We specialize in identifying missed opportunities. We start by listening to you and identifying your business, personal and work goals. Next, we will work closely with you to create an intricate, personalized and unique plan to address your financial situation.
I have worked with many corporations helping them grow to become more marketable, profitable and most importantly to help to reduce risk exposure. Improving efficiencies and maximizing profits is the goal of many companies I work with. Keeping the lines of communication open to identify trends and opportunities within your market. I strive to make information known to the company so they can make better financial decisions. Uncovering untapped niches, future developments and growth opportunities not known before will help companies gain an advantage over their competitors. Companies need a consultant who can lay the best options in front without diverting from the strategic plan. I have identified very successful financial investment patterns that can help and invoke a sense of trust among decision-makers and stakeholders.
Operating a growing business is both stressful and time consuming, I would know as I am growing one myself one client at a time. But it doesn’t have to be that complicated. Let me help you and your company develop and grow it to where you want it to be. Entrepreneurs tend to focus on the business needs before their own personal needs. I can help manage both your business and personal finances. Coordinating cash flow, investments, and taxes on an individual and professional scale will be vital in the growth of your company as you scale. I employ a holistic view to finances and have a keen understanding of the relationship between risk and returns which is the driving force of a business. I help develop a suitable strategy to ensure you have the appropriate credit and insurance needs in order to increase profitability, margins and overall cash flow.
You are about to finish or have finished schooling and are well-educated, smart and have good judgement. Asking an advisor for input would cost money versus a do-it-yourself approach. Unfortunately, there are many sad stories abound from veterans of the “I-can-do-this-myself” mindset. Being averse to paying for professional advice falls in the category of being penny wise and pound foolish. Getting out of a bad investment or plan could be even costlier.
If you thought getting up at 6am was hard, trying waking up 3 or 4 times a night on the graveyard shift when your wife attends to the cries of hunger of your new born child. Life is stressful enough with one, let alone 2 or more children. Where do I get the money to add to my RRSPs or TFSAs after having put money into the family RESP? Growing your wealth doesn’t have to be that complicated. Let us help you and your family by creating “your plan” that will be both achievable, easy to understand and rewarding all at the same time.
Retirement is that one thing you can put off while you're young as there are so many other things to worry about in life. I used to say a decade ago, “everything will sort itself out in the end, right?” Well, what if it doesn’t? What’s your plan now? Therein lies the problem with the strategy. More often than not, life doesn’t go as planned. More importantly, if it doesn’t you’ll end up putting not just yourself but also your family at risk. Clients ask me, what should I do? To which I respond it’s never too late to start now.
ESG investing comes in different shades of green as there are currently no US or global standards on how to measure how companies are delivering in these areas. The goal of an ESG investment is to consider both financial returns and social and environmental good. Many ESG investments are considered to be light-touch mandates because of their limited scope on investment criteria. In fact, many portfolio managers want their returns to mimic broader stock-market indices and thus struggle between owning the higher-ranked ESG stocks in a particular industry and choosing some names that might even surprise the socially conscious investor. I have had the privilege of working with an ESG investment firm and hence have accumulated the knowledge of what a good ESG investment looks like from both a corporate governance and return standpoint. I would love to share my strategies and thoughts on the space.
Have you already decided the exact date and year you want to proudly hang your hat? You many have even had visions of what your dream retirement would look like whether it be a nice cold beer/sangria/vino in hand on a deserted private beach, on the porch at the cottage, or even jet setting around the world. But most importantly, the common denominator to reaching your dream is that you had a carefully laid out plan in place to help you realize your dreams.
Retirement planning is extremely important for a number of reasons, of which I listed 6.
Accumulating the funds for retirement required for a comfortable retirement requires years of discipline. Most importantly you’ll want as large of a nest egg as possible especially when you are no longer bringing home a paycheque. Investing early into your retirement is the key so that the power of compounding can help it grow over time.
The future may have unforeseen obstacles. It’s important to recognize that you may experience financial hardships in the future do to an unexpected disability or job loss, and/or even having to support your adult children who have new moved back into the house. Your future is not guaranteed so retirement planning is critical so that if you run into trouble later on in life, you’ll have a safety net to fall back on.
Some employees or business owners may be classified as workaholics and truly believe they can work until the day they drop. But the fact is, you will not be able to perform at the highest level throughout your working career. As you age your productivity slows and certain tasks will become more difficult. Without a retirement plan to fall back on, you may be stuck in your “work forever” plan.
The average life expectancy continues to rise. We have all heard it before, with improvements to diet, regular exercise, improved work life balance (CV19 has afforded many of us with the ability and comfort of working from home) improvements in health care and technology; on average, many are now living longer than ever. What this amounts to is that you will require more retirement funds saved to continue to live on your terms. The need to plan early and save for longer has never been greater in order to have enough retirement funds to last your entire life.
Relying on your pension or social security can be a risky proposition. Sometimes, you have to change your plan because of an unexpected life change (i.e. you may be forced to move from full time to part time employment due to the need to take care of your children or elderly parents which then decreases your pension because you didn't meet the minimum 30 years of full time employment). Your retirement funds must be enough to supplement what you receive in your pension plan and old age security. Many Canadians aren’t fortunate enough to have a DBPP or an IPP to help cover any gaps or shortfalls from year to year. Proper retirement planning will be required to ensure that you can pay for in-home care, long term illness or a nursing facility.
Leaving a legacy. Your retirement savings don’t have to end with you. With a carefully laid out plan and discipline you can have a healthy pool of funds you can dip into that affords you the ability to help your children or grandchildren to attend post-secondary education, pay off debts or even buy their dream home. Planning ahead could mean the difference between leaving a nice gift for your family or leaving money to your favourite charity.
Generally speaking, when your financial life is more complicated that simply collecting a bi-weekly cheque, paying bills or you’re going through a major life transition (e.g. looking to buy your first car or condo/house) it’s probably time to start look at getting some help to build a customized plan to help you do so. Life is complicated already and adding to that the tough task of selecting which bond, ETF, GIC, mutual fund, or segregated fund to buy; and then handling all the decisions of which should go into your RRSP, GRSP, LIF, RRIF, DCPP on your own is enough to make your head spin more than once. Let us help you figure out the best strategy that works for you.
Listen, I was a student once and I wish I had someone teach me the ropes and talk about the mistakes you should avoid as a teenager or recent grad. Had I known all that I know today back then, life would most likely be different for me. To start your path on the right foot, it is probably best to sit down with someone older who’s been in your shoes. The key is to first figure out a plan to pay down and credit card, student loans you have accumulated and then work on how to build up a savings account. Having someone that can offer invaluable advice (someone other than your parents) can help during this unique transitional period when it comes to making financial decisions.
Devin and his team will be your Chief Financial Officer not only in assisting to devise a plan, continually adjust and monitor all aspects of your wealth in order to maximize the most out of your retirement savings.