{"id":424593,"date":"2026-01-21T23:16:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T23:16:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/424593\/"},"modified":"2026-01-21T23:16:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T23:16:14","slug":"playing-the-long-game-this-advisor-turned-a-summer-internship-into-a-book-of-wealthy-clients","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/424593\/","title":{"rendered":"Playing the long game, this advisor turned a summer internship into a book of wealthy clients"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

Olivier Brasseur of KHB Capital at CI Assante Wealth Management in Montreal.Supplied<\/p>\n

In Buy the Book, advisors discuss their experiences acquiring a book of business, from practice valuation to client retention.<\/p>\n

Olivier Brasseur, a 34-year-old certified financial planner and chartered investment manager for KHB Capital at CI Assante Wealth Management Ltd. in Montreal <\/p>\n

As a commerce student at Concordia University in 2013, Olivier Brasseur needed a summer internship leading into his senior year.<\/p>\n

He was hired by Earl Kaplin and Jeremy Hampson, senior financial planners and partners with Kaplin Hampson Associates at CI Assante Wealth Management. The firm specializes in holistic wealth management for ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) families, including portfolio management, tax planning and estate planning strategies.<\/p>\n

After a successful summer stint, Mr. Brasseur was invited to stay on while he finished his studies. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey said, \u2018Just graduate and stop worrying so much about your GPA and grades. We want you to keep working for us,\u2019\u201d Mr. Brasseur says. <\/p>\n

During his senior year, he worked for the duo part-time and then joined full-time after graduation. He earned his securities and insurance licences as well as the chartered investment manager designation.<\/p>\n

In 2017, the duo offered Mr. Brasseur what they called a \u201csweat equity\u201d deal. The arrangement would see him become a partner of the business.<\/p>\n

The book<\/p>\n

The book at Kaplin Hampson Associates is made up of 85 UHNW households, representing $450-million in investable assets. Mr. Brasseur says most households span three to four generations, from grandparents to kids in their teens and 20s.<\/p>\n

The clients hold managed money products, exchange-traded funds, private credit, private equity, and mining stocks with flow-through shares in their portfolios.<\/p>\n

The sweat equity deal the partners carved with Mr. Brasseur was a five-year arrangement in which he would acquire a 10-per-cent stake in the business. Over that period, 40 per cent of his income went toward a 7.5-per-cent stake in the business, and after five years, he would purchase the other 2.5 per cent.<\/p>\n

But Mr. Brasseur exceeded business expectations, so Mr. Kaplin and Mr. Hampson decided to shorten the vesting period to four years and increase the ownership interest to 15 per cent.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe paid blood, sweat, tears and cash into this deal,\u201d Mr. Hampson notes.<\/p>\n

Ownership amounts increased gradually in the ensuing years. By December 2025, Mr. Kaplin retired after 42 years, with Mr. Hampson and Mr. Brasseur each owning 50 per cent of the business.<\/p>\n

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

Olivier Brasseur, right, with Earl Kaplin, centre, and Jeremy Hampson, left.Supplied<\/p>\n

The price <\/p>\n

Mr. Brasseur paid three times recurring revenue for his portion of the book, more than the industry average of 2.5 times. Because he purchased the book in phases, he and the partners would calculate the total trailer fee at the end of the year and make the deal based on that.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would go and get financing, give them a cheque for that amount, and then as of Jan. 1, I would start to make that income right away,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

The transition<\/p>\n

Mr. Hampson notes that the firm has never operated on a siloed, individual advisor model, preferring to emphasize a team-based approach to serving clients. So, when Mr. Kaplin progressed toward retirement, there was no abrupt or forced transfer of client relationships.<\/p>\n

Both Mr. Hampson and Mr. Brasseur had been with the firm long before the transition took place. Mr. Brasseur notes that he was involved with clients from the get-go as a commerce student.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s how you ensure your investment [in the acquisition] is going to continue growing \u2013 by the investment of time and energy spent with the clients,\u201d Mr. Brasseur says. \u201cI think we\u2019ve had one client leave in the time I\u2019ve been here, and it was an estate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Brasseur and Mr. Hampson separated the book\u2019s workload by client personality profiles and their own skill sets. While they manage day-to-day relationships individually, they still spend time reviewing all files to stay abreast of every client.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe also like to remind clients that should something happen to one of [us], someone can still help them,\u201d Mr. Brasseur explains.<\/p>\n

Besides the two partners, the firm employs an office manager and an administrative assistant, as well as a junior advisor.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to groom him into becoming a full-fledged advisor like Jeremy and me,\u201d Mr. Brasseur says of the junior advisor.<\/p>\n

Advice for buyers<\/p>\n

Mr. Brasseur says prospective buyers need to think beyond getting a good deal for a practice done quickly, which means taking on more risk. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ll come in cold turkey and \u2026 may lose half the clients because the clients don\u2019t have a relationship with the new person,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

He advises buyers to get involved with an established advisory team. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhile you may not get all the benefit upfront, the long-term value is tenfold,\u201d he says. \u201cYou\u2019re being rewarded with the trust of the client over time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Are you a financial advisor or financial planner who recently bought a book of business? Globe Advisor would love to speak with you about your experience. Candour, especially around the finances, is appreciated, and your name and photo will be used for the column. Please e-mail dgage@globeandmail.com<\/a> and include a brief synopsis of your situation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Olivier Brasseur of KHB Capital at CI Assante Wealth Management in Montreal.Supplied In…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":424594,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[1397,45,49,48,133,5266,2922,131,132],"class_list":{"0":"post-424593","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-personal-finance","8":"tag-appwebview","9":"tag-business","10":"tag-ca","11":"tag-canada","12":"tag-finance","13":"tag-globe-advisor","14":"tag-noastack","15":"tag-personal-finance","16":"tag-personalfinance"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/424593","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=424593"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/424593\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/424594"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=424593"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=424593"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=424593"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}