{"id":759117,"date":"2026-06-25T10:08:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T10:08:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/759117\/"},"modified":"2026-06-25T10:08:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T10:08:09","slug":"this-advisor-wanted-to-be-an-rcmp-officer-until-two-finance-books-changed-his-career-trajectory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/759117\/","title":{"rendered":"This advisor wanted to be an RCMP officer until two finance books changed his career trajectory"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Travis Koivula of Aviso Wealth in Victoria, says other advisors should invest in industry training and outwork everyone else in the office to get ahead.Supplied<\/p>\n

In the Behind the Advice series<\/a>, Globe Advisor asks advisors about their relationship with money from a young age, lessons learned over the years and how their experiences influence the advice they give clients. Season 4 of the Behind the Advice podcast is now available. You can find episodes here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Travis Koivula, senior wealth advisor at Island Savings Wealth Management and portfolio manager with Aviso Wealth in Victoria, talks about his money anxiety growing up, his short-lived period as a landlord and why he thinks Ted Lasso would make a great advisor.<\/p>\n

Describe your upbringing and how it shaped your money values.<\/p>\n

I was born and raised in Kamloops, B.C. My dad fixed air compressors and my mom was a teller at the local bank. <\/p>\n

My dad had quite a hard upbringing, which I think gave me some money anxiety growing up. He was one of four kids raised by a single mom and money was very tight. It shaped his view on money. He often worried it would run out or there would never be enough. <\/p>\n

Growing up, we had two deep freezers full of food and shelves of canned fruits and vegetables. I realized later that my dad grew up hungry and having all that food was how he ensured it would never happen again. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Describe your first money lesson.<\/p>\n

I mowed the neighbour\u2019s lawn and was excited to go to the corner store to buy some O-Pee-Chee hockey cards. My parents said I could only spend half the money and the rest would go into long-term savings. It was frustrating at the time. What I didn\u2019t know was that my mom was investing those funds for me into Canada Savings Bonds. <\/p>\n

When I started university, I had a sizeable amount of money to cover unexpected costs. It taught me about the power of delayed gratification and the importance of being prudent with money. <\/p>\n

What early life experience impacts how you work with clients?<\/p>\n

As a teenager, I remember coming home from a basketball practice and finding out my dad had lost his job. My parents had savings and didn\u2019t have a mortgage at the time. They modified their spending and made changes, but were ultimately fine. <\/p>\n

I stress the importance of taking control of your future, especially if you\u2019re approaching retirement age. If a company lays you off or if you have a health problem, you\u2019re in a position where you can retire. <\/p>\n

What did you want to be growing up and how did you get into financial services?<\/p>\n

In elementary school, I thought I wanted to be an RCMP officer like my cousin. While studying engineering at the University of Victoria, I read Peter Lynch\u2019s One Up on Wall Street and Roger Lowenstein\u2019s Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist, and I knew that\u2019s what I was called to do. I switched fields and started working in finance. <\/p>\n

My first job involved knocking on people\u2019s doors to see if they were happy with their advisors and if I could help them with their investments. I wasn\u2019t good at it, and after a couple of years of limited success, I realized that helping people make better financial decisions through investing and planning at Island Savings was my ideal fit.<\/p>\n

What is the biggest money mistake you\u2019ve made and what did you learn from it?<\/p>\n

In 2020, when interest rates were at an all-time low, I decided to buy a rental building. It was the worst decision of my life. My wife and I spent an enormous amount of time doing repairs, renovations and tenant management. We also had a lot of extra stress, and calls would come in at the worst times. <\/p>\n

While I was able to sell it for a profit last year, had I invested that money in the markets instead, I would have made three times as much, had zero stress and paid less in taxes. <\/p>\n

What\u2019s the single most important move you made to build your business?<\/p>\n

Investing in myself. Each year, I spend a percentage of my income on industry training and courses. It has given me an edge that has compounded over time. It also gave me the confidence to write a book, called The Slow Cooker Investor, which is expected to be released later this year or early next year.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the best piece of advice you\u2019ve received in your career to date?<\/p>\n

Never let a short-term decision ruin a long-term career. A reputation takes a lifetime to create and a moment to destroy. I\u2019ve watched advisors chase a quick win \u2013 more money, more clients, fewer scruples \u2013 and it always catches up with them. <\/p>\n

What advice do you have for someone who wants to do what you do?<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t do what I did: going door-to-door to find clients. It\u2019s a hard road with a low probability of success. Be an assistant or associate to an established advisor; you get to experience working with clients. <\/p>\n

Also, try to outwork everyone else in the office; take on new tasks and expand your learning. The harder you work, the more you will be rewarded in this industry. <\/p>\n

Which famous person or fictional character would make a great advisor and why?<\/p>\n

Ted Lasso, from the TV series of the same name, would be a great financial advisor in my opinion. He\u2019s an inspirational leader who believes in putting people before numbers. <\/p>\n

When speaking to his team, he asks unique questions that others aren\u2019t thinking of, which helps discover hidden values and biases. Also, in a crisis, he keeps himself and others calm.<\/p>\n

This interview has been edited and condensed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Travis Koivula of Aviso Wealth in Victoria, says other advisors should invest in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":759118,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[91615,21366,64,63,94168,99,186,61229,21363,340886,184,185],"class_list":["post-759117","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-personal-finance","tag-advisor-noregwall","tag-appwebview","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-behindtheadvice","tag-business","tag-finance","tag-globe-advisor","tag-noastack","tag-ordid3934493655edit","tag-personal-finance","tag-personalfinance"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/759117","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=759117"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/759117\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/759118"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=759117"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=759117"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=759117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}