Two Questions! Double the fun!

James:  How much time do you spend with your clients on non-investment related financial planning?

The perfect client-fit for TCM are those who feel that the non-investment components of life are more important than an investment portfolio. Money is a means to an end and not an end in itself. For us, I couldn’t tell you precisely the percentage of time spent on analyzing investments as opposed to looking at other aspects of personal finance. What I can say is that we spend at least the first 2-3 meetings without reviewing investments. During these initial meetings we discuss the clients’ goals and values and fill out the financial blueprint.

The blueprint visual does such a great job of showing how the “investments” are a sub-heading under the “asset” category and only one of the many variables to consider when conducting financial planning.

Jeannie:  How and where do you invest your money? And is it the same recommendations that you provide to your clients?

Yes, we have the same approach to our personal investing as what we recommend to our clients. We match each goal of the client to a short, medium and long-term portfolio. Each portfolio includes a mix of stocks, mutual funds and ETFs (exchange-traded funds). The holdings of these portfolios will differ slightly for each client based on their risk tolerance. Our job is to present a few different options for each goal and help the client feel comfortable with the investment portfolio that is being implemented. There is less risk of investor behaviour getting in the way if the client feels comfortable and understands the portfolio before implementation.

Once it is implemented we review the portfolio annually and rebalance when needed. Significant portfolio changes are made only when the objective or goal of the client has changed. Our clients love the fact that financial headlines do not drive their investment decisions. It frees up their time to focus on what they value in their lives.

Thank you Jeannie and James for participating! We enjoyed reading your responses.