CARYN MAXWELL-SMITH VP of business development Dynamic Funds
Designations and certifications (the subject of this month’s cover story) are becoming ever more important for financial professionals – and that includes BDMs and wholesalers, too. In the six years she’s been with Dynamic Funds, Caryn MaxwellSmith has clearly excelled in boosting the Dynamic brand across Canada. Regardless, she decided that continued education was necessary for her to provide the kind of service Dynamic has built its reputation upon. “There has to be a real focus on understanding a client’s business model,” she says. “On a personal level, I have decided to pursue my MBA as a way to round out my business experience. I have been working in mutual fund sales since 2000, so I chose the MBA as a way to broaden my exposure in other areas.” Starting her career with IA Clarington, Maxwell-Smith moved to Dynamic Funds as a sales representative in 2005 before
becoming VP of business development in 2010. “I lead a small team, and we represent Dynamic Funds to advisors in the Oakville, Burlington and Guelph area,” she says. “Our job is to understand each advisor’s business model and find relevant solutions that fit. The challenge there is that everyone’s business model is different, so it requires wholesalers to be quite flexible and knowledgeable about their businesses.” Given the rapid pace of change in today’s wealth manage ment industry, Maxwell-Smith sees the key to success as having products that investors truly value. “What we see are that more advisors are focused on a feebased platform, and many are becoming portfolio manager licensed,” she says. “Their focus is high-quality investments at a lower cost and being able to provide something different and unique to their clients.”
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