Blog

Throughout the years, I’ve found that people tend to have a wide range of expectations that come to mind when they hear the term “Financial Advisor.” And it’s no wonder that sometimes even the advisors themselves have differing opinions on the term, and certainly different approaches to serving their clients. I’d like to outline what it means for me to be a financial advisor for my clients, and it’s not dissimilar to the relationship a golfer has with their caddie.… Read More »The Golf Caddie Analogy

One of the tools we are able to utilize when discussing the best course of action to secure your financial future is known as the Personal Economic Model®. Much as a medical doctor would use an anatomical model to convey medical concepts, we use the following model to convey financial concepts. This model offers a visual representation of the way money flows through your hands. On the left, you will notice the Lifetime Capital Potential tank which illustrates that the… Read More »Your Personal Economic Model®

We can learn a lot about becoming our clients’ Trusted Financial Expert from the book, “The Trusted Advisor” by David Maister.  The key to professional success is the ability to earn the trust and confidence of clients.  1. The Trusted Advisor: Puts clients’ interests in front of their own As David Maister puts it in The Trusted Advisor, “there is no greater source of distrust than advisors who appear to be more interested in themselves than in trying to be of service… Read More »10 Behaviours of a Trusted Advisor

As you know I am a strong advocate for having an up to date Will and POA.  You never want to leave those you care about in a bad situation, it is tough enough losing you or having you incapacitated. Our circumstances change over time and reviewing your Will from time to time keeps everything up to date and offers peace of mind to all. Here are a couple of great checklists from RBC that can help:  Have you prepared… Read More »Will Review and Tools

There once was a blind man who was miraculously given his eyesight. For his entire life he had accomplished everything he needed to do without the benefit of eyesight. Instead of utilizing his vision, he leaned heavily on the use of his other senses. When he was suddenly able to see, he had nothing to relate his new eyesight to. What was once familiar was now strange and complicated. He was seeing things for the very first time, and he… Read More »A Matter of Perspective

Why My Clients Choose to Work With Me

If you have had any previous experience with a financial advisor, chances are the conversation revolved around how much money you have, where it’s located, we can do a better job. It would seem that most investment firms share the same singular focus of trying to find better products that earn a higher rate of return which often take more risk. For all of the fancy analytics and mathematical acrobatics available today, nobody has yet figured out how to predict the future. Earning higher returns is certainly not a bad thing, and something we can help you with as well, however we believe we should help our clients avoid money they could be losing unnecessarily before considering options that require more risk.

Return is not the only thing to consider when evaluating the efficiency of your own personal economic model. There are three types of money:

Read More »Why My Clients Choose to Work With Me

It’s a funny thing about advice. Everyone seems to have an overabundance of knowing what others should do, and they have no problem telling you about it, especially when monetary gain is a motivating factor. However, there also seems to be an equal dearth of understanding about who such advice is given to. If you’re anything like us, we do not believe that advice for a “target market” is also solid advice for an individual whether they can be classified… Read More »Relationships are Fundamental