Who WE ARE

There are two of us right now, and we’ve worked together for over ten years.

Carey runs everything on the administrative front. She’s originally from PEI, and now lives in Langford with her husband, two kids, and two feline friends. She has more than twenty years of experience, and has a Master’s degree from Lakehead University and two Bachelor’s degrees from the University of PEI.

Vince is a born and raised Victorian. He started his career in Toronto, but now lives in Fernwood with his wife and three feline friends. He’s worked in the finance profession for over fourteen years. He has a bachelor’s degree from UVIC, and is both a Chartered Financial Analyst Charterholder (CFA) and a Certified Financial Planner (CFP).

Because we’ll help optimize your ongoing financial situation, prioritizing what’s most important to you. Our process is simple and effective, making financial planning and investment management simple. Remember: simple is tough but best.

…that’s it?

That’s it. It doesn’t need to be more complicated than that

We don’t know. There are advisors who look at charts, and talk about stocks, the economy, and ‘where the market is going’ and are really good at it. We don’t. What we’re good at is talking about what’s important to you, ignoring what’s not important, focusing strictly on what you can control, and keeping things simple.

Vince has been in the profession for about fifteen years and most of that time was spent working sixty to eighty hours a week. He holds both the CFA and CFP designations (more on those below). When he’s not working he listens to and reads books about personal finance, investing, and economic history. He also invests a lot of time learning how to communicate effectively. Carey’s been in the profession closer to twenty years, and anyone who knows Vince and Carey can tell you in the ten years they’ve worked together, they’ve probably amassed fifty years of experience.

So?

Well, with over thirty-four combined years of experience working for sixty to eighty hours a week, it’s more like having closer to fifty years of experience.

We’re willing to accept that we’ve made plenty of mistakes, like thinking picking one winning investment would change a client’s life. Take a look at the CFP and CFA curricula, and the countless books written about what actually matters in the financial planning process. We’ve learned that financial planning isn’t about listening to podcasts, browsing Reddit, or reading the Globe and Mail. This is intensive work. It’s our profession, but it’s also our passion.

Isn’t that what all financial advisors say?

Most advisors do sound the same on paper, but give us a call, and you’ll see we might be different from those you’ve spoken to in the past.

I don’t want to call you.

Fine. Email us instead.

On the financial planning side of things, we work to optimize current and future cash flow, manage debt, help you legally avoid taxes as much as possible (both while you’re alive and when you die), and make sure with near certainty that you and your family never run out of money.

On the investment management front, we believe investors should first and foremost invest in line with their tolerance for risk and their time horizon. And since diversification is vital to success we use low cost index funds and ETFs. Individual stocks are too risky and mutual funds are too expensive.

We charge a fee based on the percentage of assets we administer. Call us and we’ll share our fee schedule with you.

Every year we’ll compare the fees you’ve paid to the value you’ve received. If you feel the value isn’t there, you can fire us.

My friend told me I can just do this myself.

You can. But you can also repair your car’s engine, renovate your bathroom, fix your teeth, heal your pets when they’re sick, and install an irrigation system yourself too. But you don’t.

I read something on a finance blog about xyz, and I listened to a podcast about abc. I think I should do what they’ve suggested.

Keep personal finance personal. No blog, YouTube channel, or financial writer can tell you what is optimal given your own unique circumstances. There is a considerable amount of good general content out there, but there is no good content about your specific situation.

Lots of people say I should take CPP at 60 no matter what, and to be mortgage free by the time I’m 55.

Lots of people say lots of things. For a second time: keep personal finance personal.

We enjoy working with retirees or those nearing retirement, business owners who understand the highs and lows of building and running a business, and physicians. Most importantly, though, we appreciate clients who value our work and treat us with the same courtesy and respect we offer them.

Carey here. Vince can be a bit too direct sometimes, and he loves quoting dead people during bear markets just a bit too much.

He also never procrastinates, which is great for clients, but keeps me on my toes because he’s always a few steps ahead (proactive beats reactive). That said, working with him is never dull, and we always have fun.

We are proactive, we communicate complex financial concepts in plain English, and we’ll never leave you hanging.

We do. Click here to learn about Vince. Click here to learn about Carey.

Plenty. But we’re at the point now where it’s better to contact us directly.