Tag Archives: financial plan

KEY001 | Three Critical First Steps In Determining If You Need To Work With A Financial Planner

Three Critical First Steps In Determining If You Need To Work With A Financial Planner

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In This Episode

In this edition of The Key To Retirement, we’re going to talk about The Three Critical First Steps In Determining If You Need To Work With A Financial Planner

In today’s quick tip we’ll share a website you can use as a resource for finding a certified financial planner in your area.

And if you’d like to get a jump start on finding the answers to your key financial planning questions, using our proven system, you can book your risk free, no-obligation initial meeting.  One of our specifically trained Certified Financial Planners will be pleased to walk you through The KAIZEN Financial Planning Process.  Visit us online, at ironshield.ca, to obtain our contact information, then simply call or email to book your free initial meeting.

Bonus Segment

In today’s quick tip, we’re sharing a resource for finding a Certified Financial Planner in your area so that you can begin your journey towards hiring a financial planner.

Historically, the easiest way to get a list of names of firms to meet with was to go to your local yellow pages directory.  The problem with this is that you are only going to find firms who have paid to be in those books.  That doesn’t mean that they are all qualified.  It just means that they have paid to be there.

However, now you can go directly to the organization that’s sole objective is to promote and enforce the professional standards for financial planning in Canada.  The Financial Planning Standards Council of Canada has a ‘Find A Planner’ section on their website.  You can even use a Google Map Tool to show you all of the practicing Certified Financial Planners in your area.  Simply key in your postal code and it will generate a listing of all your local planners.  You can read their profiles and link to their websites to find out more about them before you actually call.

This website is www.fpsc.ca .

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City of Toronto Mayor, Rob Ford is proposing a once in a lifetime package offer for city of Toronto employees…

If you are a city of Toronto employee, you will be very interested in this post.  Because it could be a financial windfall for you.

The story goes like this:

Toronto City Hall is offering a buyout package to all permanent public service employees.  The offer will be three weeks pay for each year of service up to a maximum of 26 weeks pay (or 4 weeks for each year if your senior management).  All employees wishing to accept this offer are required to apply by September 9th, 2011 to then have their application reviewed.  They will then find out if their application has been accepted or denied by October 1st, 2011.

Here are my thoughts on this.

So far, after reading as many articles and notices I can get my hands on relating to this topic, not one of them has touched on the most important factor in helping people know whether this is a good deal for them or not.  The articles either touch on how bad it is for the city and how all of the “good” talent will be lost or how Rob Ford has reneged on his platform promises.  In my mind, the most important thing that needs to be looked at is how to we assist the tens of thousands of people in making the right decision?

I mean here is a group of people who have worked the majority of their lives for the city and who have relied upon “others” (unions, human resource departments, etc…) for all of their financial guidance.  And now, providing initially little to no information the City is telling these people that they will have to make their decision by September 9th as to whether or not they want to accept the package being offered to them.

Also, the articles and reports are currently paying lip service to the fact that a lot of these employees who are going to qualify for the full 26 week package (those who have worked almost nine years for the City) will also have to decide how to properly transfer their pension plan.  If you’re considering this package (and you should consider it), this one statement should bring a bead of sweat to your brow.

Why would you begin to sweat?

Well, consider that a long standing employee who has worked for the city for many, many years has build up an entitlement to a defined benefit pension plan.  And, that same employee (who up until now has viewed that defined benefit pension plan as an amount of cash flow they will receive during their retirement – $3,000 a month, $4,000 a month, etc…) will now have to decide how to properly manage the pool of capital that has been accumulating for them that was to pay their annual pension income.  But now, they are going to be asked to take this with them and manage it themselves.  This could be a decision on a sum of money that most only dream about receiving – from say a lottery.  But now, they are being asked to make a decision on potentially millions of dollars – their nest egg – in a few weeks.

Nobody has provided any counsel on the options these employees are going  to be faced with.

Who do you call?  Call a Certified Financial Planner.  What is considered the “gold standard” when it comes to licensing in the financial planning field.  This group will assist in analyzing the options.

And, what are some of the options that should be considered:

  1. Transferring to another pension plan (either a new employer’s plan or an Individual Pension Plan)
  2. Transferring to a locked-in registered plan
  3. Transferring to an annuity
  4. Opting for a deferred pension.

