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At the end of last year, we made a strategic decision to become a more independent life insurance advisory firm. Hear what this means for you as our client.

We’ve raised $463,682! Thanks so much to all of our generous lenders. To get involved, check out our Kiva page.

For the past 30 years Sandra has made and sold different kinds of scarves and sarongs in Haiti. The 2010 earthquake destroyed her shop, but thanks to a $8,000 loan (comprised of 295 small individual loans), she was able to build a production workshop and a storefront in the space she has now. This expansion also allowed her to create 5 new jobs with her Kiva loan, just going to show how many small amounts can make a big difference.

We are pleased to be one small part of something so big and meaningful.

Let’s face it. When she leaves a room the question lingering is …who is that woman? What’s her deal? 

Holly has such presence and a delightful yet powerful way of connecting with others. She raises eyebrows.

We figured it’s time to “out” her pretty cool credentials. Mostly because we want to champion her work both in and outside the Allan Financial office.

Holly’s the founder of a forward thinking initiative on our beloved Bowen Island (where Ross and the Allan clan reside). We think she’s leading a culture shift – that’s why we chose to sponsor her vision.

She was calling forth folks, like her, to come out of the woodwork to share the most modern of ideas in her Bowen Innovation Series.  There is nobody more qualified to host such a tribe of special, change making folks than Holly.

Let’s start with where she’s lived…South Africa, and by the age of 16 years old had travelled to Brazil, Mexico, United Kingdom, Netherlands, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Botswana, Kenya, Lesotho, Swaziland, Nigeria, and Zimbabwe.

And before Bowen Island she did work in consulting /executive education for senior foreign government officials in Washington DC, managed the launch of a multi-million-dollar documentary film release, led investor relations for a software start-up for global relief supply chain management, and rallied a mobile web app.

Why an enigma? Well anyone who ghost writes gets that moniker. Holly has worked with several thought leaders crafting their messages before it was a “thing”. Her articles can be found in publications and op-ed pieces in the Huffington Post, LA Times, CNN.com, Harvard Business Review and University Presses.

Just one of the many reasons we call her our interpreter.

“You are known by the company you keep.”

Know that before your customers are satisfied, your employees must have given their all. The satisfaction that your customers talk about is largely a result of the value they get from your business, and it’s only loyal employees who can create this value.

We are fortunate to have found out early on, the value our employees are to our business. Many of you have met our two longest-term employees, Kal Sangha who has been with Allan Financial for 23 years, and Hardeep Arreaga who recently celebrated 10 years!

While our relationships evolve and grow, the fact that we continue to have such long-term ones, both internally and externally, makes what we do that much more rewarding. So to Kal and Hardeep – thank you for being a big part of that!

Here’s to carrying these relationships forward through all the stages of life. 

We were thrilled when last week in Toronto at the 2016 Wealth Professional Awards we received the Best Practice Individual Office award. It was great – a big fancy award show and ceremony with all the attendant bells and whistles. And we won!

While it was certainly nice to get all the attention and the accolades, coming back home with a heavy piece of crystal to add to the office mantel was in stark contrast to a completely different recent accomplishment. One in which we had a significant global impact.

With your help, we spent the last two years raising almost half a million dollars for Kiva, a non-profit that loans money to low-income entrepreneurs around the world. But this was no ordinary charity campaign. It wasn’t even a donation, as these are loans that have been 98% repaid within a year.

So together we’ve boosted the bottom line for the more than 1,200 women in 33 countries who received these loans. But it’s not just the numbers that are remarkable, it’s also how this social enterprise initiative created community and changed relationships within the company and with clients.

Even though we are proud of receiving national industry recognition for excellence in client service and reputation, honestly it’s the tangible difference we’ve been able to make in the lives of women entrepreneurs around the world, that is clearly the more significant reward.

We now joke that we can add Give a Little, Get a Lot to our corporate tagline of Enjoy Your Life.

Thank you again to those who have joined us in this amazing journey! 

A couple of years ago, when we first announced that we were partnering with Kiva, we never could have imagined the outcome…

A familiar face for you all Bowen Islanders, Megan joins our team after earning her Masters degree in behavioural neuroscience and ecology from the University of Toronto, studying – wait for it – jumping spiders!

The transition may seem like a big jump, but Megan’s analytical mind and skill-set are a perfect fit for our underwriting department. Holly interviews Megan on her first few months here as an underwriting associate.

