Jim Otar

Jim C. Otar, M.Eng., is a retired certified financial planner and professional engineer; he founded Retirementoptimizer.com Inc.

Planning and Advice

Inflation lessons from history

It’s time to stress-test client portfolios

By Jim Otar |December 17, 2021

3 min read

Planning and Advice

How sustainable is the CPP?

A panoramic view of the next 75 years

By Jim Otar |May 14, 2021

9 min read

Market Insights

How asset allocation impacts portfolio recovery

Don’t underestimate the behavioural element

By Jim Otar |July 16, 2020

5 min read

Advisor's Edge

How long until my portfolio recovers from March’s sell-off?

Using historical returns to forecast a recovery

By Jim Otar |June 12, 2020

5 min read

Advisor's Edge

ALDAs: to buy or not to buy

A breakdown of who benefits from the federal government’s proposed annuity

By Jim Otar |February 7, 2020

6 min read

Market Insights

Why aftcasting is better than efficient frontier

Traditional tools aren’t likely to optimize clients asset mixes

By Jim Otar |October 14, 2014

6 min read

Industry

Prioritize expenses in drawdown calculations

The famous 4% rule won’t work for many clients

By Jim Otar |May 16, 2014

5 min read

Life

Picture this: You have a client – 10 years away from retirement – who comes to you for retirement advice. You spend several hours, maybe a full day with him, going over many different retirement scenarios. At the end of this exercise, you prepare a plan that is as thick as a phone book. In […]

By Jim Otar |June 8, 2010

3 min read

Life

How to overfund UL

“What?” you might say, “I didn’t know universal life insurance (UL) had an expiry date!” Relax. You’re right. UL doesn’t come with an expiry date. As long as you pay the premiums on time, you’re covered. “But if lifelong payment seems like a long commitment, universal life has a clause—quick-pay UL insurance—that allows the insured […]

By Jim Otar |August 1, 2009

3 min read