Aspire Spring 2021
Tina Chow is a natural people person. Take this example: She was recognised as a “Hero of the Flood” by the provincial government after parts of her native Calgary, Alberta, were swamped in 2013. When asked about it, she seemed to suggest that the honour was no big thing, recognition for actions anybody would have taken.
In her professional life, Chow – a senior vice president and portfolio manager with Raymond James Ltd. – helps people handle the ups and downs of life to achieve their financial goals. Outside of her career, she does much the same.
“I watched the flood devastate all the homes I grew up spending time in as a teenager,” she said of the disaster. As others descended on the valley to gawk and take photos, “I was devastated. Some people didn’t understand; they didn’t live close to the floods. I saw the parents of the people I grew up with dealing with ruin of their homes. … People lost everything, and you’d see all their keepsakes and kids’ clothes out on the lawn.”
So she quickly collected donations of cleaning supplies, sandwiches and bottles of water and drove down the streets asking people what they needed. She knows a lot of people as a lifelong resident of the city, as a successful wealth manager and as a former general manager and bartender of various popular night clubs, and soon others were contacting her as the hub of an informal community response to the disaster.
“People would call and say, ‘I have a group of five, where do I go?’” Chow said. “Then it became 10, 20, 30.” Chow’s personal Facebook page became an organising centre for connecting help with need.
Chow said she often finds herself in the middle of it – whatever the moment’s “it” happens to be.
Another example: During the pandemic, a Facebook page she created to review items and share the dealings of the local Costco – a special place to her and clearly many others – has grown into something else entirely with more than 25,000 group members. It has become an avenue for good news and community-mindedness that has flourished with her encouragement of sharing and kindness, and has become a rallying point for service to others. Little ideas seem to snowball into meaningful actions.
Bags of gourmet popcorn given to her by a friend to raise her spirits soon became the kernel of an advent calendar giveaway and donation drive. Together, the group collected over $5,000 for a food bank, over 2,100 toys in a toy drive and $10,000 for the Ronald McDonald House, among other charitable beneficiaries.
“Again, that was kind of an accident,” she said.
She can’t help it – it’s who she is.
Chow describes herself as a connector between people. It’s part of what drew her wealth management as a career over 25 years ago.
“We’re very client-centric rather than market-centric first,” she said. “The way I work with clients is very, ‘How can I help? How can I be the centre of influence to coordinate your lawyer, your accountant and your family?’ The clients drive the direction, they drive us with their dreams and goals and we help them build to get there.”
New client meetings often start with a whiteboard. The client shares their situation and Chow lays it all out for them to see, showing them how their income, investments and the unique contours of their lives and their dreams fit together. For clients who previously had a wealth manager who worked entirely as a stock picker, it can be a revelation – and an opportunity to bring in the rest of the family.
“I love my relationships with clients,” she added, “and seeing what’s happening in their lives. It goes back to helping people.”
An older client talked about wanting an Instant Pot – a pressure cooker with the ease of a rice cooker – so Chow made it happen when they were sold out. Early in the pandemic when another client was looking for hand sanitiser, Chow also came through. Little things help demonstrate the big differences between her approach and others’.
She also has a depth of experience that helps her clients give back. Her extensive work with non-profits in her personal life adds weight to her advice about clients’ philanthropic endeavours.
I love my relationships with clients and seeing what’s happening in their lives. It goes back to helping people
When asked if her own work in the community is good for her business, Chow said it has given her perspective, but that the two are purposely kept apart.
“That isn’t the purpose of me being there helping, it’s not for branding or marketing. It’s personal. If business comes out of it, great, but I have a passion for helping and it means a lot,” she said. “I’m aggressive in my business but I’ve kind of put a line there.”
Instead, Chow has found more novel ways to literally broadcast her name.
Early in her career she got the idea to give economic updates on A-Channel, so she pitched the idea to a television executive. The executive, “one she has always considered an amazing mentor,” Chow said, gave the two 20-year-olds, Chow and her then-partner, a shot. It was a success.
Later, Chow built on that experience to give economic updates, three a day, over CBC Radio.
“If I’ve wanted something, I’ve just gone for it,” she said. She and her sister, Catherine, are a lot alike in that way, and many others.
“We joke and say we’re the Chowdashians.”
It came as a surprise when somebody first referred to Chow as a mentor. It was from a director of the local chapter of a charity where she has dedicated much of her time. Sure, she credits the mentors in her life with guidance and advice, and she’s always been open about her challenges and lessons learned. But a mentor?