Why here?

The Allans are kind of my second family. I’ve been best friends with Danielle and Emily for a long time, and Ross and Suzanne have been a huge part of my life growing up and continuing into adulthood. I was talking to Danielle about wanting to change what I was doing with my life, and she made the connection that Hardeep would be going on maternity leave soon, and I jumped on it! It immediately seemed like a good idea to all of us.

How’s it going So far?

I’m really enjoying learning the business, and I find moving through the underwriting process so satisfying. It’s amazing, the breadth of knowledge required to do this job, and learning the ins and outs and the nuances involved gives me a sense of accomplishment.

I’m still learning and I feel like I’ll always be learning, but that’s part of the fun. Every task is like a new problem I get to solve.

The team is also amazing. I felt like part of this family right from the beginning. There’s a strong atmosphere of support. The whole team is so willing to offer insight, and that’s been really helpful for me, being new to the industry.

Working in Yaletown has also been incredible. I’m a marathon runner, and after living in Toronto for six years … let’s just say running the seawall on my lunch break is definitely a highlight.

We’ve now almost surpassed our original goal by $100,000! We are absolutely floored. HUGE thank you to all of our lenders for your generosity. And for those who haven’t already, check out our Kiva page!

We raise a glass to two new team members that have arrived to champion analysis and client care. Emily interviews communications consultant Holly Graff, and product design/finance associate Dania Clarke. 

Why here?

Dania: AF as a whole left a striking impression on me. What I saw was an energetic, cohesive, high-performance team advocating for clients and challenging the status quo of a longstanding industry. I thought insurance would be boring…I was wrong.

Holly: Yeah, I’m constantly amazed that Allan Financial actually makes life insurance exciting! Plus, where else could I combine my nerdy research and writing skills with the opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives?

Why now?

Holly: After a decade of having Ross tilt his head and say, “we’re gonna work together one day” during our client meetings, he finally got his wish! Seriously though, we have a shared entrepreneurial spirit, and it just took both of our career points to align at the same time.

Dania: I’m at a point in my career where I’m ready to be part of a team like this – young, vibrant, motivated, streamlined, yet having a big financial impact. Allan Financial is the right place at the right time for me.

What have you been up to?

Holly: Well, for one, I’ve launched the Bowen Innovation Series. It’s a 4-part series of gatherings for business leaders and change agents living on Bowen. There are so many amazingly talented folks doing incredible things, who often don’t have the chance to venture outside their own circles. And then to have the chance to be the straw that stirs that drink is an opportunity just too good to pass up.

So between Ross and I (and Patti-Jo, Danielle, and Emily) knowing a pretty good chunk of the island, I realized that Allan Financial was in a unique position to foster these connections, and nurture innovative ideas outside of our own business, all for the benefit of our shared community.

Dania: My role couldn’t be much more different than Holly’s! I spend most of my day maneuvering numbers. I customize policies for each person we serve because each person has a unique set of needs and goals. The magic is in the details.

I also get to spend time with Ross, the man himself, listening and synthesizing his unique insurance offerings into rows and columns. This is in support of Chriselle, our Director of Product Design, who has taken me under her wing. I also get to witness the intergenerational relationship between Ross and his daughter Danielle, our Finance Director. Their communication tends to transcend words… it’s pretty fun to watch.

At what moment did you know you were not working at a regular insurance company?

Dania: I knew from the moment I walked in the door. Everything here challenges convention, from the architecture of the office space to the diverse talents of the team. We innovate because innovation is modelled to us daily. There is room to fail, dust ourselves off, and try again. That’s rare.

Holly: I know most of the team, having been a client and friend for years. I knew exactly what I was getting into (well, sort of…). It’s common knowledge that Ross hires people first, and builds positions around their strengths. Most of my work has been in partnership with academics and senior business leaders in the US. I’m a writer, a communicator, and a community builder. I’m here to build bridges.

Like many other Bowen folk, I’ve marvelled at how Allan Financial thrives in both worlds – the island and the city. Not many have crossed the pond and maintained deep island roots quite as successfully as Ross. Allan Financial is considered a national leader in financial services, but still feels grassroots. I love that.

We’re still going strong with almost $320,000 in loans! This time of year reminds us of the importance of giving back: a Kiva loan is a great way to do so with your family! Visit our Kiva page for more information.