Cultivating a higher degree of accomplishment - driven by your dreams

As a business owner, you’ve built something you care about – and you want to see it last. We’re well-versed in the challenges and opportunities before you and as your financial guide, we help you see all angles of the bigger picture – important things like succession planning, passing on a legacy to the next generation and helping to ensure your workers have options for retirement planning.

We help you cut through the complexity of your financial situation to create, implement and manage an all-encompassing plan designed to pursue your goals – personally and professionally. Our strategies capitalize on our deep resources and insightful analysis and are customized to your needs.

CASE STUDY: Business Owner

Steve and Sylvia were successful business owners who had accumulated significant wealth, the bulk of which was tied to their company (~$16 million). They hoped to sell their business within the next five years and to use the proceeds to fund their retirement, to leave a legacy for their two kids, and to meet their philanthropic goals. After working hard for most of their lives, they were looking forward to enjoying quality time with their family and travelling.

Key Considerations:

• Wealth management and financial planning
• Tax minimization
• Insurance opportunities
• Estate planning
• Business succession plan
• Charitable giving

How We Helped:

• Conducted an in-depth discovery to understand their full financial picture, determine their short and long-term goals, priorities and risk tolerance.
• Completed a comprehensive financial plan to identify gaps between their current financial circumstance and their goals.
• As a result of the plan, we devised a tax-efficient savings and investment strategy, including the use of an Individual Pension Plan and corporate-owned permanent life insurance.
• Designed and deployed a well-diversified portfolio, focused on tax-efficient long-term growth.
• Collaborated with our estate and insurance specialists and recommended strategies to minimize the erosion of their estate from taxes.
• Recommended two succession planning specialists.
• Through the Raymond James Foundation, we established the Steve & Sylvia Foundation to manage investments and provide funds to their designated charities, both during their lives and after their passing.

Between the demands of leading your company and the complex nature of your personal finances, it’s only natural to want to ensure your assets are in order and working as hard as you do. We’ve created an efficient, consultative process to evaluate your case individually and tailor holistic strategies around your specific circumstances.

We understand the challenges you face, such as finding solutions for concentrated stock positions and strategies to protect your family and your legacy. We offer personalized guidance on these important issues and more – allowing you to focus on what matters most.

CASE STUDY: Corporate Executive

Paul was a 50 year-old advertising executive who had moved up through the ranks of his firm after many years of hard work and successful campaigns. Paul’s regular compensation was made up of a high salary plus bonus. In addition, because he had partial ownership of the firm, he received profit sharing. This was paid directly to a private holding company owned by Paul and his wife Anne. Anne was a self-employed consultant whose income varied. Together they had two teenage children. Despite having a high household income, they felt anxious about their family’s current financial situation and their ability to meet their immediate and longer-term financial goals, including semi-retiring in the next ten years and how to plan for future withdrawals from their holdco.

Key Considerations:

• Wealth management and financial planning
• Tax minimization
• Insurance opportunities
• Risk reduction
• Estate planning

How We Helped:

• Conducted an in-depth discovery to understand their full financial picture, determine their short and long-term goals, priorities and risk tolerance.
• Completed a comprehensive financial plan to identify gaps between their current financial circumstance and their goals.
• We worked with their accountant to fully understand the potential tax implications on their holdco. By devising a strategy to focus on capital growth, we were able to reduce current taxes and increase the balance in the capital dividend account (CDA). Surpluses in the CDA allowed for tax-free distributions to Paul and Anne.
• Part of their tax minimization and estate plan included the purchase of a permanent joint last to die insurance policy within the holdco.,
• As a result of the plan, we found that despite their anxiety around their finances, with a few tweaks they are in a comfortable position to meet their goals.
• Their previous investments were highly concentrated on ownership in individual Canadian companies. To reduce risk, we implemented an investment strategy to provide better balance between fixed income and equities, while also increasing global diversification.
• Collaborated with our insurance specialist and recommended strategies to minimize the risk of financial instability should Paul experience income loss, disability or premature death.

Together with our senior trust advisor, we made several estate plan recommendations. These included the drafting of a new will, powers of attorney, a testamentary trust and because they were Ontario residents, the use of a secondary will to deal with the holdco.

Family is an important consideration in most financial plans. From getting married, starting a family and planning for a child’s education, to losing a loved one, divorce or taking care of an elderly parent, it’s important to plan ahead for both the expected and unexpected, in order to protect yourself and your loved ones.

We’ll help you to look at your current situation, set realistic goals and put the right plan in place. And as your life changes, we’ll be here to help you readjust and move forward with a financial strategy designed to meet your current and future needs. To us, each situation presents a challenge and an opportunity to make smart, pragmatic financial decisions.

CASE STUDY: FAMILY (Inheritance, Divorce, Surviving a Spouse)

Ruby was an only child and grew up in a family that lived modestly. As a full-time teacher, she had continued to live within her means. A single mother to two children, Ruby owned her car, had a small mortgage on her home and continued to put money away for her kids’ educations.  When Ruby’s mom passed away (her father died several years before), she learned her parents were much wealthier than she imagined. As the sole heir, Ruby inherited their estate, worth over $10 million. As someone with limited investment knowledge, Ruby didn’t know what to do or where to start.

Key Considerations:

• Understanding new assets, including retirement plans, stocks and bonds, life insurance, cash endowments, businesses or real estate. 
• Simplified investment management
• Tax implications
• Updated financial goals and estate plan
• Insurance needs
• Charitable giving

How We Helped:

• Conducted an in-depth discovery to help Ruby understand her full financial picture.
• We helped her to understand how to prioritize her goals. Using a risk tolerance assessment questionnaire, she learned more about risk and what she’s comfortable with.
• We drafted a personalized investment policy statement to guide in the management of her new-found wealth.
• Her portfolios were designed to take into consideration her goals, risk tolerance and time horizon. This resulted in a combination of high-quality exchange traded funds designed to generate a tax-effective mix of interest, dividends and capital gains.
• Introduced her to our estate and insurance specialists to review her needs and put strategies in place to ensure her kids are taken care of.
• Assisted in setting up a private foundation to directly support her charity of choice.

With retirees living longer, more active lives, it’s essential for your retirement plan to work for you, helping you enjoy the life you’ve envisioned while also mitigating risk that could make your nest egg vulnerable.

Working together, we talk about what you need and want your money to do for you and assess the likelihood that you’ll be able to achieve your goals. We discuss strategies that can help alleviate any of your concerns. As your lifestyle changes, we update your financial plan to keep you moving in the direction you want to go and provide solutions to ensure that your wealth passes in the most efficient way to your heirs and philanthropic endeavours through estate and legacy planning.

CASE STUDY: Retired Couple

John, 70 had recently sold his thriving dental practice and his wife, Jennifer, 62, a psychologist had reduced her client roster to just a few regular patients. They raised three children while juggling demanding careers and were looking forward to spending more time with each other, their kids and seven grandchildren, traveling and enjoying time at their cottage.

Key Considerations:

• Wealth preservation and income strategies
• Tax minimization
• Long-term care planning
• Estate planning

How We Helped:

• Conducted an in-depth discovery to understand their full financial picture, determine their short and long-term goals, priorities and risk tolerance.
• Completed a financial plan and analysis to determine how long their income and investments would sustain their desired lifestyle, goals and priorities.
• Rebalanced their portfolios to generate the right mix of interest, dividends, and capital gains to maximize their after-tax income.
• Introduced them to our estate and insurance specialists to review their estate planning needs and potential insurance-based income strategies.