Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) has appointed two female financial planners to head its financial planning practice in The Bahamas.
Alicia Bain-Thompson and Christina Kenny-Sands, both accredited personal financial planners (PFPs), received their appointments after completing nine months of intensive study with the Canadian Securities Institute (CSI) to obtain their PFP accreditation.
"We are pleased to be focusing on this new practice area for RBC and to be in a position to help clients develop sound financial plans," said Kenny-Sands.
"When working with clients we discover what is important to them and then strategize with them to help them meet their goals."
Bain-Thompson said RBC's financial planning process takes a comprehensive approach to each client's situation. It includes looking at cash flow, debt management, tax planning, investment planning, risk management, retirement planning and estate planning.
RBC's financial planners primarily work with clients who, given the size and composition of their banking portfolios and assets, require more sophisticated financial guidance and expertise.
Bain-Thompson joined RBC Royal Bank in 1990 as a customer service representative. She has held progressively larger roles with the bank, including management trainee, personnel training officer and senior account manager.
During her 23-year tenure, she has gained broad financial services experience in the areas of investments, mortgages and loans.
Bain-Thompson has a bachelor of arts degree in business administration from Sojourner Douglas College and an associate of arts degree in business administration from The College of The Bahamas.
Kenny-Sands has seven and half years of banking experience, having started her RBC career as a mortgage specialist for RBC FINCO in 2010. In that role she prepared mortgage analysis and assessments and conducted financial planning and product presentations for clients.
Prior to joining RBC, Kenny-Sands worked for another international bank as a senior client account representative, gaining extensive knowledge of financial and investment products, and conducting credit analysis for both consumer loans and mortgages.
Kenny-Sands has a bachelor of science degree in technical management from DeVry University and an associate of arts degree from The College of The Bahamas in computer data processing.
"The discovery process we use at RBC allows our financial planners to gain a solid understanding of what is most important in their clients' lives, including their broader life goals," said Nathaniel Beneby, market head, personal banking, RBC Bahamas, Cayman and Turks and Caicos Islands.
"They use this information to develop detailed and tailored plans for achieving the clients' high-priority items, in the short, medium and long term."
"Financial planners have intimate knowledge of cutting-edge products and services available and provide ongoing advice to clients," added Bain-Thompson.
"We help clients to set realistic personal and financial goals and develop a comprehensive plan toward the achievement of those goals."

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