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C
ricky Smith has never been
afraid of a challenge.
Conquering the unknown
has been a recurring theme
in her life, from her years in
the military to her site security work at Point
Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station in Maces
Bay, N.B.
But even more than a challenge, Smith is
wired to help people. In 2011, she followed
her husband, Colin, into the financial world
by taking a position at Manulife Bank in Saint
John. ere, she found her niche.
"I found that in finances and the mortgage
industry, I could help clients make a better
informed decision," Smith tells Canadian
Mortgage Broker. At the bank, she helped
clients wrestle their debt, build cash-flow
strategies, repair credit and gain a better
understanding of their mortgage.
"At that point, I wasn't just doing
mortgages. By partnering with financial
advisers, I could more accurately arrange the
mortgage to help a client, and I found that
much more rewarding," she says.
Ultimately, the purchase of a home is
perhaps the biggest financial decision most
people will ever make, and Smith says she feels
honoured to be a part of that process.
She stayed with Manulife until 2015,
when she decided to start her own mortgage
brokerage without ever having been a broker.
"I found I was limited in what I could offer
clients because I could only offer the bank's
portfolio. So I decided to start my own
company, and that started the roller-coaster of
my learning curve. It gave me a much better
appreciation for the industry because I had to
start everything from the ground up – get all
the contracts in place, learn the portfolios."
It was a huge outlay of time and effort,
but Smith had an end goal in sight: a healthy
Meeting a Challenge
Cricky Smith helps homebuyers tame debt while identifying the
best mortgage product for the biggest purchase of their lives. At home,
she and her family pursue the simple life – with an emphasis on
giving back to the community BY LISA GORDON
40
| spring 2019 cmba-achc.ca CMB MAGAZINE
