Profile
“I will continue to empower and encourage my staff to perform at their best as I have done for the last decade. I will continue to advocate for my clients, embracing new technology and being open to business and industry changes”
Ken Dixon,
Dixon Insurance Services
Laura Paradiso, 40, is an investment associate and associate portfolio manager with ScotiaWealth (formerly ScotiaMcLeod). She’s an ambitious professional dedicated to helping the next generation of investors who tend to rely on do-it-yourself (DIY) investing.
As an undergraduate at the Schulich School of Business at York University in Toronto, Paradiso took an interest in personal and corporate finance. She found the prospect of building a career on the trading floor an exciting possibility, but ultimately realized that it lacked the interpersonal aspect she discovered at the retail end of wealth management.
After Paradiso graduated from business school, ScotiaMcLeod hired her for an administrative position, where she discovered the impact wealth advisors had on their clients’ lives. “They were so much more than ‘stockbrokers,’” she says. Quickly, she got the Canadian Securities Course (CSC) and Conduct and Practices Handbook (CPH) certifications she needed to trade.
“Within this line of work, I feel that a few ways in which I am set apart from my peer group would include my level of efficiency and time management, work ethic, and strong interpersonal skills,” says Paradiso. “However, my strongest quality as it translates to the fiduciary role is integrity.”
She emphasizes being true to her word and fostering trust through proven reliability – always putting clients’ best interests at the forefront of what she does. Frequently, that involves counselling investors away from the siren song of DIY investing and its lure of low or no fees. While some can manage their own portfolio, many others could benefit from a full-service advisor.
“This will continue to be a challenge given the immense amount of wealth transfer that will continue to take place over the coming decades,” says Paradiso. “Most established books have ‘aged’ (have an older average age of the client). We find with our more senior clients that they have been working with an advisor for quite some time. They understand portfolio management is only a portion of the equation. We spend time with clients budgeting, financial planning, estate planning and tax planning, and often bringing in and working alongside a team of professionals. The same is not necessarily true of younger generations, particularly with their ability to better access real-time data and news.
“We feel it is very important to forge relationships with the children of our existing clients – often as soon as they are of the age to invest themselves. This way, we have already been given the opportunity to show the next generation the benefit and importance of having an advisor before the transfer of wealth takes place.”
In addition to bridging the investment needs of multiple generations, Paradiso is pleased to be a role model for other young female professionals in wealth management.
“In an industry still underrepresented by females, it is my hope to inspire younger women to begin a career in wealth management, and to also inspire more women to get involved in their own personal financial management,” she says.
200 Apple Mill Road, Suite 800, Vaughan ON, L4K 0J8
905 695 1526
laura.paradiso@scotiawealth.com
linkedin.com/in/laura-paradiso-c-i-m-8695b668
lpeterkin.com
Laura Paradiso
Investment Associate and Associate Portfolio Manager
ScotiaWealth
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“To be able to give back to the community is rewarding and fulfilling. I am honoured to be in a position where I can raise funds for those less fortunate and in need”
Ken Dixon,
Dixon Insurance Services
2003
2006
2012-2013
2016
2022
Scotia Capital Summer Intern, Institutional Fixed Income Trading
2003
Graduated with Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Schulich School of Business
Joined ScotiaMcLeod
2006
2012: Completed ScotiaMcLeod’s Advisor Training Program, beginning a licensed Associate role
2013: Became a Chartered Investment Manager
2012-2013
Became insurance licensed through FSRA: Life Insurance and A&S Insurance Agent
2016
Obtained Associate Portfolio Manager licensing requirements
Completed IIROC courses: CSC, CPH, WME, IATP, AIS, PMT, AIS
2022
Assistant Vice President and Senior Broker at MJ Hall & Company since 2018
Present
Milestones
Aug 2022
Milestones
Sept 2021
Feb 2022
Apr 2022
Jul 2022
Aug
2022
Suncorp Bank introduces Solar Home Bonus offer for customers who are choosing renewable energy for their homes
Sept 2021
Month-on-month market share growth commences
Feb 2022
Suncorp Bank wins the Canstar award for most outstanding value in investment loans
Apr 2022
Suncorp Bank wins Money Magazine’s Bank of the Year and Business Bank of the Year awards for the fifth year in a row
Jul 2022
Suncorp Bank’s turnaround times are the lowest they have ever been. The lender becomes Australia’s first certified carbon neutral bank for both its operation and transaction services
Aug 2022
Milestones
How does he distinguish himself among fellow brokers?
“I believe all brokers are working very hard in a difficult market,” he says. “However, I have demonstrated continued growth, advocacy and performance on my client’s behalf, which is now recognised [for 10 consecutive years] in the Elite Broker awards.”
In 1990, Dixon got started with FAI, working in claims and as a team leader. From the late 1990s up until 2003, he worked at FAI and Suncorp in underwriting and as an area manager at VACC, CGU (South East Queensland). From 2003 to 2012, he got into broking and eventually started Dixon Insurance in 2013. Since then, he’s accumulated numerous acccolades, including Elite Broker, Diversity and Equity, and Fast Broker awards.
During the pandemic, Dixon challenged insurers over the Quarantine Act application to insurance wordings. His argument was that the Quarantine Act does not apply as an exclusion, as the Biosecurity Act was invoked by the Morrison Government, and this was not a subsequent amendment to the Quarantine Act. The test case in the Appeals court was won for Dixon’s client with a unanimous five-judge verdict.
He remains focused on transport, manufacturing, motor trade, engineering and large farm clients.
What are his plans for the future?
On a business level, “more of the same. I will continue to empower and encourage my staff to perform at their best as I have done for the last decade. I will continue to advocate for my clients, embracing new technology and being open to business and industry changes.”
On a personal level, Dixon invests significant time, effort and funds, along with his GT3, to support many charities through his passion for motorsport. From participating in and sponsoring the Thunderbolt Run (which provides tens of thousands of dollars in support for Beyond Blue and Prostate Cancer), to organising and running the Track Knights for Amira charity night where 28 Exotic Supercars raised funds through passenger laps in wet conditions, Dixon states “this is our time to give back to the community and those in need. My friendships and association with those seeking to do the same, allows us to contribute to those less fortunate and raise funds and awareness”.
He adds: “To be able to give back to the community is rewarding and fulfilling. I am honoured to be in a position where I can raise funds for those less fortunate and in need.”