Practice

The value of financial-planning services

Recent economic woes and job uncertainties have led to increased interest among many Canadians, including the baby boomers, in their financial health. But although the media is rampant with discussions on financial planning, there are still very few individuals who have the confidence and security of an understandable plan that addresses their financial and other life goals.

By Douglas Lamb |October 1, 2010

5 min read

Planning and Advice

Listen before you leap into social media

Everywhere you turn these days, people are talking about social media, and rightly so. Social media tools are maturing, demographics are changing and the way that people network and build reputation is evolving. Should you set up a Facebook page? Should you Twitter? What about blogging? What would you blog about? How much time is […]

By Jay Palter |September 24, 2010

2 min read

Planning and Advice

Tech every advisor needs – Part 2

In Part 1 we covered three pieces of technology that have paid for themselves several times over. Here are four more that have also had such a big impact on our practice that we just can’t live without them. 4. OneNote ($100 – or included with some versions of MS Office) Sometimes you just want […]

By Mathieu Paradis |September 21, 2010

6 min read

Planning and Advice

People are more persistent than mutual funds

Tell me if you’ve ever come across this statement before: Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees and expenses all may be associated with mutual fund investments. Please read the prospectus before investing. Mutual funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated. This is, I’m sure you’ll agree, the standard […]

By John J. De Goey |September 15, 2010

3 min read

Advising on group assets pays off in the end

This Advisor.ca Special Report is sponsored by: Most advisors will tell you that they want what’s best for the client; but they also want to get paid for their work. That can pose a problem for clients who need help choosing off-book assets such as a defined contribution plan or a group RRSP. “At the […]

5 min read

Group assets play vital role in planning

This Advisor.ca Special Report is sponsored by: A Group RRSP represents an item on your client’s balance sheet that can’t be ignored. Contributions, investments and performance of this account all play a part in your client’s overall financial plan, and ultimately in your relationship. Free money is a good thing For many, this salient point […]

By Kathleen Peace |September 14, 2010

3 min read

How to get noticed

Sometimes the best advice comes from our peers, so we visited the advisor.ca forums to see what’s going on in the trenches. What we found, among lively debates and reaction to the latest industry news, was a veritable gold mine of guidance on what to do — and not do — to build a more successful practice.

By Nancy Turner |September 1, 2010

3 min read

Start transitioning early

That great rush of enthusiastic investors who found 24-hour financial networks, the Internet and their 40th birthday all in the same decade are now retiring. So are the proud, fierce tribes of financial advisors who sprung from that demographic and prospered.

By Will Wood |September 1, 2010

6 min read

Advisors weigh in on debt

As promised, in this column I will reveal the results of my very unscientific yet telling poll. If you read my last Advisor.ca article ’Ask Them Yourself’ you may have noticed the survey I created for advisors to answer. You may have even taken the time to follow the link and weigh in. On top […]

5 min read