Is financial planning for me?
The majority of Canadian households have investable assets of less than $100,000. And for many, the circumstances of their savings leave them feeling that their net worth does not justify the need to seek professional advice. However, the opposite is true. We believe financial advice is advantageous in all phases of life. From helping newlyweds learn how to budget, to assisting transitioning employees out of the workforce into retirement, we assess the individual financial needs and challenges for each of our clients in order to recommend the appropriate steps to help them achieve their goals.
What can I expect?
We will start with an appointment to get to know you where we will review your personal and financial history and discuss your goals. From there, we will prepare an individualized financial plan for you that will help you to meet your short and long-term objectives. We’ll then work closely with you to put this plan to work, meeting regularly to ensure we remain current on your situation and to keep you apprised of things happening in the market that may affect your situation.
What is the value of a financial advisor?
The Financial Planning Standards Council revealed in its Value of Financial Planning study that “regardless of net worth, Canadians who engage CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER professionals for their financial planning needs report that they are experiencing significantly higher levels of financial and emotional well-being’’. With professional advice comes improved savings behaviour, the opportunity to identify tax-efficient investment vehicles, support to build and maintain long term investment strategies, as well as objective opinions to help mitigate emotional investing habits. Our advice does not come with a minimum investment, so regardless of age, stage or net worth we can offer a strategy for you. Sound advice provides investors with a better chance of accumulating greater wealth.
*1 Surveys were conducted from August 2009 – August 2012. The research surveys the general English-speaking population in Canada (excluding Quebec). The results listed are from the third year of research, conducted from April – August 2012.
Why not just do it yourself online?
Recently, we’ve seen a surge of ads promoting do-it yourself investing, with out the administration costs. With some of these ads making claims that if “everything is equal, you could obtain 30% more wealth by doing it yourself vs. working with an advisor”, its difficult not to be intrigued and certainly consider the switch to self- directed investing.
However, everything else is not equal and the hypothetical claims made by these companies are not necessarily reflective of true returns. Financial planning is a comprehensive evaluation of your current and future financial state, used to implement the steps needed to reach your objectives. This cannot be achieved by a computer algorithm alone.
How much does your service cost?
We will always ensure that you are aware of, and consent to the service costs associated with your investment. For illustrative purposes, in most instances, the average cost of a portfolio is between 2 & 2.5 percent. Typically, 1.5 percent of that cost is paid to a fund company for their professional investment management and operating costs. The remaining 1 percent is then split between us, the advisor, and our dealer, who ensures compliance and oversight, privacy enforcement and money laundering protection. The fee that is directed to us is used to cover the service and value our clients receive through our ongoing support, financial planning, client meetings, administration and client reporting. We believe in transparency around the cost and value of our services.
*Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees, and expenses may be associated with mutual fund investments. Please read the fund facts before investing. Mutual funds are not guarantees, and their values change frequently, and past performance may not be repeated.
What should I have saved at what stage of my life?
This will depend very much on personal circumstances and your goals. We would be happy to have you for a no fee/no commitment review to learn more about your goals and objectives in order to make a suitable recommendation.