Independent Insolvency Advisory

by Jeffrey S. Graham, Tyler Hodgson and Gar Knutson of Borden Ladner Gervais LLP

Toronto is the financial services capital of Canada and one of North America’s premier financial centres. One of the most rapidly growing segments of the international financial services sector is Islamic finance. Recognizing this trend, a number of other financial centres are positioning themselves as global centres for Islamic Finance, including London, England, Dubai, UAE, Bahrain and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The City of Toronto and its financial cluster developed a unique public-private partnership called the Toronto Financial Services Alliance (TFSA). The mandate of TFSA is to enhance and promote the competitiveness of Toronto as a premier international financial centre. One of the ways to do this is to build leading hubs of expertise in defined areas. With a prominent and growing Canadian Muslim community and strong and innovative financial sector, there is every reason to believe that Toronto could emerge as a North American centre for Islamic finance. Exploring the opportunities that exist in this developing segment is consistent with the TFSA’s mandate and in 2009 the TFSA created an Islamic Finance Working Group (IFWG).

Recently the IFWG delivered to the TFSA its initial report entitled Making Toronto the North American Centre for Islamic Finance: Challenges and Opportunities. The report provides an overview of Islamic finance activity in Toronto and Canada, identifies tax, regulatory and legal issues that need to be addressed to ensure the growth of Islamic finance in Toronto and Canada. In addition, the report proposes a series of next steps:

• helping members of the Islamic community to network within the conventional Canadian financial system;
• clarifying the regulatory environment relevant to products and services compliant with Islamic commercial law;
• working with the new Centre of Excellence in Financial Services Education to build linkages with other countries where Islamic Finance is well established to facilitate in Toronto educational and awareness building initiatives;
• partnering with Canadian governments to increase the level of foreign direct investment from the Gulf region;
• a series of technical working papers are proposed on the following topics: Education, Retail Markets and Sukuks (Corporate and Sovereign).

by Kristen Luke

Many solo practitioners find themselves in a difficult quandary – they need to market their businesses, but they don’t have budget to do so. Instead of finding ways to market on a dime, they will throw up their hands and just hope that business will magically appear. What they don’t know is that an effective marketing plan doesn’t necessarily require deep pockets. Some of the most successful marketers spend very little money on marketing but instead spend significant time on building relationships and educating their audience. For those advisors who don’t have money to spend on marketing, here are five suggestions on what you can do to market your business.

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In which we’re reminded of the value of periodically reviewing our clients and accounts.     

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In the old days, West Concord Village was called “the Junction” because four rail lines intersected here. The one remaining line now carries commuter rail traffic from Fitchburg inbound to Boston and from Boston outbound to Fitchburg, stopping at the West Concord station, 100 yards down the tracks that run close behind Clarity’s offices.   
 
Eager for an afternoon stroll and a bite of something tasty from a store on the other side of the tracks, I ambled down the path from our offices toward the rail crossing at the train station, tracks to my immediate left, cell phone to my left ear, talking to a colleague, watching the commuter train from Boston coming toward me into the West Concord station.
 
As commuters poured from the rumbling and now motionless outbound train, I reached the rail crossing. Road and sidewalk barriers were down, stopping automobile and pedestrian traffic, but the train had stopped short of them to my right.  The coast was clear! My goodies awaited me, a mere 30 yards across the tracks.
 
Still engaged in my cell phone conversation, I turned left around the pedestrian barrier to cross the tracks and …. BOOP – BOOP – BOOP … a train horn from my left!! Startled, I snapped my head to my left,  and spotted the inbound train from Fitchburg three heart-beats away, rolling directly at me. My left foot was 3 feet from the tracks.

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In which we emphasize the importance of articulating the value of a solution before we introduce the idea of the solution.    

One of my friends is a senior engineer for a computer company. His team makes VERY snappy gear. He once said to me: “When introducing a computer command, a computer language feature, or a piece of computer hardware to someone, we find the conversation goes better if we first describe the problem it was designed to solve.”
 
Sales translation: “When introducing our product or services to clients or prospects, conversations go better if we first describe the dollar or time magnitude of the problem we are trying to solve, and then describe the dollar or time benefit of our product or service, then describe the solution.”   So: Problem, benefit, solution.  PBS.

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In which we are reminded that people frequently make decisions, first, based on feelings, then based on facts.    

During a heated discussion recently, one of our colleagues growled, ”Facts don’t count.”  At the time, I thought, “What an IDIOT!  Of COURSE facts count. This is a BUSINESS we’re talking about.”   But… what if facts DON’T count as much any more? What would that mean for how we sell?
 
It’s what another friend refers to as “the Mary Kay” effect (as in Mary Kay cosmetics). Features and benefits are replaced by feelings and anecdotes.

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