Working through the options with a qualified compensation specialist will provide confidence and piece of mind that is hard to come by.  When a package like this is being offered, you really should analyze all of your options first, so you can make a knowledgeable decision.

Should you be interested in keeping abreast of your options via email, please register below and we will send you updates and comments as new information presents itself.


Mike Flux – Investment Review and Outlook Q1 2011

I spoke with Mike Flux, VP Connor, Clark & Lunn Private Capital for an exclusive review of the significant events that took place in the first quarter of 2011.

We also spoke about what investment options need to be considered by investors today to take advantage of the current economic environment.

I recorded the online meeting I had with him so that you could have a “behind the scenes” look and listen to the conversation.

Enjoy!

Scott E. Plaskett, CFP

(Duration: 56:35)

On The Cutting Edge – Webinars

Webinar – A web-based seminar that we conduct – live – giving you the opportunity to hear directly from members of our team as well as creating a forum for education on a variety of financial topics.

In another “first”, we launched our new Webinar series in the last calendar quarter.

Now you already know that utilizing technology is nothing new at IRONSHIELD. We’ve always tried to make use of the efficiencies that technology can offer us – administratively. Next, we took it to our processes. The ones you’ll know best – to name but a few – The KAIZEN Financial Planning Process™ and the original Asset Mix Optimization Process™. Then, we used technology to improve access; access to online statements, access to online meetings and to reduce access; client data protection – and now, Webinars!

Our goal is to maximize technology, without losing the personal touch. And that seems to be getting notice. Dan Richards, President & CEO of Strategic Imperatives Corp. sought Scott out on Investment Executive TV to describe the technology platform he uses for effective webinars and online client meetings.

Back to the Webinar… The inaugural event featured an exclusive chat with Connor, Clark & Lunn’s  VP and Chief Investment Officer (CIO), Jeff Guise. As Chair of the Portfolio Strategy Team, Jeff is responsible for investment strategy within the Private Client Group and oversees both strategic and tactical changes in asset allocation.

Next up in our webinar series was – Stephen Lingard from Franklin Templeton. As co-lead manager for the Quotential Program, Lingard spoke about what drives security selection and what factors influence his decisions as a money manager.

And check out our website regularly for news of upcoming webinars…

2009 — The Year It Paid Off to Stay In

Congratulations!  You rode out the 2008 market correction without changing course – and now it’s paid off (and what a payoff).  Although we experienced an extremely tough year in global markets in 2008, those who stayed invested – and invested more – benefited from one of the biggest stock market rallies since 1979.  Close to home, the S&P TSX Composite Index was up 30.7%! Anyone who wasn’t invested in 2009, missed the steep and fast market bounce-back, which saw dramatic gains in stock prices.  And of course any new money you invested during the year benefited from the growth as well.

The sad truth is, for most Canadian investors, the gains of 2009 were left on the table – a January 2010 survey by Angus Reid and Franklin Templeton showed a whopping 87% of Canadians failed to invest because they were still spooked by the market meltdown of 2008 – moreover, they were completely unaware of the stellar market rally taking place around them.  In fact, only 20% of them knew of the TSX’s positive performance during the year.

This is a prime example of how skepticism and fear can cloud our judgment. There was certainly a lot of pain in the markets during 2008. Although it was a good time to take stock of your portfolio, the key was to avoid the temptation to panic. Your investment profile should guide your decisions, not only in up markets, but also in down markets. We urged you to stay the course – stick with your plan – and you listened. So take a moment to look back and appreciate your steely resolve – it served you well and kept you focused on your future during tough times. That’s the discipline that will see you realize the financial goals you’ve set!

And if your resolve starts to weaken, remember we are only a phone call or an email away…

Highlights of the 2010 Federal Budget

The 2010 Federal Budget was delivered as Canada and other nations are slowly working their way out of the recent global recession.  While Canada experienced less of a decline than other countries, the Canadian economy still has some work to do before it will fully get back on its feet.

