2017 Hot List Recipient

2020 Hot List Recipient

2021 CEO of the Year

Accolades

Media

Milestones

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

First independent dealer with in-house marketing department

2018

First independent investment dealer to become 100% digital

2019

Added a director of advanced planning to assist advisors with large cases

2020

- Became a level 4 nominee platform - First independent investment dealer offering liquid alternatives

2021

First independent investment dealer offering liquid alternatives

2021

First independent investment dealer partnering with an international marketing company offering turnkey solutions for advisors

2022

From immigrant to president

Maria Jose Flores is approaching her new position as president of Carte Wealth Management Inc. with the same openness and enthusiasm with which she immigrated to Canada and steadily moved up through Carte, constantly learning over the past 14 years. “I’ve learned through experience,” she tells Wealth Professional. “If the opportunity is placed in front of me, I’m not going to say no. I’m going to take it and then figure out how it’s going to work. I don’t know if you want to call me a risk-taker. But if you tell me it’s time to jump, I will go without thinking twice and just do it.” Flores credits her parents with launching her exciting journey. Flores, then 19, was pursuing studies in economics at university in Ecuador when her family emigrated to Canada in 2005. She completed her studies at Ryerson University and Humber College before transitioning into the financial industry as a co-op student at Carte.

She says it’s always important to remain humble, but she’s not afraid to own her accomplishments or point out that she’s always been willing to open the door when opportunity knocks. This time, she believes she’s the best person for the president’s role because “I have a good foundation as far as knowing the inside and out of the company.” “I have the best interest at heart to make this company a success. It’s already a success and the fact that we’re being recognized by the industry means a lot to us,” says Flores. “But those are recognitions. We’re talking about growing the company, transactionally, and I think I have the respect of my colleagues and co-workers to be able to carry on this responsibility. I have also earned the trust of Kirk Purai, the founder of Carte, to do so. “So I’m able to carry on with the same mentality as Kirk. A lot of decisions are made by the two of us in conjunction with the management team. We have built this trust, and I think 14 years is a good blend of time getting to know each other and it has made us very close. We can disagree, but at the same time, we can remain respectful.” Flores garnered that trust as she first moved from being Carte’s co-op student to becoming one of its advisors. She remembers staying late to do paperwork, then having her branch manager reject it because she missed a box, which helped her understand advisors’ experience.

“I put my hands in a lot of things in the firm. I work with accounting. I work with new business. I work all the way to recruiting, so I know a little bit of what this firm entails,” says Flores. She also notes that accepting both the risks and rewards of embracing new opportunities has helped her gain the trust and confidence of Carte’s owner, as well as several recognitions, such as being named Wealth Professional’s Rising Star in 2020, winning the WP 5-Star Leading Women in Wealth Award in 2021, and being a finalist for the Insurance Business Canada Women of Distinction award in 2021. She also participates in several industry associations.

Flores wants not only to keep encouraging advisors, but also to grow Carte’s 200-member advisor network. In fact, it hopes to grow its total business – both the insurance and mutual fund sides – to $50 billion from $2 billion in assets under management within five years. The company is open to either becoming or acquiring an IIROC firm, so that Carte, a licensed dealer that now offers mutual funds and ETFs, can ultimately offer advisors everything they need, including stocks and bonds. But that’s going to be another learning journey for Flores as she continues to open doors. “When we do our search about whether we merge with an IIROC firm, we have to make sure we have the right mindset – that culturally we’re not going to have aspects affected that we have built over so many years,” she says. “But we’re open to talking to firms not just in Ontario, but in provinces like British Columbia or Alberta, that can be potentially ideal for us.”

Flores may now have Carte’s top job, but she’s not done embracing opportunities. “All these accomplishments come after hard work and dedication, and always keeping in mind what is important – which, for us, is to continue serving our advisors, and keeping our employees happy,” says Flores. “it’s going to be a great honor to carry on in this new role.”

Spotlight

“All that experience made me understand that being an advisor is not an easy job,” she says. “You have to be very patient. You have to be flexible with your time in order to be a good advisor and someone who clients can trust. And that made me understand that sometimes we don’t have to be so harsh with advisors when we’re reviewing paperwork.” Flores then became manager, learned to supervise, and continued to move up the corporate ladder to become Carte’s chief compliance officer, from which position she’s moved on to become president. “A lot of people tell me, ‘You’re not the typical compliance officer. You use your mind to help advisors market themselves and put them in a situation where they can provide advice to their clients,” she says. “When I hear that feedback, it makes me feel good because I think I’m doing a little to change the perspective of how a compliance officer is perceived.”

Carte Wealth Management Inc. is an independent mutual fund dealer across Canada. Carte Risk Management Inc. is an insurance managing general agency. Carte supports its advisors to be 100% independent and to do business your way. Through key partnerships and its in-house team of experts, Carte delivers state-of-the-art technology and turnkey marketing solutions. With access to top independent money managers and an easy-to-work with compliance team, our advisors can reduce their administration time and costs, and focus on human-to-human conversations. Carte believes in delivering the ultimate advisor experience though support, freedom of product choice, and the backing of Carte’s values of care, trust, and integrity.

Company Profile

$50 billion AUM

Carte's growth target for next five years

Consecutive years as #1 independent investment dealer in IE’s Dealer Report

Number of IBC distinctions Carte has recently won

Number of Canadian provinces and territories in which Carte is registered

63,514,128

NUMBER OF ORDERS PROCESSED IN 2019

Bio

Spotlight

Milestones

Media

Accolades

Company Profile

years in the industry

favourite quote

“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn”

Maria Jose Flores’ Carte journey

• Co-op student • Advisor • Branch manager • Chief compliance officer • President

Maria Jose Flores

President and CCO at Carte Wealth Management Inc.

Hard work and dedication have served her well as she’s transitioned from Ecuador to Canada and co-op student to president

Read on

“All these accomplishments come after hard work and dedication, and always having in mind what is important. It’s going to be a great honor to carry on in this new role”

Maria Jose Flores, Carte Wealth Management Inc.

“I’ve learned through experience. If the opportunity is placed in front of me … I’m going to take it and then figure out how it’s going to work”

Maria Jose Flores, Carte Wealth Management Inc.

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