These are some of the questions that we feel are essential to ask and evaluate:
1. Is the advisory team holistic in their approach to wealth management? Including advising on:
- Tax planning
- Retirement planning
- Risk management, including living benefits
- Investment management
- Succession planning
- Estate planning, including planning to minimize or eliminate estate taxes
- Philanthropic planning, including strategies to do more with your money during your lifetime, so you can see and appreciate the benefit you give to others.
- Does the advisory team provide advice on all the areas above, and ask for actual examples.
2. Does the advisory team have experts in the above areas? i.e. financial planners, lawyers, accountants, portfolio manager, estate executors/trustees, insurance agents.
3. Competence – what are the professional designations of the team? Are they simply licensed to sell products? Ask them details of what they do for continuous professional development.
4. Does the advisor engage in deep conversations about your family and goals in life? Do they know your values and what matters to you most? Do they know what your top priorities are in life?
5. Does the wealth advisor proactively review your tax return annually?
6. Do you have a comprehensive wealth plan that encompasses all the aspects mentioned in question 1 above? How often does the advisory team update your comprehensive wealth plan?
7. Do they offer new and innovative strategies to your plan? Ask them for examples of a few of their most recent strategies they are implementing with clients.
8. Does the advisory team have a legal fiduciary duty to always place your interests ahead of their own? A registered portfolio manager has a fiduciary duty, while financial advisors are generally bound by product suitability requirements, which is a lower duty of care.
9. Do you feel the advisory team is honest and genuine? Trust your instinct. Does the advisory team proactively inform you how they are compensated? This should be discussed the first time you meet with an advisory team.
By no means is this list complete. We only hope that these considerations help you make an informed and prudent decision of the right wealth advisory team for your family. Feel free to share this with your family and friends – we all deserve objective, transparent and goals-based wealth management.
If you would like details on our credentials and our holistic approach to goals-based wealth management, feel free to contact our expert advisors at 905-891-6052 or at info@wealthstewards.ca.
All examples are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to provide individual financial, investment, tax, legal or accounting advice. This material is for general information and is subject to change without notice. Every effort has been made to compile this material from a reliable source. However, we cannot guarantee that information will be accurate, complete and current at all times. Before acting on any of the above, please make sure to see a financial professional for advice based on your personal circumstances.