Profile
"West Oak’s success has come from always putting our clients’ best interests first and always finding ways to improve and add more value to them"
Andrew mcquiston,
west oak family office, wellington-altus private wealth
Including his eight years working at Manulife, where he is now district vice president for the Greater Montreal Metropolitan Area, Rachid Boufarsi has accumulated 15 years of experience in the
investment industry.
Over that time, he has developed a solid track record of business development, underpinned by strong brokerage industry knowledge and a keen understanding of securities, mutual funds, proprietary stocks, fixed income, and derivatives trading. But even with his already wide and diversified product knowledge, he doesn’t expect his education in the investment industry to end anytime soon.
“The product landscape is constantly shifting. We have seen the rise of private asset and private equity products driven by the need to hedge against inflationary pressures,” Rachid says. “This constant evolution of investment products in Canada is always providing an opportunity to learn and educate.”
The spectre of inflation isn’t the only thing wholesalers and advisors have had to contend with. In many ways, last year proved to be a continuation of 2020, when challenges to face-to-face meetings kicked up by the pandemic forced the wholesale adoption of digital communications tools. With the addition of Teams, Zoom, and other channels to their repertoire, he says wholesalers have become that much more accessible to their clients throughout the pandemic.
The tools of the trade may have changed, but Rachid believes the trade itself has stayed fundamentally the same. That means even as virtual modes of communication take their rightful place in the business landscape, wholesalers must not let personal relationships fall by the wayside.
“It is my belief that bonding with new clients and getting to the bottom of what keeps them up at night can be done more efficiently with some form of face-to-face interactions,” he says. “We are social creatures and we see that more so in our business. While using all the novel communication methods, a good wholesaler must find ways to bond, gain trust and take the time to know his client at a human level.”
Product education and communication are vital ingredients to Rachid’s success, but that’s not where his value proposition ends. In his effort to continually offer support, he helps the advisors in his network gain insight to the advisory business landscape, including thoughts on best practices, segmentation, client acquisition costs, and behavioural economics.
“There are limited and sometimes costly resources out there to have access to this type of info,” Rachid says. “Precisely, once the advisor starts to anticipate which segments of his business are more sensitive to certain market conditions, he starts to take action preemptively, hence driving productivity and efficiency to his business.”
And just as the best advisors go beyond suitability to look out for their clients’ best interests, outstanding wholesalers enter into relationships by asking how they can improve things for the advisors they have relationships with. That’s the mentality Rachid carries with him into every meeting.
“’Is my client in a better place now?’ This is my simple self-assessing question that I always ask myself after I’ve met with a client,” he says. “The desire for a favourable outcome is what motivates me to check all the boxes prior to the meeting – asking the right questions to understand their practice, reviewing their assets, and building the agenda for a successful consultancy.”
Rachid likens his work to professional sports because it prompts him to collaborate and make sure his teammates are winning. In this context, clients are certainly part of the team, he says. Manulife makes this easier as the company hires and trains top talent in the industry, which enriches the corporate culture. He believes that in the wealth management business, professionals play an essential role in people’s lives, their future, and their legacy, and he appreciates his responsibility to make a positive impact.
Outside of work, he enjoys spending time in nature, promoting animal welfare, and volunteering.
900 Boulevard de Maisonneuve O, Montréal, QC H3A 0A8
514-706-6474
rachid_boufarsi@manulife.ca
ca.linkedin.com/in/rachid-boufarsi-b6a47a87
manulifeim.com/retail/ca/en
Rachid
Boufarsi
District Vice President
Manulife Investment Management
Read on
Special Report
Home
French
Milestones
Profile
Including his eight years working at Manulife, where he is now district vice president for the Greater Montreal Metropolitan Area, Rachid Boufarsi has accumulated 15 years of experience in the investment industry.
