Your personal financial plan will ensure that you achieve your personal goals by implementing the best strategies in the areas of tax, investment, retirement, insurance & estate planning. A financial plan will:

• Clarify your current personal and financial situation;
• Identify your short-term and long-term objectives;
• Recommend strategies to assist you in reaching your objectives as easily as possible;
• Provide written recommendations to achieve your goals;
• Implement the plan;
• A financial plan is then reviewed and adjusted on a regular basis ~ as your life changes, so should your plan.

A plan encompasses investments for your savings using cash, open & registered plans, and may also include insurance products.

Not ready for a financial plan? Find yourself in debt?

Budget counseling & guidance can be conducted at Gillian’s offices at a rate of $50/hour – if you can get out of debt, stop those spending leaks and form some new & better financial habits, then you can eventually start to save.

So What’s Next?

1. Establish Definite Financial Objectives – People do not plan to fail … they fail to plan!
   
2. Review Retirement Strategies – What kind of retirement do you want? How much will it cost? Will your pension income be adequate? How will you provide for yourself for 20 or more years after you retire?
   
3. Own the right investments for the right reasons – Haphazard RRSP investments to get a tax refund without considering the long term implications of the purchase can be dangerous. Putting large amounts of long term savings into short term vehicles (GICs, CSBs, Money Market funds) may dramatically reduce your return.
   
4. Don't underestimate the impact of inflation – The biggest enemy to your financial independence is inflation. Protect yourself. Seemingly sure investments are eroded from the bottom by inflation. The purchasing power of $100,000 in 10 years with a 3% inflation rate will be $73,742; in 20 years it will be further reduced to $44,570! The danger is not in living to be a ripe old age - - - the danger is in outliving your money!
5. Develop a clear understanding of tax laws – Tax laws change all the time. You can save money when you understand the implications of tax rules. Effective tax planning with an accountant and a financial advisor could reduce income tax payable. Let us educate you!
6. Diversify your investment portfolio – As determined by your risk profile and financial objectives, we can help you build a portfolio with appropriate exposure to all asset classes chosen from over 10,000 mutual funds.
7. Appreciate the time value of money – Did you know that you can double your money in 7.2 years with an average return of 10%? Don't neglect compound interest. An investment of $100/month maintained over 25 years at 10% will grow to $132,683.
8. Ensure adequate protection against unforeseen losses – Your lifetime earnings are your greatest asset. Don't let illness, disability or premature death diminish your family's standard of living. We will show you how to protect your family against these unforeseen and potentially catastrophic losses.
9. Control family spending – Discipline and control of spending habits are crucial to any savings plan. Overuse of credit, spontaneous buying, and not accounting for expenditures can be disastrous.
10. Set realistic expectations – Set reasonable investment objectives. Through regular systematic investments you can become financially independent.

     

 

To maintain the Life Licence on an annual basis, the regulatory authorities require Advisors/Agents to obtain 30 Continuing Education (CE) credits every two years as a minimum. This enables Advisors to keep pace with changes in the industry, regulatory changes, as well as further their knowledge in a variety of different areas.

In 2003, Gillian furthered her education with in-depth courses on financial issues pertaining to divorce. Please note that you still require a lawyer to obtain legal advice in this area.

In 2001, Gillian completed the six required courses and the final exam to achieve the professional designation of Certified Financial Planner, licensed by the FPSC, but discontinued carrying that licence in 2011.

1998 to 2000 – Gillian entered the financial industry in January 1998, spending one year with Investors Group before deciding that her people and entrepreneurial skills were better suited for an independent position. She joined Armstrong & Quaile Associates Inc. in August 1999 as one of their mutual fund representatives and retired from the mutual fund industry and A&Q as of June 2011.

     

 

Why Do I Need Insurance?

There are many reasons for buying life insurance. If you’re the primary breadwinner in the family, life insurance is a good way to help provide your family with a stable financial future. If you are the secondary earner or stay-at-home spouse, then it’s important to have insurance to help cover the financial burden of childcare, funeral expenses, and other unforeseen costs.

