Planning and Advice

Planning for success: Protect clients’ wealth and your business with a formal financial plan

(November 14, 2003)The wealthy seem to have a problem with planning. According to a 2002 study by LIMRA International, an insurance and financial services research organization, and McKinsey & Company, only 50% of high net worth (HNW) individuals have a financial plan. Of those who do, only half have a formal written plan prepared by […]

By Thane Stenner |November 14, 2003

3 min read

The write stuff: How to protect yourself with a proper paper trail

Correct Complete Contemporaneous Current It is easy to say that record keeping must be accurate, but that means that everyone on your team must work together with systems that ensure the information in the file is correct. For the information to be correct, it must also be complete and current. If the information is incomplete […]

By Ellen J. Bessner |October 27, 2003

5 min read

Advisor.ca’s engagement & disclosure template

Adapted in part from the practice standards issued by the Financial Planners Standards Council, the following is meant to serve as a creative starting point for financial planners who wish to begin writing their own engagement and disclosure documents. Since compliance requirements can vary widely according to firm, industry segment and province, advisors should check […]

By Staff |October 16, 2003

9 min read

What a difference 5 years make: Gaining perspective makes us humbler and wiser

(September 22, 2003) The NASDAQ index’s return between September 2002 and June 2003: 41.9%. A pretty big number, right? The S&P/TSX index turned in 13.3% and the S&P 500 index, 20.9% (all data in local currency) — equally impressive. It’s enough to push certain analysts into thinking that this rally has overshot and a correction […]

By Pierre Saint-Laurent |September 22, 2003

3 min read