MAURO DI CESARE, Financial Advisor, Investia Financial, Montreal, Quebec

11 minutes ago

5 min read

MAURO DI CESARE

“My clients of 30 years ago, they had kids. The kids became my clients. Now they’re having kids of their own. One of the best parts of my job is playing witness to the evolution of life.”

Growing up the son of immigrants, Mauro Di Cesare, Financial Advisor with Investia Financial Services, saw what financial insecurity looked like up close. “My father came to Canada when he was 13, travelling alone to go live with his aunt and uncle,” says Mauro. “My parents struggled being immigrants. Every time there was a recession, they faced a setback and they didn’t want that for me.” From that beginning, a family creed was created: Education is an investment that will bring you fruit in the future.

By 16, Mauro was working part-time at a food distributor, setting aside part of every paycheque and looking for somewhere to put it to work. He made his first investment that same year. What fascinated him was how people built a nest egg, whether through property, savings or investments, and where they turned for guidance. “Basically, everybody at that time was running to a bank for advice,” he says. “And I felt it wasn’t really personal, because they never gave you enough time.” That observation would eventually become the foundation of his practice.

Mauro earned his degree in finance from Concordia University in Montreal and graduated into a difficult job market. “After a brief stint with a foreign bank in Montreal, I decided it wasn’t where I saw my future. Financial services was really where my interests lived,” he says.

In 1995, Mauro started his career with Primerica, first in insurance and then in investments, before moving through a couple of smaller dealers. “At the time, the industry was crowded with small firms, some of them ‘here today, gone tomorrow’,” he says. In 2006, Mauro made the move that would anchor the next 20 years of his career, joining Investia Financial Services.

“I needed a reputable name that’s recognizable,” says Mauro. “It’s a large organization, and visible.” Investia also gave him the technology and tools to grow. Over the years, he built his book both through new relationships and by buying into existing practices. Today he works alongside two partners, serving individuals, families and small businesses across investments, insurance, financial planning and group insurance.

“I have clients who have stayed with me for 30 years. I make myself easily available and I listen to my clients, and reassure them,” he says. When Mauro takes on a new client, he says often the first question they ask is about access: ‘Will you make time for me, or will I be pushed off to an email?’ “People still like the human touch.”

And conversations often don’t stay in the investment lane with Mauro. Clients call him about buying versus leasing a car, about a property purchase, or for a referral to an accountant, lawyer or notary in his network. “People want more than just wealth management,” he says. “They want somebody they can talk to and trust.”

Helping clients stay on track

When Mauro began his career, the internet wasn’t part of the conversation. Clients came in wanting to open an RRSP, and that was often the whole discussion. Now, many arrive having already researched their own solution, and artificial intelligence is accelerating that shift. “We’re going to have more and more information at our fingertips,” he says. “Is it necessarily better? It depends.”

Mauro describes his value in three steps: Redefine, Refine, and Execute. Redefining means making sure clients understand what they are actually looking at. He offers the example of a client who brings in a financial plan generated online. “I say, that’s fine, but did you tell them you live in Quebec?” Quebec has the highest top provincial income tax rate in the country, and residents file a separate provincial return. “It changes everything,” he says.

The same goes for registered accounts. Since the First Home Savings Account launched in April 2023, eligible first-time buyers have been able to contribute up to $8,000 a year, to a lifetime maximum of $40,000, combining features of the RRSP and the TFSA. But Mauro finds many clients skim the rules rather than read them closely. Some don’t realize that money withdrawn from a TFSA can be re-contributed, starting the following calendar year. Others are saving for a house without using the account correctly. When a client tells him these accounts don’t make money, he has a ready answer. “It’s because you didn’t buy the right stuff.”

Refining means putting the right plan in place for the right outcome and execution is where the work is ongoing: buying the insurance, completing the plan, purchasing and reviewing the investments, and adjusting as life changes. A new baby or an additional mortgage means revisiting coverage. An estate plan isn’t complete until the will and mandate are done. “You want to cover all your bases,” he says. “But you’ve got to ask the right questions.”

Asking the hard questions

In retirement planning, the question that stops people cold is how much they need each month to live. Some clients never give him an answer because they have never sat down to examine their current spending habits. “The common assumption that spending drops in retirement often doesn’t hold,” says Mauro. “Some people spend more. If you didn’t have hobbies before, you’re going to have to find hobbies now.” He now sees more clients working past 65, not always out of necessity, but because they aren’t sure what else to do.

The financial lives of his clients have also grown more complicated. Taxes are higher, many clients are helping their children and grandchildren, and blended and single-parent families are more common. Debt levels, he says, are unlike anything he saw 30 years ago, driven by housing, car leases and even vacations bought on credit. “They just don’t realize what the consequences are down the road,” he says. “We’re more educated today, but are we street smart?”

Business owners face their own version of that blind spot. Mauro counts them among his ideal clients, alongside working families, because their needs are so often unexplored. “They’re working in their business when they should be working on their business,” he says. “They don’t see their business as a valuable asset that needs to be protected.” His advice is direct. “Hire the right accountant, the right lawyer, make the hard decisions, and the rest will follow. It’s something you should protect and be proud of.”

The next generation

At 55, Mauro has begun planning for the future of the practice, and his son Diego Di Cesare has joined him. The timing reflects a shift in his client base. Younger clients are coming in, and many see Mauro as a parent figure. With Diego, they find someone who relates to where they are, something Mauro remembers facing himself as a young Advisor. Diego now works with many of the practice’s younger clients and brings fresh ideas to presentations and investments. “He’s quicker with technology,” he laughs.

Mauro hopes his story encourages more young people to consider the profession. Few do, he believes, because it demands a significant investment of time and commitment. But the return is real. “It’s a great industry. It’s rewarding,” he says. “My clients of 30 years ago had kids. The kids became my clients. Now they’re having kids of their own. You see the evolution of life in this work and it’s very gratifying.”

It is, in its way, the lesson his father brought with him at age 13 to Canada. Knowledge and patience are investments, and over time they bear fruit, for one family and, in Mauro’s case, for many.