A Road Warrior, Now Home Bound Wholesaling During COVID-19

My wife made a comment recently that really struck a chord—this was the most she had seen me at home since we’ve been married. I, like many of my peers in the wholesaling business, would consider myself a road warrior—it goes with the territory pretty much. Being a wholesaler for a large firm means travelling—a lot—mile after mile, year after year, by air or by car. The miles are tiring, but not without certain perks, and usually we are treated like royalty with our hotel chains of choice.

Then came 2020. This pandemic has really changed the way we do business;  being constantly on the go has switched to being stuck at home trying to balance office work and family life.

Is this the new normal, or merely an aberration before normality returns? My last flight was on March 11, returning home to Toronto from Victoria, British Columbia.  I have not driven my car at all in two months and still have my winter tires on.

Aside from the travel, I have only seen my colleagues and clients via video conference, which is a big change. I continue to ask myself, when will I get back on a plane and see clients face-to-face. My hope is for October, and some days I really believe this is a realistic target date; other days I get discouraged when I read about new COVID-19 case counts.

As a sales person, it is very important to adapt to change and pivot to whatever comes next. Sales are never guaranteed. In today’s environment, face-to-face meeting now occur digitally, where you no longer have to worry about traffic delays or missed flights. Instead, the main concern is losing internet connection during a Zoom call. But all things considered, I think I have adjusted to my daily commute from my bedroom to my home office pretty well. It has also given me the opportunity to connect with my clients more often, and in the absence of time spent on flights and in airports, I can provide more timely follow ups, which has really elevated my client interactions.

My conversations over the past three months are principally about fixed income.  Yes, the equity markets have roared back since March, but you still need to have cushioning in a portfolio to reduce market volatility and provide income. I have also advocated for active management in this difficult interest rate environment. Our ETFs have fared well during these testing times: Franklin Liberty Canadian Investment Grade Corporate ETF (FLCI) just celebrated its three-year anniversary and was awarded a 5-Star Morningstar rating; Franklin Liberty Global Aggregate Bond ETF CAD-Hedged (FLGA) continues to garner inflows, having recently crossed the $600m milestone.

If you would like to learn more about Franklin’s fixed income ETFs, please feel free to contact me or a member of our sales team to learn more.

In the meantime, I will be at home/work, wondering when current circumstances do indeed become the new normal.