KELLY LINDSEY, CIM®, CFP®, FCSI®, FMA; Portfolio Manager, Okanagan Wealth Management, Raymond James, Penticton, B.C.
- NATALIE NOBLE
- 4 days ago
- 7 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
KELLY LINDSEY
“There’s nothing more fun than making money grow.”
Community trust isn’t established overnight. It’s earned, year over year, conversation by conversation. For Kelly Lindsey, CIM®, CFP®, FCSI®, FMA, that trust is reflected with pride on display in her office: five Best Financial Advisor awards from the Best of Penticton Awards, each representing a community vote of confidence she’s built over her 25-year career. “I’ve been nominated for five years running,” says Kelly, Portfolio Manager at Okanagan Wealth Management of Raymond James. “For people to take the time to vote each year is really special to me. It tells me we’re doing things the right way.”
That right track was further strengthened when Kelly earned her CIM® in 2022. As a discretionary Portfolio Manager, she can act swiftly in her clients’ best interests as market trends fluctuate. “I am running discretionary model portfolios for my clients, which is our premier offering. It’s been fantastic for them,” she says, adding that discretionary-level portfolio management is gaining traction for clients in all stages of wealth accumulation. “This is the way really wealthy families previously had their money managed. Because it’s becoming more of an industry norm, it’s now available across more levels of financial assets.”
Kelly and her team run model portfolios to trial different scenarios. “The advantage is, if I make a change to the model, everyone gets it. These benefits were highlighted for us during COVID because we knew what direction the market was going in, and it wasn’t good,” she says.
A discretionary model portfolio allows Kelly to act more quickly and work defensively or offensively when needed. “When the market’s running like it is now, we can lean into specific trends like AI, technology, or precious metals, so clients can reap those rewards. But when the market gets ugly, we play defence, and we are not obligated to be invested. We can be more conservative for the client, selling off investments that aren’t advantageous without calling down the entire client list for verbal consent. By running model portfolios, clients get all our attention, all the time.”
Investing should be fun
Kelly’s priority is to eliminate the anxiety clients face in dealing with finances. Her sincere love of her job, confidence, and calm approach make her work fun, and she wants that for her clients too. “Having a Financial Advisor is something everyone should feel is approachable. It’s fun. It’s not at all like going to the dentist,” she says. “Sometimes people experience that avoidance or simply have a knowledge gap around what to expect. They’re intimidated because they don’t know what to do, and they feel like they should. So, they end up at a standstill.”
Once people open up to having a trusted professional guide them in the direction of growth, Kelly says the work Advisors do impacts the entire family unit. “When we look at it as a high-level, meaningful impact to that family, we make their net worth grow and invest successfully. That provides the family with choices – choices to support their family, to give back to their community, and all the things they want to do.”
At Okanagan Wealth Management, clients receive exceptional service with a personal touch that’s no longer common. “It was important to us that our office has a drastically warmer and more inviting feel than when you arrive at a bank branch where there’s not even a receptionist anymore,” says Kelly. “Ashley greets and welcomes everybody by name, ensuring they feel comfortable here; they know we’re so happy to have them here.”
From there, the conversation moves into the office. Whether it’s a long-term or a new client, the meeting is more like a conversation. “I’m working to figure out who they are if they’re new, what their concerns are, where they’re at, how we can add value, and ultimately, to see if there’s a good fit,” says Kelly. “Throughout life, not only are people dealing with different circumstances, but things are constantly changing in the market. There are internal and external uncertainties.”
Once she has all the information, Kelly and her team enter the planning phase. “We produce financial plans in-house, whereas a lot of people farm that work out. A fee-forservice planner doesn’t know our clients like we do,” says Kelly, adding that for specialized services, she works collaboratively with the best professional services in her community. “We have tax professionals on our street; we know great lawyers who take on estate planning. We have a circle of trusted professionals for any situation that evolves as the client goes through life.”
With all her experience, Kelly understands the importance of continuous skill development, so she’s always enhancing her client service quality and offerings. “The industry necessitates a certain amount of keeping up your skills. But beyond that, we’re dealing with clients and their money, which is precious and sensitive. We have to offer the best. We pride ourselves on staying at the forefront of a constantly evolving industry,” she says.
