A wealth of knowledge, advice, and introductions to connect you to the right professionals to suit your financial needs & goals.

To work with clients, we start by learning about them and their circumstances and needs.  This helps clients get the best solution they can implement for their own financial security. Our analysis is clarified in a Scope of Engagement Agreement.

We ensure the clients understand:

• Our consulting and mentoring services are provided on a fee only basis.
• We do not accept compensation from any firm we introduce to our clients.

Russell Todd retired as a practicing financial planner in 2018, closing his company TFM Financial Management Inc.  Russell retains his RFP designation and volunteers as a mentor for the Institute of Advanced Financial Planners, working with Associate members working toward their professional designation of RFP as advanced financial planners.

Russell also teaches a limited number of webinars in financial self-management skills and enjoys mentoring individuals seeking a new career in financial planning.

Starting in 2022 Russell narrowed the scope of his consulting and mentoring to the areas noted, allowing more free time for golfing, skiing, volunteering, and travel.

The Financial Mentor works with clients first by helping clients understand the issues – ‘knowledge’.

Our ‘advice’ provided applies the knowledge to client needs we have identified – step two.

But advice is recognizing that the services of investment counsel, legal counsel, and tax professionals will also be needed, in most instances, to complete the total solution for the client.

Thus step three – ‘the introduction’.

We found the referral process is not effective in investment management, as clients have limited appreciation how the process works for portfolio and wealth management.

With added knowledge and education, we help clients learn the critical elements needed for their future financial security, including the skills and resources needed by investment advisors.

We find introductions more effective in helping clients hire investment professionals who will work for their benefit (the client) rather than for the benefit of the investment firm.

We help clients change their role from security selection and market timing to oversight of the management services of their portfolio in meeting specific goals of risk management, cost, performance, and capital preservation.

We may use modelling software to project future cash flow, capital growth and depletion, for example as well as the impact of changes to investment performance on their capital.

Time spent at the beginning of a new relationship will determine the long-term results for both parties, thus our note that this is not speed dating ?.

It is the client’s wealth and their desire for future financial security that matters.

We invest time learning how the client and their family identifies the financial needs they can achieve by working with The Financial Mentor.

We gather all financial data and client profile data needed to craft solutions for future financial security.

We identify qualified professionals who can help our clients with critical needs, such as legal advice, tax and accounting services, risk and wealth management.

We believe qualified professionals can be best identified by our office as a client advocate, more effectively than if our client tries to make contact directly via the internet and social media. In this approach, often key information is not accurately presented or easily accessed, and client engagement is the marketing intent of social media information.

We place high value on intangibles that matter, such as ethics, qualifications, philosophy, experience, track record, service cost, client communication, and empathy.

As a Financial Mentor, we use our financial services knowledge, experience, education, and training to prioritize client concerns, quantify long-term financial goals, and the roles clients want to delegate or retain in managing their wealth.

The process could be compared to an independent audit of services, intended to match service results to client identified holistic needs.

This introduction process applies to selecting new qualified, experienced professionals and firms for needed services such as portfolio management, financial planning, estate and tax planning.

From our client meetings we develop a short list of candidates we think can meet client needs and all related parameters. We provide the clients with background on the firms and individuals, with our assessment of suitability, before any client interview is undertaken.

This is not “speed dating”, as we are helping clients enter a long-term relationship with the firm they will choose after our research and interviews are completed.

We provide selected firms a Request for Proposal, detailing client profile and needs. Each firm then makes their presentation to our client and The Financial Mentor on their proposed services and benefits.

The clients must select at least two firms to make service presentations to them. We attend as observers and participants, helping the client gain a full understanding of what services and benefits they will gain from each candidate.

Following presentations, we assist clients in assessing the proposals and selecting the firm they want to work with in the future. Further information is collected as needed from each firm.

As The Financial Mentor we remain impartial in the evaluation process.

It is the clients selecting the most suitable candidate, and it is always challenging.

We assist our clients in terminating present business relationship, an exercise most clients do not find comfortable. However, we have experience in making this a professional transition from one firm to another in an orderly, cordial, and professional manner.

We manage the transition and start-up work required to begin the new relationship, including asset transfers to the new service firm.  This includes reviewing the Investment Policy Statement and other management documents that reflect the client needs.

We use a similar approach in ensuring clients get the best professional advisors needed for estate planning, tax planning, and financial planning services.

We provide these services based upon 25+ years plus of working around the investment industry, the trust industry, and with the legal and accounting professionals in Western Canada.

We have learned some clients have difficulty giving up the role of managing their own investments. Often it is because the client finds it challenging to trust better qualified professionals to do a cost-effective job of this work.

We help clients to recognize they are still going to be involved with their investments, more in the role of management rather than security selection and timing etc.

We provide more detail after our initial client meetings as to the criteria used in assessing firms for discretionary portfolio management as well as for advisory management firms, where the client will be more actively involved in changes made to their portfolio.

We work to understand what each investment management firm can offer our clients,  including people, process, products, pricing, performance, and reporting. This knowledge helps our clients in making their selection of their next investment manager for the future.

Clients will still play an active role in discussions on funding plans, required withdrawals coming out of accounts, tax planning and any unique cash flow needs in the future.

We spend time with clients identifying how to make their investments tax effective going forward.

Please call or email me to discuss what you are seeking, and I will help you get there.

After our initial contact I advise the information we need, and how we can collaborate with you as your Financial Mentor.

While I no longer am an active financial planner, I still follow the steps of financial planning: