Wealth Advisor at Aethalon | iA Private Wealth Inc.

In 2019, Lynn Wang, CFA, CAIA, CFP®, TEP, CLU, FRM, took a major career risk: she left her corporate position for self-employment at iA Private Wealth Inc., launching her own wealth management brand, Aethalon. While it may seem a bold move, Wang had a plan (she always has a plan!), and she also had support from the CFA Society Toronto community.

Wang first became engaged with CFA Society Toronto in 2018, when she participated in the mentorship program. Along with the many other benefits, Wang found her mentor’s insights instrumental to her career growth, especially when it came to her major entrepreneurial shift.

Wang’s financial career started with an operational role at Citi in 2013, before she took a position at CPP Investments in 2014, where she spent four years in four different roles. Throughout this period, she worked toward earning her CFA charter, becoming a charterholder in 2017.

Her passion for investing was inspired by reading private investment memos at CPP Investments, and when an opportunity to join the investment strategy team at TD showed up, she took it. It was here that Wang learned about CFA Society Toronto and joined the mentorship program, which sparked the next phase of her inspirational career journey.

We caught up with Wang to learn more about how she’s building her own brand and engaging women, plus the next generation, along the way. She also shares the pivotal role the Society has played throughout her journey and her advice for those looking to build their own successful futures in the finance industry.

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Why did you decide to make the major leap of building your own brand, and what challenges have you faced?

While I was at TD, I applied for CFA Society Toronto’s mentorship program and got one of my best mentors, Jamie O’Reilly, who is a past program participant. He is a senior executive at a bank and helped me discover my true passion: empowerment. I realized I never felt particularly happy with my own achievements, but when I was able to empower others to achieve, I felt fulfilled and satisfied.

This helped me decide to leave corporate and become self-employed in private wealth management. This was not an easy decision and surprised many people in my circle. Next, I established my brand and team.

My goal was also to help empower women in the industry. Women are severely under-represented in the asset and wealth management industry. I was on the Employment Equity Committee at CPP Investments and had first-hand exposure to it. Today I see the shift in my industry happening. One trend is that it’s becoming more relationship-based than transaction-based, and I believe women can excel in relationship-based roles.

I established my own brand so that female advisors who want to join an existing team have the option to work within a female-led environment.

What are the challenges and rewards of building your own business?

It was very challenging at the beginning, and I spent a lot of time, almost a year, doing my due diligence to understand the industry. In the first five years of my career, I constantly looked for challenges and opportunities to broaden my experience and knowledge and switched jobs quite a few times, but now I’ve been here for more than seven years. So that shows you I do love this career. It’s hard, especially at the beginning, to build your own business, because I didn’t acquire anyone’s book – I literally acquired each client one by one. Initially, it was a very slow process. But the rewards have been worth the challenges and patience.

This career suits me perfectly in many ways. Professionally, I enjoy reading, analyzing and investing. Even if I retired today, I would do the same thing: reading, analyzing and investing. On a personal level, I enjoy earning people’s trust. Charlie Munger believed, “There is huge pleasure in life to be obtained from getting deserved trust.” I couldn’t agree more. It’s also a huge responsibility, which motivates me to become better. I can empower clients in many aspects of their lives, and I see the results directly. Supporting clients to achieve their goals has become my goal, and it is the most rewarding and fulfilling thing for me.

With this empowerment goal in mind, can you please provide an example of how you helped one of your clients solve a problem?

My goal and style are to provide clients with empowerment at the exact moments they need it most, without them asking for it, and then step back behind the scenes when things are working well for them.

One example involves a client near retirement who suffered a great deal of stress at work, which started to take a toll on her. We ran a comprehensive retirement plan, which showed she had built a large enough nest egg to retire early. I encouraged her to take her overall well-being into consideration when envisioning the life she wanted to enjoy during retirement, reassuring her I would be there to assist her financially. She wanted to work for a couple more years but eventually decided to take a short-term leave to recharge.

Before the client returned to work, she showed a lot of trepidation during a regular update call. I could tell she needed more than a phone conversation, so I planned a lunch visit to reassure her, both emotionally and financially, so that she knew that returning to work was optional and she had the choice to retire early comfortably. The meeting went well, and she became much more confident about the future.

Where have you focused your CFA Society Toronto volunteer efforts since your early experience with the mentorship program?

I started as a project volunteer and in the mentorship program. I benefited so much and I felt obligated to give back to the community. When an opportunity in the University Relations Committee came up, I applied immediately and was lucky to be admitted. I have been to almost all campuses representing CFA Society Toronto. It was a great experience. I signed up for most committee work and won the Spirit Award once. I am now vice-chair of the Next Gen Steering Committee and have moved to a more strategic role. I still sign up for outreach activities, but I like to give opportunities to newer committee members who want to participate more. I was also a mentor with the mentorship program for a few years.

What has resonated with you most throughout your experience with the Society?

All the people I’ve met at the Society always look for challenges, seek new initiatives, learn from each other and try to improve. I like to be surrounded by people like that. I love to hear their stories, and it motivates me to do better and stay competitive in the market. You never know what you will do in 10 years. I love my work, and I am not worried that I will become obsolete someday, because I have a great capacity to learn and a strong network to support me along the way.

I came to CFA Society Toronto not for business value, but for intellectual and emotional value, and most importantly, I found my company of lifelong learning in this journey.

Your career journey has taken many twists and turns. What would you say is the most valuable lesson you learned in this field along the way?

Empathy and humility. Different from my previous corporate jobs, this career provides me with a more comprehensive understanding of different walks of life. It makes me realize that I am privileged in many ways, including my education and training in business and finance. I have had the opportunity to work at some of the best financial firms and to volunteer and give back alongside an exceptional group of people. Clients who have experienced many challenges in life, survived and thrived really inspire me and motivate me to be a better version of myself. Extraordinary stories in ordinary lives are the most valuable experience in this work.

What advice do you have for those who are new to the industry, or the Society?

CFA Society Toronto is the best source of insights and connections in the finance industry. I encourage people to consider networking a second job and continue doing it regardless of whether you need to find your next job. This is especially important for young people. Sometimes the biggest benefits don’t show up immediately, but in the distant future. In the age of AI, what can’t be replaced are your network and connections, and the insights and information that are exchanged offline.

Disclaimer: The information has been shared by Lynn Wang, who is a Wealth Advisor at Aethalon | iA Private Wealth Inc. Opinions expressed are those of the wealth advisor only and do not necessarily reflect those of iA Private Wealth Inc. iA Private Wealth Inc. is a member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund and the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization. iA Private Wealth is a trademark and a business name under which iA Private Wealth Inc. operates.

This interview was edited for length and clarity.

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Written by

Lauren Huneault is a content and marketing professional with 15 years of experience in content creation and strategy. Lauren has spent the last 14 years focused on producing relevant educational content to help aspiring and current business owners successfully navigate the challenges of the Canadian business landscape. She has served as writer and editor of trade publications including Your Convenience Manager, Octane and Franchise Canada.