As expected, this is very much a “stay the course” budget.  The government will continue its stimulus spending for another year, while preparing to exercise restraint and reduce spending across may fronts.  On the stimulus spending front, the budget confirms $19 billion in new federal stimulus spending, in addition to the $6 billion from the provinces and territories.  This spending is a continuation of the government’s 2009 Economic Action Plan initiatives, with additional spending on training, education and other measures to help Canadians affected by the downturn.

The second major theme of this budget is restraint in spending now and into the future.  The government is planning to reduce $17.6 billion in spending over the next five years.  The government projects the debt-to-GDP (gross domestic product) ratio is expected to peak at 35.4 per cent in 2010-11 and then fall to 35.2 per cent in 2011-12 and 31.9 per cent by 2014-15.  The government is also planning a full review of government initiatives and programs to find additional savings.

This budget contains a number of initiatives that will be of particular interest to Canadian investors.

Continuing the move towards a national securities regulator.

The federal government continues to push for a national securities regulator within the next three years.  It must be noted that there is much work to do, including overcoming resistance from some provinces, before this new national body can come to be.

Tackling Canada’s growing retirement savings problem.

The government is reiterating its focus on tackling Canada’s growing retirement savings issues.  Building on the conversations the federal government has had with the provinces, the government is committing to a new round of meetings in 2010 at which it will review policy options.  This will be a hotly debated issue in coming years.

Allowing credit unions to expand across the country.

In a move that will be played out over the years to come, the government will now allow credit unions to incorporate and expand federally.  These potential new entrants into the national financial planning arena will offer investors new options when it comes to where they place their savings.

Allowing foreign ownership of Canadian telco assets.

The Canadian telecommunication services sector will now be opened up to foreign investors.  Consumers will likely benefit from increased options in the marketplace, while investors might see increased market action among incumbents.

Income trust conversion deadline looms – and the government closes loopholes.

The use of losses may be restricted in certain situations when units of income trusts are exchanged for shares of a corporation.  These rules will prohibit aggressive schemes designed to achieve inappropriate tax-loss trading.

Improved options for contributing to an RDSP.

A parent’s or grandparent’s RRSP, RRIF and/or RPP can be now rolled over tax-free upon death into a Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP).  Starting in 2011, unused entitlements of Canadian Disability Savings Grants and Canada Disability Savings Bonds can be carried forward up to ten years.

More options to save in RESPs and RDSPs.

Parents and grandparents can now maximize both provincial and federal granding systems with this rule clarification.  The budget is putting rules in place to ensure that both levels of these savings and granting programs are synchronized.

More foreign investment opportunities.

The proposals for non-resident trusts (NRTs) and foreign investment entities (FIEs) will be reworked and simplified.  This may allow investors and funds to invest in a broader spectrum of international investments.

Closing loopholes on stock options’ attractiveness.

The rules that allow stock option deductions by employees and corporate deductions for employers will be tightened.  Companies will have to revisit their option plans to ensure they remain onside.

Slight loosening of tax reporting for non-residents.

Non-residents will no longer be required to report certain dispositions of taxable Canadian properties.

~ Provided by Fidelity Investments ULC

Use Your Business to Put Your Kids Through School

Along with an RESP, a small business-owner has another ace up his or her sleeve to pay for a child’s education – an Employee Profit Sharing Plan (EPSP).

An EPSP allows you as a small business-owner to income split with your children. By directing a portion of your income to your children through the use of an EPSP, you can effectively reduce the overall tax paid on the total household income. EPSPs are also exempt from payroll deductions like CPP and EI and do not require the withholding of any taxes. The money you pay your children can be used to pay for their education, while also being taxed at the child’s tax rate.

When you add up the savings of both lower taxes and no CPP or EI payments, your dollar is stretching that much further.

TAX TIP – 100% Write Off for Computer Equipment – Limited Offer!

The 2009 Federal budget announced a temporary 100% Capital Cost Allowance (CCA) rate for computer equipment and systems software.

Computer equipment or systems software purchased after January 27, 2009 and before February 1, 2011 will be eligible for the 100% CCA rate, provided that the equipment and software would otherwise be included in Class 50 (55% write-off).

In addition, the equipment will not be subject to the half-year rule in the year of acquisition allowing for the full write-off in the year of acquisition.

So, if you’re contemplating upgrading some of your computer equipment, make sure you do it before the end of February 1, 2011.