Over that time, he has developed a solid track record of business development, underpinned by strong brokerage industry knowledge and a keen understanding of securities, mutual funds, proprietary stocks, fixed income, and derivatives trading. But even with his already wide and diversified product knowledge, he doesn’t expect his education in the investment industry to end anytime soon.
“The product landscape is constantly shifting. We have
seen the rise of private asset and private equity products driven by the need to hedge against inflationary pressures,” Rachid says. “This constant evolution of investment products in Canada is always providing an opportunity to learn and educate.”
The spectre of inflation isn’t the only thing wholesalers and advisors have had to contend with. In many ways, last year proved to be a continuation of 2020, when challenges to face-to-face meetings kicked up by the pandemic forced the wholesale adoption of digital communications tools. With the addition of Teams, Zoom, and other channels to their repertoire, he says wholesalers have become that much more accessible to their clients throughout the pandemic.
The tools of the trade may have changed, but Rachid believes the trade itself has stayed fundamentally the same. That means even as virtual modes of communication take their rightful place in the business landscape, wholesalers must not let personal relationships fall by the wayside.
“It is my belief that bonding with new clients and getting to the bottom of what keeps them up at night can be done more efficiently with some form of face-to-face interactions,” he says. “We are social creatures and we see that more so in our business. While using all the novel communication methods, a good wholesaler must find ways to bond, gain trust and take the time to know his client at a human level.”
Product education and communication are vital ingredients to Rachid’s success, but that’s not where his value proposition ends. In his effort to continually offer support, he helps the advisors in his network gain insight to the advisory business landscape, including thoughts on best practices, segmentation, client acquisition costs, and behavioural economics.
“There are limited and sometimes costly resources out there to have access to this type of info,” Rachid says. “Precisely, once the advisor starts to anticipate which segments of his business are more sensitive to certain market conditions, he starts to take action preemptively, hence driving productivity and efficiency to his business.”
And just as the best advisors go beyond suitability to look out for their clients’ best interests, outstanding wholesalers enter into relationships by asking how they can improve things for the advisors they have relationships with. That’s the mentality Rachid carries with him into every meeting.
“’Is my client in a better place now?’ This is my simple self-assessing question that I always ask myself after I’ve met with a client,” he says. “The desire for a favourable outcome is what motivates me to check all the boxes prior to the meeting – asking the right questions to understand their practice, reviewing their assets, and building the agenda for a successful consultancy.”
Rachid likens his work to professional sports because it prompts him to collaborate and make sure his teammates are winning. In this context, clients are certainly part of the team, he says. Manulife makes this easier as the company hires and trains top talent in the industry, which enriches the corporate culture. He believes that in the wealth management business, professionals play an essential role in people’s lives, their future, and their legacy, and he appreciates his responsibility to make a positive impact.
Outside of work, he enjoys spending time in nature, promoting animal welfare, and volunteering.
Milestones
2020
Insurance Business Magazine | Key Media
Emerald Award winner for top net
sales nationally
2020
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. A volutpat laoreet suscipit duis. Diam aliquam sed ut massa viverra a, eget libero.
2016-2018
Ted Talk in collaboration with key media
Promoted to district vice president in supporting advisors on a wide range of products (mutual funds, segregated funds, ETFs and SMAs), 2016
Emerald Award winner for top net sales nationally, 2017
Emerald award nominee for top net sales nationally, 2018
2016-2018
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. A volutpat laoreet suscipit duis. Diam aliquam sed ut massa viverra a, eget libero.
2014
Ted Talk in collaboration with key media
Joined Manulife as an internal wholesaler
2014
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. A volutpat laoreet suscipit duis. Diam aliquam sed ut massa viverra a, eget libero.
2008
Ted Talk in collaboration with key media
Joined Genesis Securities as a high-frequency trader and market marker in small-mid cap
US equities
Joined OSTC Ltd as a trader and market maker first in fixed income products then commodities, mainly US Treasury futures, short-term interest rates and light sweet crude oil
2008
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. A volutpat laoreet suscipit duis. Diam aliquam sed ut massa viverra a, eget libero.
