AMANDA TRIAN, CFA®, Associate Investment Advisor, Trian Private Wealth - iA PrivateWealth
AMANDA TRIAN
"Maximizing Every Moment, Embracing Each Opportunity,
and Honouring the Responsibility in Growing Clients’ Wealth"
In life, there are rare people we come across who radiate an exuberant and hopeful energy that is simply contagious. Amanda Trian, CFA and Associate Investment Advisor with Trian Private Wealth Counsel, iA Private Wealth, is truly one of these people. Keeping up with everything she joyfully takes on and succeeds at is enthralling, yet extremely inspiring. Maximizing every moment of the day and embracing each opportunity that comes her way is something Amanda’s been doing ever since she can remember.
“I grew up in this business watching my parents grow their successful practice and that led to me wanting to help people the same way since day one,” says Amanda. “I went to my first seminar with my dad when I was in eighth grade. I learned about saving, budgeting, and that if you save five dollars a day starting at age 18, and assuming a five and a half percent rate of return, you can retire with close to half a million dollars. These concepts have really been ingrained in my beliefs forever.”
That foundation and a love of helping others inspires Amanda every day. “I’m optimistic through my experience and the many studies out there that show people who work with an Advisor, especially in market downturns, are better off in the long-term by having that expertise and guidance to pull them through,” says Amanda. “As professionals we can provide such a level of comfort, support, and strategy while we manage client expectations encouragingly. We help these clients in every aspect of their financial picture and add to their lives in a positive way. After seeing the impacts my parents have continued to make for their clients all these years, it’s so rewarding to do the same.”
While honoured to join her family practice early this year to put her beliefs to work, Amanda worked hard to first gain as much outside experience as possible before coming home to Trian Private Wealth Counsel. She credits her ambition and ability to effectively function with a lot on her plate to growing up a competitive dancer and skater. “It was a great experience to have the individual discipline in competitive figure skating while dance provided those benefits of being part of a team,” she says. “I’m good with time management and maximizing each moment by putting 100 percent effort into everything I do.”
While working on her double degree in Business and Financial Mathematics at Wilfrid Laurier University, Amanda’s extracurricular activities continued to be important. “I loved attending a smaller school with a great small community vibe,” says Amanda. “I earned a double degree and had three co-op terms while I was studying. This got me some great industry experience.”
Working as a teller at Scotiabank, Amanda enjoyed honing in on her customer service skills but her eyes were also opened to the need so many people have for good financial advisement. “I saw a really unfortunate side of this work for those lacking financial security,” she recalls. “Seeing clients cashing their weekly checks and living paycheck to paycheck really struck a chord with me. We don’t want to see people living with that stress and just paying off their minimum credit card balance every month without touching the principal. That’s when I really knew I wanted to go into the financial services industry and start helping people, educating others on how to make their money work for them.”
Working as a math TA, instructing dance, and joining the cheerleading and skating teams, Amanda loved every minute of her busy university schedule. Her first co-op term saw her working in the call centre for HollisWealth. “I was able to work immediately with Advisors and some end-clients there,” says Amanda. “I got a feel for helping people over the phone, addressing urgent requests, and observed different advisors in their own practices. Everyone runs a different business in this industry. This was a great experience for developing strong communication skills and problem solving over the phone.”
Her second and third terms were spent at large mutual fund and asset management firm Fidelity Investments, first in sales, then in product research. “I worked in Advisor sales on a really busy sales floor atmosphere where our end clients were advisors. We promoted our Fidelity products to them and worked on many client-facing events which was great exposure for in-person interactions,” says Amanda. “In product research, I knew I loved working with people, but I wanted to take on a more analytical role that allowed me to apply my math and critical thinking expertise. I enjoyed the work, but I realized quickly that my passion lies in investing and the market.”
This realization led Amanda to pursue her CFA. “I knew this would be a big differentiator, especially on the financial advisory side, and not many advisors have this designation,” says Amanda. “I knew that one day it will help me become a portfolio manager for my own clients and becoming a discretionary manager is a long-term goal.”
Amanda’s full-time industry experience was gained at Sun Life Global Investments. “I worked as an investment wholesaler presenting and tailoring investment solutions to advisors for their clients. This was a great firm to work with and I met my mentor Chantal there. She is an amazing person I’m grateful to have in my life.” Amanda was one of four wholesalers to complete a rigorous development program at Sun Life, selected out of 34 representatives across Canada to participate in the program.
With her CFA and such diverse experience already under her belt, Amanda felt ready to return to the family practice. “It’s been awesome to service our clients while prospecting my own to grow the practice as well,” says Amanda. “We work as a team and act as a one-stop-shop with my father Tim and I working as analysts and Investment Advisors with our CFAs. My mother Laura is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® professional, and a Chartered Accountant. So, we have all our bases covered from a financial designations standpoint and the services we provide.”
As a team, the Trian’s have an integrated four-pillar system to optimize their clients’ wealth. This includes investment advising, estate planning, tax planning, and legal services. “We have trusted legal partners who can help with everything from incorporating your business to drafting your will. These four pillars come together to optimize our clients’ wealth and it’s so important that they’re all aligned. You can’t have one without the other and that’s our fullservice approach here.”
Amanda’s mandate is that she be the first call whenever her clients need her. “I truly do want to be there for them every step of the way,” says Amanda. “I pride myself on creating a personalized approach for each and every one of our clients while getting to know their goals and objectives. Everyone is unique and deserves their own financial plan that works for them, accounts for their goals, and achieves what their family needs. There’s something for everyone within our offerings. We pride ourselves on being a family business and an independent firm. We can honestly offer unbiased investment advice.”
While Amanda derives so much meaning from helping all of Trian Private Wealth’s clients, she has a special mission to help women take more initiative in managing their wealth. Some of her earliest clients have been professional younger women also on the brink of great careers. “I love helping young professionals, like myself, get an early start,” says Amanda.
To further drive this point home, Amanda and her mentor took on a Women and Investing initiative when working at Sun Life. “We’re both really passionate about educating females on how to make their money work for them,” says Amanda. “Unfortunately, the gender wage gap remains and that leads to a savings gap that compounds over time. As well, caring for children and elderly parents often falls on women’s shoulders. There are various stats indicating even if women are saving the same amount as their male counterpart, they may retire with 40 percent smaller retirement portfolios. We’re looking at how we can help manage this and help our female clients make their money work for them.”
In all of this work, there’s no doubt Amanda puts her whole heart into everything she does. “I am a high achiever who tends to be uber-focused on my end-goals, but I’m working to be present in my life and enjoy the moment,” she says. “With all these milestones we achieve, there’s more to life than what’s on paper. I have such a passion to help others. This is more than just a livelihood for me. At the end of the day, I appreciate and honour this responsibility people are entrusting me with.”
This article was prepared by Natalie Noble and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of iA Private Wealth Inc. The opinions expressed are based on an analysis and interpretation and do not constitute an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any of the securities mentioned. The information contained herein may not apply to all types of investors. iA Private Wealth Inc. is a member of the Canadian Investor Protection Funds and the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada. iA Private Wealth is a trademark and business name under which iA Private Wealth Inc. operates.
Natalie Noble’s love of writing stems from her passion for hearing and sharing people’s stories. Over the years she has written for various business, real estate, and agriculture publications. At the heart of her work is a desire to continuously learn and connect.
Amanda Trian, CFA
Associate Investment Advisor
iA Private Wealth | Trian Private Wealth Counsel
905-829-0600
Amanda.trian@iaprivatewealth.ca