Take a journey with us and learn about the Northern River Financial difference.
Tom Thomson‘s painting Northern River (1915) was the inspiration behind our company name, Northern River Financial. It is Tom’s studio canvas version of the sketch and is much more detailed and refined than his original wood panel version. It is a masterpiece of composition and colour use. This was the first painting Tom sold to The National Gallery of Canada for $500; a huge sum of money at the time. Tom referred to it as “my swamp painting.” Up close, the painting appears to be very colourful and impressionistic or expressionistic, but when you look at it from far away it becomes something very different. It is mind boggling the skill that Thomson really had.
You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment. Fools stand on their island opportunities and look toward another land. There is no other land, there is no other life but this.
I met Steve through a local networking group. I was impressed immediately by his understanding of Financial Planning, but was more so drawn to his relationship-building approach, rather than a sales pitch that you see in so many other advisors. As an entrepreneur, it’s never easy keeping all “the balls in the air” as it were. It’s nice to know when it comes to planning my financial future I can confidently leave it in Northern River Financials’ good hands.
Bob has been a fantastic help to both of us. He has taken the time to get to know us, as well as the time to come to us when we had questions from buying a house to life insurance. He has made an otherwise confusing world easier to understand, which in turn made all the big decisions seem more comfortable to make. Reassurance goes a long way when your financial well being depends on it.
Steve has been responsible for drawing up our Financial Life Plan and the implementation thereof as well as managing our Insurance and Estate planning for a complex business and trust structure. We can highly recommend Steve as very knowledgeable, diligent and he always works with integrity to achieve the best possible outcomes for his clients.
We have had the good fortune of having Bob as our financial advisor since 2003. Over that time, Bob has been instrumental in guiding us with or financial affairs through good and bad economic times over the pat 12 years. As the relationship has progressed, Bob has been great in helping us make the right choices with retirement planning along the way. In fact Bob has begun advising our three daughters with their financial choices as they begin living on their own. We look forward to working with Bob in the years ahead!
After the recent downturn Stephen was empathetic and personable. His team is creative and came up with a variety of outside the box strategies. He is very knowledgeable and his business model means that he is not tied to one product or service provider, which makes him relatively unique. I would thoroughly recommend Stephen.
Bob I wanted to let you know that Jenny and I sincerely appreciate the advice and assistance you have provided over the years on insurance, RESPs, RRSPs and TFSAs. Your personal level of service and attention to our goals for the short and long term give us confidence that we are on the right track. we look forward to continuing our relationship with you as Jenny and I build our family’s future.
I have engaged Steve’s team on several assignments for our business clients. They consistently deliver high quality innovative and cost-effective financial solutions which meet our clients’ needs in the income splitting and tax planning area in general as well as other diverse fields such as general investment advice. They are trustworthy, client focused and diligent.
We have been Bob’s clients for many years both individually and now as a family. He understands our evolving needs and goals and is able to customize our financial plan using an unbiased approach. Bob has the ability to explain the specifics of various products which enables us to make informed decisions. We have nothing but trust and confidence in his expertise.
Financial life planning advice helps you make the most of what you have while you create a comfortable future for yourself and your family. It’s based on your goals and dreams, and includes tax planning, investments and your financial security. Financial life planning advice is also about providing you with the information and advice you need to move in the direction you want to take. It puts you in control of your financial future. Financial life planning advice brings peace of mind and financial security.
Let’s say you are reading this because you’re thinking about getting professional financial life planning advice. That’s a great start. Because the fact is that no matter what your personal circumstances are now, you probably have some dream of where you’d like to be in the future. Or you may be in the fortunate position of having some money to invest. There are many reasons why you might need professional financial life planning advice including: changing jobs, planning for retirement, ensuring your family is protected if something happens to you or your partner, buying an investment property, divorce, death, starting a business, a major life change, or wanting to make sure you leave something for your children or grandchildren.
There is no set amount that a financial life planner will charge. It depends on how complex your situation is and the level of service that the financial life planner provides. Some financial life planners will charge you directly for their services; others may be reimbursed by their employers or by the providers of products that you may invest in. Many will not charge you at all for the first meeting. Your financial life planner will provide detail on all fees and charges payable, both from commissions and fees. As a general rule fees can include: a flat dollar amount, an hourly rate and commission on the amount you invest. Some financial products have fees built in, and the payments may be passed on. Some financial life planners only use one fee, but many use a combination of the above.
Take an active role in making your financial life plan and you’ll get maximum value from the experience. It may sound overly simple but you will need to know what it is you want from your financial life plan. Before you meet with your financial life planner, consider the following areas: lifestyle goals, priorities, insurance needs, pensions, amounts to invest, expected rates of return and investment risk.
Expect to tell your financial life planner a range of personal information to help them get an accurate picture of exactly where you are now and what you want from financial life planning. They have to understand your situation completely – so do not leave out any vital information. To help put together your financial life plan, a financial life planner will use information such as: age, current and future desired income, number of dependents, everyday expenses, future expenses, how much tax you pay, personal assets, debt, mortgages, current investment assets, and insurance.
Most financial life planners provide advice on investment and/or insurance products and some manage investments. Some may sell financial products. Most typically take into consideration your goals as well as your financial situation. They may or may not create a written financial life plan, and it may be comprehensive or address one or two areas of your finances. Those with the Certified Financial Planning (CFP) designation have been educated and tested on all areas of personal finance including cash flow, debt, all forms of insurance, economics, investments, taxes, retirement planning, education planning, charitable giving, and estate planning.
Don’t lose sight of the fact that it’s your money and the final decision is always yours. You can ask for some changes to the financial life plan if you want to, or you may decide not to go any further. It is completely up to you. If you decide to go ahead, your financial life planner will discuss with you your next steps to put the financial life plan into action. There may be some actions you need to take. Most people use the first financial life plan as a starting point and change their financial plan from time to time, in line with changing goals and life stages – so your relationship with your financial life planner should be considered as a long-term relationship.
We are an open and honest and work well with like people. The more you share, the better equipped we are to help you. One of our most coveted principles is confidentiality and we take it very seriously. We are not here to judge you; we are here to help you assess your situation and develop strategies. Sometimes that includes bringing in other professionals. It is not uncommon to feel anxious and overwhelmed when seeking financial advice. We encourage you to foster a healthy sense of skepticism when dealing with any business person. Please ask around. Our clients will share what they learned as a result of our working together. The plan is meant to consider all areas of your life that affect your financial picture and it will create pathways for you to take to improve your situation. If something major changes, we encourage you to review it. It is our mandate to meet with you at least once per year.