What Should You Ask Your Advisor

Level of Service and Advice

1. Will you be providing comprehensive, integrated financial advice? If not, what advice will you be providing? How often will I hear from you?
2. How often will we review my financial plan to make sure I am on track?
3. Do you provide a written summary of the highlights of our meetings?
4. When I call, how long will it be before I will hear back? Will you return the call yourself or will your associate?
5. If we have a problem, what steps should I take?

Type of Relationship

6. Will our conversations be treated as confidential?
7. Who besides you will have access to my information?
8. Will I be dealing with you or one of your associates?
9. Describe the profile of your typical client? Your ideal client?
10. Is a minimum account size required?
11. Is my account larger/smaller than your average account size?

The Costs

12. How do I pay you?
1. Directly: Fee for service, commissions, fee based on the size of my account, fees based on portfolio performance
2. Indirectly: Deferred sales charges and/or trailer fees, other fees based on the size of your account, or salary paid by your firm.
13. What fees and other costs, both direct and indirect, are involved in working with you and your firm?
14. Can you give me a dollar estimate of what those fees and costs would be for someone with my needs?
15. Do you have a minimum annual fee?
16. Do I have to pay GST or HST on top of these costs?

Qualifications

17. Are you or your firm licensed to offer investments to the public?
If yes, are you registered to provide financial planning advice?
If no, are you qualified to provide financial planning advice?

18. What is your professional training?
19. What is your experience as a financial advisor?
20. Do you carry professional liability insurance?
21. How many hours of continuing education do you complete each year?
22. Are you a member of any professional association?
23. Has the regulator or your professional association ever disciplined you?

If You Want Them to Manage Your Investments

24. Will you manage the investments yourself or outsource it?
25. Is your firm registered with a major stock exchange or a member of the Investment Dealers Association?
26. What sort of investor protection is available?
27. What range of products and services do you offer?
28. What is your investment philosophy?
29. Will you be recommending any investments that would tie me to your firm? If so, which ones and why?
30. What types of investments are you currently recommending?
31. What potential conflicts of interest should I be aware of?
32. Will you be required to call me before you make any changes in my investments?
33. How often will you be reviewing my investment performance?

Meeting Your Advisor - In Person!

Have your accountant and your financial advisor met?

They should be meeting once a year. There is a lot for these two professionals to talk about regarding your tax and investment strategy. Most business owners believe that their accountants tell them everything that they could be doing to save taxes. This is very seldom true.

Most accountants do not offer a lot of forward thinking advice, they are trained to think backwards, as in, this has already happened, how do we make it most tax efficient. Your financial advisor is the opposite, they are thinking, what can we do going forward. When these two professionals get together it is in your best interest. If they have NOT met, ask them why they haven’t suggested meeting.

Did you know that there are ways of getting money from your business to your personal hands TAX FREE, yes tax free.

Did you know that you can hold cash in your business for an almost indefinite amount of time without paying tax on any gains? Actually on that note did you know that most business bank accounts pay 0.00% interest.

Did you know that you can get business accounts that DO pay interest and back to the first point, lets say you have your company’s rainy day money in liquid safe investments, wouldn’t it be nice to know that you will not have to pay tax on that money until YOU decide to.

I can tell you from personal experience that Accountants do not offer this information. It is not because they are bad accountants or that they don’t know, (although again their training isn’t to seek out these strategies) it is that you are paying them to look after the things that have happened with your corporate “books”.

I consider my own accountant to be very proficient, very professional, very thorough and diligent. He has been my accountant for 5 years. We now meet once a month to have lunch and discuss ideas that I have as an advisor and he puts them to the “tax test”. He has been amazed at all the things that individuals and specifically business owners can do to reduce their tax bill.

Money Market or Short Term Bonds (Funds)

The big thing these days since our market meltdown that started back in November is to make sure that everyone's money is "safe"

Money Market funds were taking in the majority of money since November, and now because of their pathetic returns of on average .24% more people are now seeking out short term bonds and bond funds to increase that paltry return THINKING they will be a safe place to do so.

Think long and hard before taking on this strategy. See attached for our recent research.

For more information - click here.