealth Management and registered dealer representative at IPC Investment Corporation. IPC Investment Corporation is a registered mutual fund dealer in select provinces.
Bayswater Wealth Management - IPCIC
465 Waterloo Street
London, ON N6B 2P4
office@bayswater.ca
519-914-5778