December 16, 2024
The son of doctors, Robert McLean was destined to head down the medical path himself when a fortuitous conversation with a friend and mentor guided him towards another career anchored in intimate relationships, intellectual complexity and problem solving.
For more than 13 years now, Robert has applied a diagnostic mindset to his career in financial services, working with his clients and their families – many of whom are, indeed, doctors.
“I take a diagnostic approach to my clients’ portfolios,” Robert says from his Vancouver office. “That begins with fully understanding their experiences with money, their current situation, and their ambitions for themselves, their
loved ones, and their legacies. I don’t want my clients to feel they have a problem they can’t share with me.”
Having decided to pursue a career in financial services, Robert learned all he could about business, markets and investment strategies. He was soon hooked. “As with the evolving nature of medical sciences, I learned that you could study the financial
markets every day and still not know everything. I love that.”
Robert began his career in retail banking, then transitioned to a brokerage role, before realizing that working with families and businesses – particularly in philanthropy and estate planning – were his true passions. Once again, it was a
chance conversation that led to his next career move.
“I had heard of CC&L Private Capital, but at the time I didn’t think that I had sufficient experience to work there. All that changed after a recruiter called and said that I should grow my career at the company. I made the move in 2021,
and I couldn’t be happier. The breadth, depth and calibre of CC&L Private Capital’s offering provides the foundation I need to assist my high-net-worth clients.”
With clients in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario, Robert frequently works closely with what he calls “complex families”: families with a variety of financial interests and assets spanning generations, and even countries, who require bespoke
strategies to help them achieve their various goals. “Parents and their children often have very different views of what wealth means, and this is particularly true among high-net-worth families. I have candid and constructive conversations
with all family members, reassuring them as to how their wealth will be transferred and invested over time. Instilling sound financial literacy concepts is critical, and it pays in dividends – sometimes literally.”
Robert is a Wealth Advisor, Advising Representative, and one of the certified Family Enterprise Advisors (FEA) at CC&L Private Capital, an accreditation he holds proudly. His Master Financial Advisor – Philanthropy (MFA-P™) designation
adds to his growing expertise when it comes to working with families and business owners who want to use tax efficient ways to give back to the causes that mean the most to them.
When not working with clients, Robert can be found on the water on his sailboat or in his garden. Over the past few years, he has cultivated a keen interest in urban beekeeping. “Did you know it takes up to a million flower visits to create a pound
of honey?” he asks.
Teaching their young daughter about where their food comes from is important to Robert and his wife. And fittingly, Robert gifts his clients a pound of honey over the holidays.
How did Robert’s parents feel about his change in career? “They took it fairly hard for the first several years at my previous firms. In fact, it was only once I had joined CC&L Private Capital that they saw how I was directly contributing
to my clients’ financial well-being. Doctors often struggle to find financial professionals who take their fiduciary role as seriously as a Hippocratic oath. I think my parents appreciate that I’ve filled that gap.”