Feature -- by Mark Sproxton

Stocks. Bonds. Life insurance. Mutual Funds. Pensions. Bank accounts. Taxes. All complex topics, each requiring careful analysis and explanation. For many, these subjects are too complex to understand fully. For others, such as financial advisors and investment advisors (stockbrokers), they are facts of life and tools used to help others manage and make money.

Daily, Bashar Kamel, an investment advisor with Acumen Capital Finance Partners Ltd., and Julien Baylis, a financial advisor with J. Baylis & Associates, use these tools to help their clients try and achieve pre-determined financial goals. While the advisors' end-goals are similar, their methods of operating differ.

Kamel spends the majority of his time either on the phone talking with clients or on the computer keeping up to date on securities (bonds and stocks). He provides investment advice and recommends the purchase or sale of various securities.

"It's constant communique," he said. "I have specific stock tracked and follow money going in and out. In the day, your job is to make money, do customer service and recruit new clients. I do a lot of meetings on the weekends because I find that more relaxing. You're at a high pace."

Baylis, on the other hand, spends more of his time meeting one-on-one with clients, although the phone is another important tool to confirm appointments and keep people up-to-date of any scheduling changes. He helps clients prepare for growing old, getting sick or injured, and premature death by reviewing their net worth, financial resources, the kind of lifestyle they want to live and recommends how to achieve those goals.

"In the morning, I'll confirm appointments, check in with the office and check for mail and changes for the week," he explained. "I'll return any necessary phone calls and spend the rest of the day meeting with people and completing paper work. A lot of people need to meet in the evenings because they work all day."

Both work on commission so they have some control over how much they work, although Kamel is employed by Acumen, while Baylis owns his own company. "You never stop working," said Kamel. "The more you work, the more you make, so it's in your best interest." Baylis holds a similar view. "If I want to work two days a week I can, but you're never guaranteed a paycheque," he said. "It's continual planning."

Speaking with the advisors, their passion for the career flows everywhere. It's not surprising to learn that Kamel long had an interest in the stock market before he completed a bachelor degree at the University of Calgary. "I have traded stocks since I was a young man," he said. Prior to taking his current position, Kamel worked at a discount brokerage (where no investment advice is offered) and also completed industry training to meet licensing requirements for an investment advisor.

Baylis also knew he wanted to get into the financial advising field, but it took him a bit longer to find the match. "In the back of my mind I always knew it, but I didn't know how to be one," he said. It wasn't until after completing a bachelor degree in math and working as an analyst for an insurance company did he find his calling. He too required industry training to receive the financial advisor designation.

Now, both thoroughly enjoy their work, although the jobs do come with some stressors. "I like to help people," Kamel said. "But it's a very stressful job. You've got to be able to handle high volatility and high stress. You have a lot of people's lives in your hands with respect to their ability to retire." Baylis also enjoys working with people and helping them invest wisely. But when it comes to down-time he's somewhat bound. "If I go on holidays for three weeks, I have to slow down for one week before, then have three off, and take two weeks to get it going again."

While long days are common, neither has a fixed schedule, and neither works nearly as much as when they began. "It's hard work to get clients," Kamel said, adding he still spends about 30 per cent of his time seeking new clients. "It takes four to five years to build yourself where you don't make very much. You have to be an aggressive thinker. It's an aggressive world. The market is absolutely dynamic and you have to have a broad spectrum of knowledge."

Financial advisors also have the opportunity to see big returns, after a few years of hard work, Baylis said. "You've got to be multi-talented. In the beginning, you've got to put in 14 to 16 hour days. Eighty per cent (of advisors) don't survive four years. The preconception with this business is you've got to be technical. I know a lot of people who are successful who can't add two numbers together. What's more important is the social and personal skills."

Neither sees changes in technology and investing tools as a threat to careers of those looking to enter the advisor fields. "There will always be a percentage of the market that needs to buy expertise to handle their money," Kamel said. Baylis added: "It's growing rapidly. There's definitely room for people to come in."