While it’s difficult to face our own mortality, planning for it can ease the burden our loved ones will face later. Purchasing life insurance can help make a difficult situation easier by providing death benefits for:

• Unpaid medical bills,
• Income replacement for survivors,
• Final expenses like burial costs, accountant, lawyer
• Unplanned or emergency expenses,
• Pay off your mortgage,
• Fund future education for your children.

But insurance products can also be used for:

• Establishing an estate plan, e.g., leave money for your heirs
• As a component to your savings strategy
• For retirement income, such as an annuity
• To pay some estate taxes.

Every person has a different idea of what financial security means. If something should happen to you, how much money would your family need? You should consider:

• Your current debts
• Daily expenses of living without your salary
• Your spouse being able to take time off work to grieve & look after the children at this fragile time in their lives
• Daycare while your spouse gets re-educated to earn a higher salary to support the family alone now

A general rule of thumb to calculate life insurance needs is to multiply your gross annual salary by seven.

And there are other types of insurance:

1. Mortgage Insurance – Don’t leave your family out on the street because they can’t pay the mortgage (Go to www.cbc.ca/marketplace/in_denial to view/listen to this informative segment).
2. Critical Illness – if you get cancer, for example, 67% of your expenses are not covered by OHIP;
3. Disability Insurance – if you become disabled through an injury on the job or while skiing and cannot work, how will you pay the bills?
4. Long Term Care Insurance – to help defray costs of the elderly while attempting to remain in their own home, or to defray some hospital costs.
5. Key Person Insurance – you cannot manage without your Assistant/Manager/ Partner; what if they become ill and you have to replace them? Your business could falter – this money would help to hire someone else to take their place temporarily, like a Consultant.
6. Buy/Sell Insurance – Company partner dies, the surviving partner buys out the deceased partners share of the company with the life insurance proceeds, which in turn gives the widow an income.

Estate Planning Kit

Designed to help you put all your “ducks in a row” and make sure everything is taken care of, but most importantly, listing everything for easy access for your survivors by having everything in one place. When one is grieving, rifling through someone’s filing cabinet trying to find certain documents to close up their estate is not the best thing.

The Estate Planning Kit comes in two packages:

1. The complete kit of all pages, 3 sheet protector pages for your Will or
   insurance policy, and a 1” binder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $20
2. The complete kit as above, but with no binder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $18

Two dollars ($2.00) from each Kit sold will go to North Grenville Accessible Transportation (NGAT), a registered charity that provides similar services to Para Transpo.

Please contact me if you are interested in ordering one of these Estate Planning Kits.

     

 

“Gillian has provided us with the information necessary to adapt our financial plans to changes in our lives. Her personal attention is a welcome change from past experiences with large firms and bank representatives. She is very professional and exhibits the hands on approach that I need and the hands off approach my wife requires.” Nicole & Steven McStravick, Stittsville.

"Gillian is very professional in her approach and knowledge of the investment market. She is a woman of integrity and honesty which I feel is very important in the financial investment profession. I have recommended Gillian to my friends whom I felt would benefit from her expertise." Wendy Stringfield, Nepean.

“Gillian takes the time to explain funds/markets/tax advantages in a way that makes sense to me and helps me decide which route is best for me. She keeps me informed of what is going on with the market via newsletters yet I am not overloaded with information. I always feel confident that she is doing what is best for me.” R. Beaulieu, Ottawa.

 

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An investor proposing to borrow for the purchase of securities should be aware that a purchase with borrowed monies involves greater risk than a purchase using cash resources only. The extent of that risk is a determination to be made by each purchaser and will vary depending on the circumstances of the purchaser and the securities purchased.

Discuss the risks associated with leveraged mutual fund purchases with an investment funds advisor before investing. Purchases are subject to suitability requirements. Using borrowed money to finance the purchase of securities involves greater risk than a purchase using cash resources only. If you borrow money to purchase securities, your responsibility to repay the loan and pay interest as required by its terms remains the same if the value of the securities purchased declines.

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