2006
Ted Talk in collaboration with key media
Joined AGF Private Investment Management
2006
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. A volutpat laoreet suscipit duis. Diam aliquam sed ut massa viverra a, eget libero.
2006
2008
2014
2016-2018
2020
Rachid Boufarsi
District Vice President
Manulife Investment Management
Read on
Special Report
Home
Bio
Milestones
Profile
Including his eight years working at Manulife, where he is now district vice president for the Greater Montreal Metropolitan Area, Rachid Boufarsi has accumulated 15 years of experience in the investment industry.
Over that time, he has developed a solid track record of business development, underpinned by strong brokerage industry knowledge and a keen understanding of securities, mutual funds, proprietary stocks, fixed income, and derivatives trading. But even with his already wide and diversified product knowledge, he doesn’t expect his education in the investment industry to end anytime soon.
“The product landscape is constantly shifting. We have seen the rise of private asset and private equity products driven by the need to hedge against inflationary pressures,” Rachid says. “This constant evolution of investment products in Canada is always providing an opportunity to learn and educate.”
The spectre of inflation isn’t the only thing wholesalers and advisors have had to contend with. In many ways, last year proved to be a continuation of 2020, when challenges to face-to-face meetings kicked up by the pandemic forced the wholesale adoption of digital communications tools. With the addition of Teams, Zoom, and other channels to their repertoire, he says wholesalers have become that much more accessible to their clients throughout
the pandemic.
The tools of the trade may have changed, but Rachid believes the trade itself has stayed fundamentally the same. That means even as virtual modes of communication take their rightful place in the business landscape, wholesalers must not let personal relationships fall by the wayside.
“It is my belief that bonding with new clients and getting to the bottom of what keeps them up at night can be done more efficiently with some form of face-to-face interactions,” he says. “We are social creatures and we see that more so in our business. While using all the novel communication methods, a good wholesaler must find ways to bond, gain trust and take the time to know his client at a human level.”
Product education and communication are vital ingredients to Rachid’s success, but that’s not where his value proposition ends. In his effort to continually offer support, he helps the advisors in his network gain insight to the advisory business landscape, including thoughts on best practices, segmentation, client acquisition costs, and behavioural economics.
“There are limited and sometimes costly resources out there to have access to this type of info,” Rachid says. “Precisely, once the advisor starts to anticipate which segments of his business are more sensitive to certain market conditions, he starts to take action preemptively, hence driving productivity and efficiency to his business.”
And just as the best advisors go beyond suitability to look out for their clients’ best interests, outstanding wholesalers enter into relationships by asking how they can improve things for the advisors they have relationships with. That’s the mentality Rachid carries with him into every meeting.
“’Is my client in a better place now?’ This is my simple self-assessing question that I always ask myself after I’ve met with a client,” he says. “The desire for a favourable outcome is what motivates me to check all the boxes prior to the meeting – asking the right questions to understand their practice, reviewing their assets, and building the agenda for a successful consultancy.”
Rachid likens his work to professional sports because it prompts him to collaborate and make sure his teammates are winning. In this context, clients are certainly part of the team, he says. Manulife makes this easier as the company hires and trains top talent in the industry, which enriches the corporate culture. He believes that in the wealth management business, professionals play an essential role in people’s lives, their future, and their legacy, and he appreciates his responsibility to make a positive impact.
Outside of work, he enjoys spending time in nature, promoting animal welfare, and volunteering.
Milestones
2020
Insurance Business Magazine | Key Media
Emerald Award winner for
top net sales nationally
2020
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. A volutpat laoreet suscipit duis. Diam aliquam sed ut massa viverra a, eget libero.
2016-2018
Ted Talk in collaboration with key media
Promoted to district vice president in supporting advisors on a wide range of products (mutual funds, segregated funds, ETFs and SMAs), 2016
Emerald Award winner for top net sales nationally, 2017
Emerald award nominee for top net sales nationally, 2018
2016-2018
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. A volutpat laoreet suscipit duis. Diam aliquam sed ut massa viverra a, eget libero.
