What is Financial Planning?

According to the College of Financial Planning , comprehensive financial planning is "the process in which coordinated, comprehensive strategies are developed and implemented for the achievement of the clients financial goals and objectives."  This is achieved by following the financial planning process that includes:

1. Establish client-planner relationship
2. Determine client's goals and objectives, define the scope of the engagement
3. Gather data and analyze or evaluate to determine client's current financial situation
4. Develop and document the financial plan and present to the client
5. Assist the client with implementing the plan
6. Monitor and update the financial plan
   

We believe our role as your financial planner is to coordinate the bevy of attorneys, insurance agents, accountants, stockbrokers, etc. to ensure your best interests are served at all times, and focused on the achievement of your goals and objectives.  We believe "Money is a means to an end, not an end in itself." This relationship is best depicted as follows:

See Canada-US Planning Table

Comprehensive financial planning begins by understanding your beliefs and values about money, which in turn, leads to specific goals and objectives.  Once we know where you are going, we look at where you are and help develop a plan to get you there. Overall, your plan provides the context in which to place individual, day-to-day decisions. Changes in tax and estate laws, your income and expenses, death, disability and investment performance constantly affect your ability to achieve your goals.  Therefore, financial planning is not an event, but rather, a lifelong process. 

Comprehensive planning includes the analysis of eight specific areas:

1. Cash Management Planning -develop a net worth statement, cash inflows/outflows and then analyze the ownership of your assets between spouses, assets in Canada vs. the US and calculate various financial ratios.  This net worth statement serves as the benchmark to evaluate your progress over time. 
2. Income Tax Planning - review your current and projected tax situation and look for opportunities to reduce your current and future years tax burden. We also do a review of your past three years tax returns to ensure they are prepared correctly and with a view to minimizing your tax liability.
3. Independence/ Education Planning - run a set of detailed projections out to age 100 using current assets, income and expenses to determine the feasibility of your financial independence and lifestyle objectives. This helps provide insights into what actions, if any, may be necessary in achieving your goals. Education planning determines how much of your resources are required, at what point in time and what saving needs to take place to fund these future liabilities.
4. Risk Management - examines your current situation for risk exposures and determines the best course of action in addressing these risk exposures. For example, illness, fire, theft, an accident, disability, death, lawsuit, etc. are potential catastrophic events that could devastate what has taken a lifetime to build. 
5. Estate Planning -arrange your affairs so you can: (1) continue to control your property while alive; (2) provide for the needs of loved ones in the event of disability; and (3) give what you have to whom you want, when you want, the way you want, at the lowest overall cost.  The focus is on control first and tax dollars, professional fees and court costs saved second.
6. Investment Planning - determine your investment objectives as derived from your financial plan and then design an investment portfolio to achieve your required rate of return.  On-going monitoring, reporting and rebalancing of your portfolio is required over the long-term to ensure it is achieving your goals and risk tolerance.