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By Michael Walker, Royal Mutual Funds Inc.
Special to the Financial Independence Hub
In today’s digital world, we haven’t forgotten the importance of ‘old school’ methods to help people keep on top of their finances. Every November, as part of National Financial Literacy month, financial planners across the country talk to Canadians about the importance of having a plan in place to guide their financial future; one that takes into account the unexpected and which can be adjusted as lives change. You can make a plan on a pad of paper, you can create it on your laptop, your tablet or your mobile device. The important thing is to set it down so you can review it and make adjustments as your life changes.
What’s proving to be a real game-changer, however, is the access Canadians now have to financial advice through digital channels: particularly now, when economic uncertainty due to COVID-19 has many Canadians asking what lies ahead for their financial future.
Canadians who have seen their savings and investments negatively impacted by the pandemic have been seeking reassurance about what lies ahead for their financial future. They want to know how their retirement plans have been affected; will they need to work longer than expected? How can they rebuild their ‘just in case’ fund? Will they still be able to contribute to RESPs for their children or their grandchildren?
Increasingly, as physical distancing has meant Canadians are unable to meet in person with their financial advisors, we’re seeing Canadians turn to digital means to get answers to their financial questions. We already had well-established digital channels at RBC providing digitized advice and insights in place ahead of the arrival of the pandemic. When the number of clients seeking digital advice surged, we were able to quickly respond to their needs and not only provide digitized advice, but also connect clients remotely to our advisors.
Free digital advice accessed 24/7 from home or office
MyAdvisor – only available at RBC – is a key example. This free digitized advice service helps clients create a personalized plan online and provides access to the expertise of our advisors – all from the comfort of their homes and workspaces. Clients can readily view a complete picture of their financial accounts – even those held at other banks – on interactive screens. They have real-time, 24/7 access to their personalized plan through MyAdvisor’s digital dashboard and can see the impact of their money decisions before they make them. They also can get the advice they need, when they need it, by connecting with one of our advisors in their local community through live video, phone and, where possible, in person.
To give you an idea of how many Canadians are now seeking digitized advice supported by the expertise of our advisors, there are now over two million clients connected through MyAdvisor: twice the number as last year. Between April and September of this year, the number of clients logging in increased 21% and video appointments jumped to 20% from 2%. During that same timeframe we also saw a huge increase – 80% – in completed appointments, where clients went beyond logging in to look at their financial picture; they booked appointments and then met with our advisors.
Let me share some other numbers with you that we’re finding significant for another of our digital services and products, NOMI. NOMI (short for Know Me, Know My Finances) uses predictive technology to analyze current and past financial behavior to provide personalized insights to help clients manage their everyday finances.
NOMI has created 1.5 million budgets
To date:
- NOMI Budgets has helped clients set approximately 1.5 million budgets
- Clients have received and read more than one billion NOMI insights, with timely and personalized trends, alerts and overviews
- NOMI Find & Save has helped clients find and save around $310 a month they didn’t expect to save – money they can access at any time to use for whatever matters to them.
While no one could have predicted this pandemic, we know from the millions of clients who bank and invest with us that a good plan provides confidence so you can weather any storm. It gives you a roadmap that you can reset and adapt in response to any detours you may encounter along the way. When you’re connected to your plan digitally, you have the added flexibility of immediate access, to readily see how the actions you take today can help secure the finances you have in place tomorrow, whatever the future brings.
Michael Walker is president of Royal Mutual Funds Inc. and Vice President and Head, Mutual Funds Distribution & RBC Financial Planning. He has over 30 years of financial services and investment experience. He joined RBC in 1989 and has held various roles within the member companies, including field, regional and head office roles with Royal Bank, RBC Asset Management, RBC Dominion Securities and Royal Trust. Michael has bottom-line accountability for RBC’s retail mutual fund distribution business and is responsible for RBC’s Retail & Group Savings Registered Plans. In addition, Michael has accountability for RBC Financial Planning with over 2,500 mobile and branch-based Financial Planners, RBC’s Group Savings & Workplace Strategy, and RBC’s MyAdvisor.
