After getting his Bachelor’s of Business Administration from Simon Fraser University, Benjamin West has been a part of National Bank Financial since 2006. He’s contributed to improving the efficiency of our wealth advisors teams to help them grow. He’s focused on the human side of the business – for both our employee and client experience. He’s always looking to improve team dynamics, eliminate obstacles and advocate for their business.
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3min 02sec Transcript ↓
"One of the things that differentiates National Bank
Financial from the rest is we have the strength of the bank coupled
with a really strong entrepreneurial culture. Because of that, we're
able to execute our strategy with a nice BC focus within
it."
Benjamin West of National Bank Financial – Wealth Management
Vice-President and Regional Manager:
Benjamin West
Associate Regional Manager:
Minette Polepil
Number of wealth advisors:
65
Assets under management:
$12 billion
Number of branches
5 + 2 sub-branches
Branch locations:
Vancouver, West Vancouver, Victoria, Sidney, White Rock, Richmond and Duncan.
Support team in place
Carmen Wong provides regional operational support and quarterbacks the administration of onboardings.
Our regional managers
Benjamin West
Vice-President and Regional Manager
Minette Polepil
Associate Regional Manager
With her Bacholor of Commerce and CIM, Minette Polepil has been a part of National Bank Financial since 2018 but has been in the investment industry since 1996. With a background in marketing and business development, she’s passionate about helping advisors develop and grow their client base. To do so, she focuses on problem-solving and finding creative ways to meet the needs of wealth advisors and associates while ensuring profitability, productivity and efficiency. She also has experience in HR and performance management, which allows her to support advisors in creating and maintaining a high-functioning team.
Great opportunities await you
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About NBFWM
Because of our best-of-both-worlds offer, our wealth advisors, on average, have a 20+ year tenure with NBFWM. And that number is growing.
About NBC
National Bank of Canada is a bank with a human touch that forms,
along with its subsidiaries, one of Canada’s largest financial groups.
With more than 31,000 employees, we stand out for our boldness,
entrepreneurial culture, passion, and commitment to diversity.
Little details that matter
Ben: Hi, my name is Ben West and I'm the Vice President and Regional Manager for National Bank Financial here in BC.
Minette: And I am Minette Polepil. I'm the Aassociate Regional Manager for our BC region.
Ben: One of the things that differentiates National Bank from the rest is I think we have the strength of the bank coupled with a really strong entrepreneurial culture.
Randall: National Bank is great in that as much as it's a large Bank, it also has very much of a small company feel in that management is very responsive, that communication is very important
Ben: And it's all lost on either of us that this can be a stuffy industry. So to be able to bring energy, to have a little bit of fun, to engage, all that’s really important.
Rana: They're flexible, their nimble and they're patient, you know, they really I think understand that perspective of the advisors and their team.
Ken: If I could sum it up in one word. It would be culture.
Ben: For me, it's a culture of support and inclusion.
Minette: And the way that we approach working with our advisors is definitely different. We do have a separate budget put aside. Our teams of advisors can come with ideas of how to spend that and it might be a way they spend it in the community. It might be a way to target a different group of clients.
Anna: The attitude is humans helping other humans.
Ben: So giving us the ability to make decisions that benefit our advisor groups locally support the causes that they're passionate about, I think that was key.
Ken: They actually believe in us. Thank goodness I have my son and my other two children that work directly with me, National Bank was very supportive.
Ben: Because National Bank Financial is the anchor here in BC. We're able to execute our strategy with a nice BC focus in with it.
Minette: This is a great place to live and that means in our branches. We need to feel that.
Ben: I think we have a complimentary skill set, you know, a technical understanding of the investments as well as the head office connections to help with escalations.
Minette: My strength, my passion is marketing in business development and then I couple that with HR and people management.
Ben: Where we complement each other as well is transparency and clearness of communication. I think that's what our advisors need. We’re BC based, we want BC-based initiatives to come to the forefront and so it requires Minette and I to communicate openly and directly and ensure that the advisor voices are heard.
Randall: The people are great. They're supportive. They're helpful. It's just a very pleasant place to work.
Rana: They really support your vision. I've been extremely supported as a female advisor. They don't have this corporate structure, that's too rigid, you get a feeling of openness and teamwork and the freedom to kind of be creative with your business.
Anna: So I absolutely love National Bank Financial. I cannot say enough about it and the people are what make National Bank an incredible place to work.
Ken: They care, and I think that's the most important part of it.
Minette: People; our people come first. I feel like I say that a lot, but it is it's really what stands out, our people matter. That's the number one thing.