A tale of three client successes
Because money is such an intimate topic, Kelly gains deep insight into her clients’ lives. She shares the story of a recent client, widowed last year, who was hesitant to ask for help. His friends had encouraged him to quit his job and move, but he was unsure he could afford to. “As we were discussing, he stopped to apologize and said, ‘I feel like this is more like a counselling session,’” she says. “I had to reassure him, because oftentimes when friends or co-workers give advice, they don’t know the whole picture. To do my job, I need him to go into that detail. I ended up saying to him, ‘Sure, you could probably afford to retire, but you’re 50. What would you do with your day?’ He hadn’t even thought about that.”
Another success that illustrates Kelly’s typical process involves two elderly ladies, referred by their hairstylist. Of the two friends, one had a terminally ill husband. “He wanted her to take the steering wheel with the finances,” says Kelly. “We took her on, had one meeting with her husband, and brought all the assets in to ensure everything was set up properly. Unfortunately, he passed that year.”
In the same timeframe, her friend, whose husband suffers from dementia but had previously handled all the investments, also became a client. “Their finances weren’t set up so well, but there were certainly lots of assets,” says Kelly. “We immediately looped in our tax accountant across the street. Her husband is no longer making any of the decisions, and we are managing the portfolios. She’s gaining an understanding and confidence in what’s happening with their investments.
“In both cases, these were older women who weren’t comfortable with the finances and wanted to be,” adds Kelly. “We stepped in to be that partner for them without them feeling bad or like they didn’t know what they should. We’ve brought up their knowledge level and ensured everyone sleeps at night.”
More women at the table
Kelly’s had a first-hand view of the industry’s evolving landscape and stronger regulations but notes that female underrepresentation remains a concern. “I’m a bit unique in that I came out of university as a financial advisor, completing my Canadian Securities course in 1998 and starting work in 1999. This is the only job I’ve had or will have,” she says, adding that it wasn’t always the plan. “When I was a little girl, I thought I wanted to be a schoolteacher, because that’s what my mom told me would be a good job for a woman. I had my daughter while studying education in university. I looked at her, and I said, ‘I love her, but I don’t want to spend every day with a room full of these little ones.’”
With a transition from education to financial services, Kelly never looked back.
Often finding herself vastly outnumbered by men while attending work events over the years, Kelly wants women to know rewarding career opportunities await them in the financial services industry. “Women make incredible Financial Advisors. I say that day in, day out,” says Kelly, adding that statistically, only 18 percent of Financial Advisors are women. “A couple years ago, Raymond James had an initiative to reach 25 percent female advisor representation by 2025. We didn’t make it.”
It’s an unfortunate statistic given Kelly’s experience that women excel in financial advising in their holistic approach that considers both the financial and emotional aspects of clients’ financial decision making. In fact, she leads an all-women team that includes her daughter, Danelle, and friend of over 20 years, Kristy, both Advisors, and their administrator, Ashley. As the team sets clients’ minds at ease, Kelly puts her expertise to work protecting their assets, growing their money, and securing their futures. “When we help clients with money, regardless of what shape they come to us in, we’re always working to make their goals a reality and their dreams come true,” she says.
When clients express concern about what they’ll do when Kelly retires – still years away – having Danelle in the practice is a big win. “Sometimes when we’re interviewing to see if we’re a good match, they ask how old I am. When I tell them, they’ll ask, ‘What’s going to happen if you retire in a couple of years?’” says Kelly. “In these cases, I bring Danelle into the meeting so they can meet her. Danelle’s been working here since 2022, and in 10 years, she’ll be ready to be the lead Advisor.”
Kelly says there’s nothing better than going to work with your adult children. “She has her clientele, typically closer to her age, which means we can look after all generations of a family. We’re very similar in a lot of aspects, which makes us well suited for this job and working together. Having Danelle at work is one of my greatest joys.”
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.
Kelly Lindsey, CIM®, CFP® , FCSI®, FMA
Financial Advisor / Portfolio Manager
Okanagan Wealth Management / Raymond James