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Financial Planning Week 2017

This is Financial Planning Week in Canada, driven by the Financial Planning Standards Council.  The goal is to catch the attention of Canadians and inspire a beginning of a process that will move more people towards their goals effectively.

The most recent posts on this site have looked at questions you can ask yourself before meeting with a financial planner, as well as some options that may be included as you go through the planning process.

Comprehensive planning is a process; success is dependent on both the client and the planner fulfilling their roles.  The planner is responsible for listening to the client, providing expert information, options and projected outcomes.  The client is responsible for providing information about personal situation and goals, listening to advice, and implementing agreed-upon strategies.  Both planner and client are responsible for following up to make sure that the plan is still relevant to the client’s life circumstances.

The Ontario government has proposed regulating the use of the title ‘Financial Planner’.  My hope is this will provide a starting point for clients to evaluate the source of the advice.  Currently, there are many professions that are offering financial plans.  Some are not prepared by a person with financial planning qualifications.  Some are prepared with a focus on investments, with the other main planning areas taking a back seat.  While these may be adequate for a time, they don’t fulfill the purpose of a comprehensive financial plan.

The Financial Planning Standards Council is a good place to start if you need general information about financial planning and how it should work.  To fill in important areas in your own financial plan, contact Sara at 519-569-7526 or [email protected].

A Few More Resources:

With all this technology, do I need a Human Planner?