Who does your financial planner work for?

By: Robert Prince - Maple Ridge Bugel

Hint: the answer should be you!

Here’s a question for you… Who does your financial advisor work for? And who pays their salary?

It’s one of the first questions Tom Manion from Manion and Associates Financial Services asks when people him why they should trust their money to his team.

"It's actually not a question many people ask themselves because they just assume their financial advisor is working for them, but that’s not necessarily the case," says the veteran financial advisor. "If you think about it, anyone who has to answer to a manager or meet a sales quota is actually serving two masters – the client and a third party that has its own set of interests.

"Do you really want your financial advisor giving you advice based on what is good for the company, and not ncessarily for you?"

Tom notes that Manion and Associates Financial Services is completely independent of any particular financial product supplier, and are Financial Planners, first and foremost. This means the best interests of the client come first, even if that just means answering questions. "Unlike the advisors for numerous financial institutions, we are free to recommend any financial product we believe will serve the particular needs of a client. We're not limited to specific corporate brands, and we're not required to push certain products because they're the 'product of the month.'

"At Manion and Associates you have choices because we have choices, and that means we make recommendations based on what is best for your portfolio, your lifestyle, and your family's needs."

Here’s another question for you…Who is your financial advisor today, and who will it be next year?

"One of the problems with a lot of the big financial institutions is turnover," says Tom’s partner, Allen. "You develop a relationship with someone over the course of a couple of years and then one day you phone and that person is no longer with the company."

Which wouldn't be that big a deal if everyone else in the office knew you, your situation, your file and so on. But chances are they don't, because you are just a file to the company, and you're back to square one in an effort to bring the new person up to speed. At Manion and Associates Financial Services that isn't likely to happen. It's a close knit team, a family run local business, with a family-friendly atmosphere, and the whole team is involved in the care of each client's needs.

"It's all about consistency," says Tom. "The members of our team have been together for a long time, they each bring specific strengths to the team, and each is fully capable of working with each of our clients to ensure continuity and seamless service."

At Manion and Associates Financial Services they practise what they preach – service, integrity and knowledge – and they have only one boss… you, the client.

Perception becomes Reality

At Manion & Associates Financial Services our mission is to provide Service, Integrity and Knowledge to assist our clients with finding balance in their lives today while planning for the future. We are proud to announce that Manion and Associates Financial Services is expanding its services to offer results-driven business development tools that will increase the sales, productivity and efficiency of our clients businesses, truly giving them a "Work Life Balance".

We understand the uniqueness of each client's business and the new "Business Solutions" division, headed by Dean Barbour, will concentrate on bringing five (5) decades of business knowledge and understanding to your business, regardless of the type, style or size of your business. Whether you are exploring a business idea, ready to go into the global market or maybe considering downsizing or selling your business, you will always know you have a high level of service, with integrity and knowledge.

It is important that your company work with a firm that can back up its success. We are the right choice.

Business Solutions

We offer an initial complementary consultation that allows each client to leverage our knowledge and ensure the relationship works for them. We understand that each company has different goals and objectives and we can develop and implement a customized program to meet your needs whether you are creating a new business, bringing a product to the market or developing an advertising and promotions campaign.

Our services include:

• Business Plan & Grant Proposal Writing
• Marketing Plan Development
• Human Resource Support
• Employee Benefits
• Sales Support & Training
• Finding Funding for your Business
• Mentoring & Coaching 

Finding business solutions that make sense for your company

From the October 27 edition of the Haney Bugel

“Everything happens for a purpose,” says Tom Manion of Manion and Associates Financial Services, so when Dean Barbour stepped down from his post as executive director of the Chamber of Commerce last summer Tom saw it as an opportunity – a chance to round out the services he was able to offer clients, especially those who owned businesses.

To that end, Dean and Tom set about establishing Manion and Associates Business Solutions in an effort to help existing business clients and others with developing not only their businesses, but also their lifestyles.

Dean’s small business and marketing background, his knowledge of public relations and market research, and his understanding of start-ups and growth opportunities will form the core of what Manion and Associates Business Solutions can offer clients.

“We’re looking to assist people who are currently running a business, or who need help getting one off the ground,” says Dean. “We’re offering customized solutions to the problems and issues that face business people on a daily basis.”

“What I’ve discovered after more than 15 years in the small business industry is that the owners of small and medium-sized businesses usually don’t have a lot of people they can turn to for competent, reliable advice.

“Our goal will be to act as a sounding board, and then help to figure out solutions that actually work. We’ll do that with appropriate market and industry research, efficiency planning, expansion planning and whatever else it takes to help these business owners to succeed.”

In addition, however, Manion and Associates Business Solutions will also help business owners look at how to balance their lives so that business isn’t all consuming.

“Balance is essential to any successful business person,” Dean stresses. “Personal issues compete with business issues, and when either is out of balance the whole picture can be thrown out of whack. We have strategies for helping people get all facets of their life in order so that they can succeed at all levels.

“At the end of the day, what we want to do is help our clients create long-term investments in their lives. Not just their business lives, but their personal lives, because, really, business success is just a tool for achieving personal success.”

Dean says that can all be accomplished because Manion and Associates Business Solutions has a large network of professionals in a wide variety of fields who can be called upon to help create solutions.

“If our personal knowledge base isn’t adequate, we know whom to call in to help,” he notes. “Common sense approaches are the paths we take, and Manion and Associates takes its motto – Service, Integrity and Knowledge – very seriously.”

The Importance of an Estate Plan

It's usually not the first thing on people's to do list, but the truth is estate planning should be a priority at almost any age. 

Proper estate planning is a way to ensure a simple, organized and tax efficient transfer of your assets to your loved ones on your passing. Proper estate planning should also be updated on an ongoing basis, especially when the circumstances change in your life. The following are some points to think about when developing your estate plan:

Your Will

Your will is a legal document setting out your wishes on how your assets will be distributed upon your death. A will generally contains the following: 

• who will be responsible for administering your estate (choosing an Executor)
• how your estate and property will be distributed
• the beneficiaries of your estate

Naming Beneficiaries on Insurance Contracts

Naming specific beneficiaries on your insurance contracts (such as life insurance or segregated fund contracts) can allow death benefits to bypass your estate. By bypassing your estate the beneficiary will receive the funds privately and avoid probate, which can significantly reduce administration fees. Also, by avoiding your estate the death benefit proceeds can potentially avoid claims made by any creditors.

Minimize Taxes Owing on Death

There are different strategies you can use to minimize taxes owing on your final tax return thus leaving more money to your loved ones. Some of these strategies can include:

• Maximizing "spousal roll-overs" on eligible assets such as RRSP's
• Giving gifts and cash away while you are still alive
• Making charitable donations 
• purchasing life insurance that has death benefits payable directly to a beneficiary