2014
Ted Talk in collaboration with key media
Joined Manulife as an internal wholesaler
2014
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. A volutpat laoreet suscipit duis. Diam aliquam sed ut massa viverra a, eget libero.
2008
Ted Talk in collaboration with key media
Joined Genesis Securities as a high-frequency trader and market marker in small-mid cap US equities
Joined OSTC Ltd as a trader and market maker first in fixed income products then commodities, mainly US Treasury futures, short-term interest rates and light sweet crude oil
2008
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. A volutpat laoreet suscipit duis. Diam aliquam sed ut massa viverra a, eget libero.
2006
Ted Talk in collaboration with key media
Joined AGF Private Investment Management
2006
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. A volutpat laoreet suscipit duis. Diam aliquam sed ut massa viverra a, eget libero.
2006
2008
2014
2016-2018
2020
Rachid Boufarsi
District Vice President
Manulife Investment Management
Read on
Special Report
Home
Bio
Milestones
2020
2019
2018
2022
2021
2020
Insurance Business Magazine | Key Media
Received Best Lawyer in Canada Award (Employment and Labour Law)
2020
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. A volutpat laoreet suscipit duis. Diam aliquam sed ut massa viverra a, eget libero.
2022
Ted Talk in collaboration with key media
Received Best Lawyer in Canada Award (Labour and Employment Law)
2022
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. A volutpat laoreet suscipit duis. Diam aliquam sed ut massa viverra a, eget libero.
2022
Ted Talk in collaboration with key media
Ranked in Chambers Canada
(Employment and Labour: Non-Unionized Employees – Ontario)
2022
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. A volutpat laoreet suscipit duis. Diam aliquam sed ut massa viverra a, eget libero.
2022
Human Resources Magazine | key media
Ranked in Chambers Canada
(Employment and Labour: Non-Unionized Employees – Ontario)
2022
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. A volutpat laoreet suscipit duis. Diam aliquam sed ut massa viverra a, eget libero.
2021
human resources | key media
Listed in Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory
(Employment Law – Employer)
2021
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. A volutpat laoreet suscipit duis. Diam aliquam sed ut massa viverra a, eget libero.
Milestones
Career Accolades
2020
2016-2018
2014
2008
2006
2020
Insurance Business Magazine | Key Media
Emerald Award winner for top net sales nationally
2020
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. A volutpat laoreet suscipit duis. Diam aliquam sed ut massa viverra a, eget libero.
2016-2018
Human Resources Magazine | key media
Promoted to district vice president in supporting advisors on a wide range of products
(mutual funds, segregated funds, ETFs and SMAs), 2016
Emerald Award winner for top net sales nationally, 2017
Emerald award nominee for top net sales nationally, 2018
2016-2018
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. A volutpat laoreet suscipit duis. Diam aliquam sed ut massa viverra a, eget libero.
2014
Human Resources Magazine | key media
Joined Manulife as an internal wholesaler
2014
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. A volutpat laoreet suscipit duis. Diam aliquam sed ut massa viverra a, eget libero.
2008
Human Resources Magazine | key media
Joined Genesis Securities as a high-frequency trader and market marker
in small-mid cap US equities
Joined OSTC Ltd as a trader and market maker first in fixed income products then commodities, mainly US Treasury futures, short-term interest rates and light sweet crude oil
2008
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. A volutpat laoreet suscipit duis. Diam aliquam sed ut massa viverra a, eget libero.
2006
human resources | key media
Joined AGF Private Investment Management
2006
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. A volutpat laoreet suscipit duis. Diam aliquam sed ut massa viverra a, eget libero.
Listed in Lexpert/ALM 500
(Employment Law – Employment)
Received Best Lawyer in Canada Award
(Labour and Employment Law)
Milestones