Planning and Advice

Decorative pattern

Planning and Advice

Doctors’ retirement plans on life support

To gauge the impact of the financial crisis, all Dr. Maria Hugi has to do is look out the window of the home she purchased a few years ago in Dupont, Wash., with her fellow emergency room physician husband. The couple, who also are both ER doctors in Vancouver, where they have their primary home, […]

By Matthew Sylvain |February 9, 2009

7 min read

Decorative pattern

Planning and Advice

Handling statement shock

When your clients look at their next portfolio statement, the numbers aren’t going to be pretty. And even though they’ve heard the litany of bad news, when they see it, the reality of the steep declines will hit home. So how should you handle this statement shock? One of the smartest approaches is to provide […]

By April-Lynn Levitt and Kim Poulin |February 2, 2009

4 min read

Decorative pattern

Planning and Advice

The Y factor

With the average age of Canada’s advisor community hovering around the 50 mark, that workforce realistically has about 15 years before it starts to deplete, potentially leaving older clients advisorless. To remedy this, firms are increasingly looking to Generation Y — those under the age of 30 — to repopulate the ranks. But three decades […]

By Mark Noble |February 2, 2009

11 min read

Decorative pattern

Planning and Advice

Claiming names

What does it mean when advisors describe themselves, or their services, as fee-only, fee-for-service, or fee-based? It’s a question investors are asking, so those of us in the industry need to hurry up and make those distinctions. The fee-advisor market is both fascinating and confusing. That’s in part due to the fact that titles are […]

By Marc Lamontagne |February 1, 2009

7 min read