Our Approach 

Investors have long wondered whether it’s worth paying someone to mastermind a financial plan. Does financial advice come at a cost? In reality advice doesn’t cost, it pays. According to Morningstar Inc. it pays 1.82% per year.

That may not sound like much, but in the researcher’s project it could mean an extra 30% income per year for retirees who receive financial advice compared to those who do it alone.

The Centre for Interuniversity Research and Analysis on Organizations (CIRANO) found that the presence of a Financial Advisor meant that within a household’s financial assets found that those with a Financial Advisor had 58% more financial assets than those that went on their own.

The value of advice didn’t just come from better asset selection alone but also from the little things that investors tend to overlook. Morningstar Inc. zeroed in on five if these factors.

1.  Asset Allocation
2. Withdrawal strategies
3. Tax efficiency
4. The use of traditional investment products vs guaranteed-income products
5. Investing with a goal of meeting the investor’s specific needs and time line
    

1. Asset allocation
Asset allocation, according to the Econometric Models papers accounted for a 3% higher return for investors who receive Financial Advice vs those who did not.
 

2. Withdrawal strategy
Using withdrawals that were “dynamic “ in which withdrawals were re-assessed on a regular basis to ensure sustainability based on market conditions helped to ensure investors wouldn’t run out of money.
 

3. Tax Efficiency
The next most significant factor was tax efficiency. This referred to the use of investment strategies to help reduce an investor’s tax liability.

What is interesting is that if you asked most investors why they seek financial advice and what their advisor does for them, these are probably not the items that spring to mind. Morningstar Inc. report suggests that the way investors view their financial advisors may need to shift. Rather than seeking an advisor to select mutual funds, what should be looking for is someone who’ll sit down and listen to our specific needs and financial goals, someone who’ll consult with us on a regularly basis and ensure that our savings and investment goals are on track; and, most importantly, someone who’ll look out for our long-term interest and ensure that we have not just a portfolio that is filled with good investments, but one that isn’t being drawn down too quickly during retirement, or being eaten away by taxes.

We take the trust that you have placed in us with your investments very seriously and we utilize the information and tools available to us to develop the best possible investment strategy for you. We have formulated a unique process that we follow that we call “The 7 P’s of Planning”

1. Philosophy
Our philosophy is based on the concept that markets and investments cannot be timed; therefore a system of significant diversification is needed to achieve desired returns while reducing risk as much as possible.
 

2. Plan
Portfolio constructions – identify the investment opportunity and determine if the opportunity fits within the design of the overall portfolio construction and asset allocation. Currently a structure utilizing sector allocation and not Canadian or US index holdings reduces the inherent risks of the psychological volatility of the markets. Providing active management with style diversification ensures the investor’s portfolio maintains above average returns with below average risk in-line with their own risk profile.
 

3. Product
Product selection is a constant research process analyzing all aspects of an investments components’, such as past performance (consistency) in all market conditions, tax efficiency of income payouts and their frequency, as well as the mix of holdings in relation to other positions held, to avoid overconcentration and duplication of positions.
 

4. People
We source the best in class Managers - analyze their investment philosophy and strategies to ensure they match the investor’s profile and investment objectives. Another value added service.
 

5. Performance
We know we can never pick the top performing fund in each class or category as this is always a moving target, but what we do is to seek consistently performing first quartile investments that can match or beat their peers and if possible their benchmark on a constant basis, that provides, on a risk adjusted basis, significant upside capture in rising markets with below average downside capture in falling markets.
 

6. Price
Management fees are and will always be an issue and it is important that the fee is justifiable for the quality and ultimately the return for the investor. Sacrificing returns to have a lower fee defeats the purpose of the investment, thus we are constantly reviewing cost vs return matrix’s to ensure the best bottom line for the investor.
 

7. Progress
Once an investment portfolio is developed for you that isn’t the end. We constantly monitor each and every holding within your portfolio to ensure it is still the right investment for you. With diligent research we seek consistent and repeatable investment performance as a value added service.