Financial Advisor Designations in 2025: Which Ones Actually Matter for Clients?
Who Do Financial Advisor Designations Benefit? Here’s my Honest Take. Over the years, I’ve achieved a few professional designations: CFP®, CIM®, and FCSI®, to name a few. I even gave the CFA® program a go and passed Level 1 before realizing that my time was better spent elsewhere. Early in my career, these credentials were […]
Breaking Status Quo Thinking: How To Beat A Tariff Threat
Breaking Status Quo Thinking can be Beneficial The Illusion of Progress: Why Status Quo Thinking Holds Us Back Just because something is not NOT working doesn’t mean it’s working. The recent tariff threat shone a light on this serious issue of status quo thinking. We often fall into the trap of believing that […]
Retirement Savings. How Much Do You Really Need in Canada? The Case for Personalized Financial Advice
Retirement Planning in Canada “The financial services industry in…Atlantic Canada, is broken and in desperate need of fixing. ” — David Martin, Eltero Financial Partners Retirement planning is one of the most important financial decisions Canadians face. Yet, all too often, advice on the subject is boiled down to generalizations: “You need $1 million […]
3 Biases That Affect Financial Planning and How to Outsmart Them
“Effective financial planning is 90% mental. The other half is about money.” — David Martin, Eltero Financial Partners Ok. So, I might have stolen and paraphrased Yogi Berra’s famous quote about baseball being 90% mental with the other half being physical. The math might not add up but there’s a lot more correct about this […]
Why an Investment Policy Statement is your Best Financial Ally
Investment Policy Statements A Must-Have for DIY Investors ONE of the 7 key components of your financial plan is your investment portfolio. (If you’re wondering, the other components are goal setting, cash flow, tax, risk management, estate and business integration.) Today, we’ll dive into two crucial concepts that can significantly impact your financial future […]
Embracing Summer: A Time for Relaxation and Financial Reflection
Financial Planning Reflection Summer Presents a Perfect Time to Review Your Financial Planning Progress Who doesn’t love summer? Parks and beaches are full. Cold weather scowls are replaced by warm weather smiles. Flowers have bloomed. Restaurants are busy. The commuter traffic has been replaced with tourist traffic. As the warmth of summer begins to embrace […]
Goal Setting: Don’t Think Perfection, Think Intention
Goal Setting: The “Why” Will Direct the “What” and “How” One of the biggest ironies when it comes to goal setting for financial planning is that most people do not set goals because they have a fear of failure, yet studies show that people who simply write down their goals are more likely to achieve […]
Why Budgets and Budgeting Don’t Work
Budgets Don’t Work! Rethinking Budgeting: The Cash Flow Approach When I first started in the financial business, we were taught that helping clients determine their budget was beneficial to them reaching their financial goals. I’ve seen firsthand the cringe that the word “budget” can elicit. It’s like the word “diet”—immediately, one imagines restrictions, limitations, and […]
Should You DIY Your Financial Planning?
My TED Talk on DIY Financial Planning Can a DIY Investor Really do Proper Financial Planning? I was recently asked to speak on whether I thought a person could create an effective Do-It-Yourself (DIY) financial plan or is it necessary to hire a professional to help in this important area of their lives. I welcomed […]
When to take CPP and OAS
CPP and OAS Starting Age Mistiming the Start Dates of these Government Benefits can Help or Harm your Retirement Plans Who doesn’t want “free” money from the government? If you’ve ever looked at your pay stub or tax return, you know that the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Old Age Security (OAS) pension benefits you […]