Our Services
Planning for what truly matters.
Strategy. Planning. Execution.
There are seven areas of expertise on which our specialists base their financial plans. Through these measures, they ensure that your goals are quantifiable, achievable, scalable and above all, reviewed on a regular basis.
Investments
Our software enables them to screen tons of investments and money managers, and analyze their performances in an upward market as well as during a downward market (capture ratio). Stéphane and Olivier tend to work with "risk-adjusted return" meaning that they try and provide the best return possible with the least amount of risk. They do an in-depth analysis of the geographic allocation and, most importantly, the sector allocation because they firmly believe in sector rotation to better adapt to the ever-changing financial markets. A careful annual review of the portfolio is paramount to the success of the strategy.
You will find the very long list of our investment partners in the OUR PARTNERS section of the site. There is no shortage of choice.
The most common mistakes :
1) Lack of tax efficiency : not all investments are taxed the same way! (Interest, dividends and capital gains).
2) High correlation between funds (the higher risk is not always worth it).
3) Absence of income splitting
Stéphane and Olivier are proactive and take advantage of market declines to maximize your returns. Active management makes it possible to adapt quickly to the rotation of the financial sectors according to the vagaries of the stock markets and the economic situation. They have access to money managers who have very different styles of investment management, allowing them to better position clients by taking into account the macro economy and the micro economy in the construction of an effective portfolio.
Don't hesitate to send in a copy of your investment statements so that they can do an in-depth analysis of your portfolio, looking at your diversification, fees, tax efficiency and correlation matrix. All for free.
*Are you taking unnecessary risks?
*Interests are included at 100 %, dividends get a dividend tax credit and capital gains are included at only 50% for the first 250 000 $ and then 66.67 % for individuals and 66.67 % for corporations from dollar 1 !
An annual review of your portfolio is crucial in achieving your growth objectives.
Insurance
Working closely with more than 20 insurers and knowing how their underwriting requirements work, this is crucial to ensure a smooth process and prevent bad surprises. One key part of what the team does is listen to clients. It is always wise to request preliminary advice from insurers, on an anonymous basis, to get a realistic estimate based on the client’s particular condition.
Stéphane and Olivier’s "think outside the box" mentality allows them to structure your insurance policies in the most efficient manner as well as tailoring a complete plan based on an in-depth review of your needs. Do you have enough coverage? Too much? Come and get an unbiased opinion.
They offer Life insurance, Disability insurance (ask us about our rebates for students that go up to 25% !!), Critical illness insurance, health, Immediate Financing Agreement (IFA), and we can also help you finance your shareholder’s agreement.
We can also help you with your group benefits and group insurance needs and we work with a large number of insurers to help you remain competitive with your workforce, attract and retain the right employees.
On the personal side, you will want to look into these needs:
Reimburse the mortgage and debts in the event of death, disability or critical illness.
Protect your family and your lifestyle from unexpected events
Predict the tax due in the event of death
Ensure an optimal transfer of your assets and estate
Plan to replace a spouse's income in the event of death
For the corporate component, here are the points to consider:
Financing the clauses of your shareholder agreement.
Protecting your company’s key employees
Covering business debts
Covering company expenses in the event of long-term disability
Predicting the tax due in the event of death
Do not hesitate to ask questions regarding your needs so they can run quotes with all of their insurance partners and find you the best value. They will conduct a needs analysis and find the company that adds the most value at the best price.
Financial Planning
7 key components of financial planning : legal, insurance and risk management, finances, taxation, investments, retirement and estate.
By following our rigorous process, this make sure to factor in all the variables and create a plan that will evolve with you over time and will be tailored for you in real time, similar to a GPS.
A rigorous analysis of legal considerations is essential to the success of your financial plan. The team will review your wills, protection mandates, cohabitation contracts and divorce judgments to ensure that we properly measure the financial impact.
*Have you thought about incorporating your business?
*Do you need help finding the right compensation package for you and your business?
*Is your current structure optimized?
*Have you looked into rolling your real estate into a company?
*Are you planning on selling or buying a business?
*Have you ever gone through the estate planning process? Because that's where a lot of wealth can be generated through sound advice.
*Have you heard of an IPP (individual pension plan) for business owners?
*Have you ever thought of using your investments to back a line of credit if you are into real estate? Is there an efficient way of using your life insurance policies as collateral?
This is an ongoing process that will allow them to monitor the progress of your finances, maintain the optimization of your tax situation throughout the stages of your retirement and make sure you get the best of the government programs and that you can outlive your savings.
Estate Planning
This is one of the most important conversations you'll have. They aim to make sure the wealth will be transferred according to your wishes with the utmost tax efficiency and review your current structure to make sure it is optimal.
It is rarely an easy task but having the family involved in the discussion is often a good way to prevent problems. We can walk you through the process.
*Do you own a business that maybe not all children have interest in?
*Will there be an estate inequity?
*Is there a way to kill two birds with one stone by creating a tax-advantageous revenue stream at retirement from your life insurance policy while building a strong death benefit value with that same insurance policy?
Have you thought about philanthropy? A great way to make a charitable donation to create a significant impact, during your lifetime or upon your death, and perpetuate your legacy while maximizing your tax efficiency.
Drawing an income from your life insurance in the early stages of your retirement allows you to push back the QPP and OAS benefits, making them go up significantly ( and keep in mind that those are streams of income that are indexed to inflation and will be there for your lifetime ).
Tax Planning
Taxation is and always will be your most important debt. Stéphane and Olivier make sure that your portfolio is tax efficient and schedule an "end of fiscal year" meeting to review your annual income and adapt to unforeseen changes.
If you own a corporation, are you taking advantage of what we call "tax integration"? This can be a key component in your retirement plan.
*Are you controlling the taxation of your investment portfolio?
*Are you taking advantage of corporate class structures?
*Are you getting taxed on too much interest?
*Are your dividend-paying investments keeping you under the OAS clawback threshold after they have been grossed up? So many things to think of !!
We use state-of-the-art financial planning software that allows us to highlight the following aspects:
- Withdrawal plan
- Tax optimization
- Optimization of QPP/OAS
- Estate planning
- Tax planning
- Insurance needs analysis