She’s decided to embrace it.
Mentoring goes beyond formal programs and established mentor-mentee relationships, she said, though she has participated in those as well. The right push or the right encouragement can empower someone to set aside their self-questioning and pursue their ambitions. That kind of encouragement got her to attend a conference for portfolio managers, setting her on a path to achieving both the Chartered Investment Manager certification and becoming a Fellow of CSI.
But there’s no golden ticket to give a mentee. Instead, be an example, be generous with your time and foster relationships, she said. Ultimately, there is no replacement for drive.
“I’ve had a couple young women I’ve mentored through a program,” she said. “They knew what they wanted, they knew what they wanted from me, and my goal was to basically tell them to go for it.”
“Go for it” could be Chow’s personal motto, in business and in life. In addition to earning her Chartered Investment Manager certification and becoming a Fellow of CSI in record time, she was also in the firm’s top 40 producers in 2020. She is licensed as a cross-border wealth manager and also works with U.S.-based clients.
For her professional accomplishments and philanthropic initiatives, Chow was named a Woman of Distinction by the Raymond James Women Canadian Advisors Network at the 26th annual Raymond James Women Financial Advisors Network symposium in 2020. Recipients are nominated by the firm’s top leaders.
A brief primer on her achievements includes helping raise over $750,000 for the Ronald McDonald House, a charity close to her heart, as a co-chair and co-sponsor of the Taste of Home Gala.
She is also on the Libin Cardiovascular Institute’s CV&Me committee, which advocates for women’s heart health, and was on the Fashion Forward Committee supporting HomeFront, a non-profit working to reduce domestic violence in Calgary. Showing her commitment to her causes, she also rappelled off a downtown hotel to raise funds for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
She has also been a member of the Raymond James Canada Foundation Advisory Committee and the Raymond James Women’s Advisory Council for Canada, which develops and advances programming to support women’s professional development.
Chow’s name is etched in stone at the Calgary Stampede – the cultural heart of the city and one of Canada’s largest celebrations – a physical testament to her contributions as a volunteer. It is far from being the only mark she has made on her community. The others, though less tangible, are no less indelible than the ones she has made in the many lives she has touched.
If I’ve wanted something, I’ve just gone for it
Black MondayOn 19 October 1987, the stock markets experienced a dramatic plunge that prompted many firms to shut down their trading desks and turn off their phones to minimize internal losses. Raymond James refused to do the same. Our desks stayed open to help meet clients’ needs, resulting in our first and only unprofitable quarter since the firm went public in 1983. |
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Who was Raymond James?The Raymond in our name is actually from Edward Raymond, owner of a 15-employee mutual fund sales group, Raymond and Associates, along Florida’s west coast. He sold his company to Bob James on 15 July 1964, on condition that the surviving firm be called Raymond, James & Associates. Three days after the sale, Ed Raymond was involved in a near-fatal automobile accident and never joined the firm. Nonetheless, even after Raymond had passed away, Bob James insisted that his name remain on the door – ahead of James’ own. That was a promise he made to Ed Raymond three days before the accident, and Bob James was a man who kept his promises. |
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Bear Market of 1974The severe bear market of 1974 threatened the existence of Raymond James, which was bleeding capital by the day. Tom James, his father and other leaders took extreme measures to keep the firm afloat, slashing costs, foregoing paychecks and even attempting to sell the firm for just enough capital to protect client assets and retain as many associates as possible. The story could have ended very differently if not for a sharp upturn and continued rebound in the stock markets late in the year. |
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Taking Raymond James PublicWhen consideration was being given to taking Raymond James public, Tom James penned a letter to shareholders (largely employees at the time). ” … the public offering should be considered as a statement of our independence. While this is a psychological rather than an economic rationale, it is nonetheless very important. We have asserted for some time that we are not interested in becoming a small part of a very large corporation. That assertion results mainly from the inclinations of management rather than the economic benefits associated with either alternative. The public stock offering affords us the opportunity to enjoy a little bit of the best of both worlds. While shareholders will be given liquidity at fair market value, we will still have the ability to control our own destiny.” After 40+ years of Tom’s leadership, upon becoming CEO, Paul Reilly was often questioned about whether the company might ultimately surrender its cherished independence and be acquired by some larger entity. His response: “Not while I’m around.” It’s a theme that continues today. |
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