Financial planning is an important complement to investment management and other professional advice. Clients may need help with retirement planning, tax, estate planning, pensions, corporations, insurance, cash flow, or cross-border issues that extend beyond the scope of the services their investment advisor, portfolio manager, accountant, or lawyer typically provides.
Some firms have extensive financial planning resources in-house. Others may have limited capacity, complex cases that require additional expertise, or clients whose planning needs go beyond what their internal team can provide.
Objective Financial Partners provides outsourced financial planning and paraplanning support to financial advisors, portfolio managers, wealth management firms, family offices, accountants, lawyers and other professionals across Canada.
We are a fee-only, advice-only financial planning firm. We do not manage investments or sell financial products, so we can work alongside an existing advisor without competing to manage their clients' assets.
Looking for financial planning support for your clients?
Contact us at info@objectivecfp.com or call 1-855-691-8471 to discuss how we can help.
Financial Planning That Complements Investment Management
Investment management is an important part of a financial plan, but a client's financial life generally extends well beyond their portfolio.
A retiree may need to decide when to start CPP and OAS, how much to withdraw from their RRSP or RRIF, which accounts to draw from first, and how to manage tax over the rest of their life. A business owner may need to coordinate personal investments with corporate assets, compensation, retirement planning, and estate considerations. Other clients may have pensions, trusts, real estate holdings, or cross-border issues that need to be incorporated into their planning.
These decisions can affect investment recommendations as well as tax, estate, and other advice. Good financial planning helps bring the different pieces of their puzzle together.
Objective Financial Partners regularly works with clients who already have an investment advisor or portfolio manager. We can prepare the financial plan and, with the client's permission, work with their existing professionals to help coordinate recommendations and implementation.
For an investment management or wealth management firm, this means clients can have access to comprehensive financial planning without the firm having to build every planning capability internally.
Financial Planning for Complex Clients
Much of our work involves situations where retirement, tax, estate, and investment decisions are interconnected.
We regularly advise retirees and people approaching retirement, business owners, incorporated professionals, executives, high-net-worth families, Canadians living abroad, and clients with Canada-U.S. cross-border considerations. Retirement income planning is a particular area of focus, including withdrawal strategies, government benefits, pensions, and tax-efficient retirement income.
A comprehensive engagement might involve modelling different retirement dates, comparing pension options, determining a sustainable level of retirement spending, developing a tax-efficient retirement income strategy, considering the use of corporate and personal assets, reviewing an investment strategy in the context of the overall financial plan, and identifying estate planning considerations to discuss with the client's lawyer.
Our broader team includes Certified Financial Planner professionals, Financial Planners (Pl. Fin.) in Quebec, Chartered Professional Accountants, and other professionals with experience in financial, tax, and estate planning. Having access to different areas of expertise can be valuable when a client's circumstances become more complex.
Complex planning often involves more than one professional. We are accustomed to working alongside portfolio managers, investment advisors, accountants, lawyers, and insurance advisors so recommendations can be considered in the context of the advice a client is already receiving.
Outsourced Financial Planning Support for Advisors
Even firms with strong planning capabilities can face capacity constraints. Workloads fluctuate, planning needs can be uneven, and some client situations require expertise that may not be available internally.
Other firms choose to focus their internal resources on investment management and client relationships rather than maintaining a full financial planning team. Some provide comprehensive planning only to certain clients but want an option for other valuable client relationships that require additional advice.
Objective Financial Partners can supplement those capabilities. Depending on the situation, our work may include:
The engagement can be narrow or comprehensive. A client may need help with a specific planning issue or a comprehensive financial plan. We can work directly with a client referred by your firm or collaborate with your team as part of the engagement.
Looking for financial planning support for your clients?
Contact us at info@objectivecfp.com or call 1-855-691-8471 to discuss how we can help.
Paraplanning and Behind-the-Scenes Support
Paraplanning is common in countries such as the U.K. and Australia, where financial advisors frequently outsource financial plan preparation and related analysis. There are relatively few firms providing comprehensive paraplanning services in Canada.
You may already have associates or financial planners preparing plans internally. Outsourced paraplanning can still be useful when workloads increase, when a client requires expertise that is not available on your team, or when hiring another full-time employee does not make economic sense.
Objective Financial Partners can provide one-time or ongoing paraplanning support. Depending on the arrangement, we can work behind the scenes, collaborate with your team, or work directly with your client.
Depending on the engagement, we can also assist with financial plan preparation, analysis, and related planning support.
Flexible Ways to Work Together
There is no single structure that works for every financial advisor or wealth management firm.
In the simplest arrangement, you introduce a client to Objective Financial Partners, and the client retains us directly. In most cases, our financial planning fees are based on the scope and complexity of the engagement. Hourly and ongoing arrangements may also be available depending on the work required.
In other cases, an investment or wealth management firm may choose to pay some or all of the financial planning fee on behalf of a client. This can allow a firm to provide additional planning support to selected clients or make independent financial planning part of its broader client offering.
For firms that expect to refer multiple clients, we can also discuss a broader outsourced financial planning arrangement. Fees can be quoted in advance based on the scope of work and the nature of the relationship.
Regardless of who pays the fee, our responsibility is to provide objective financial planning advice to the client. A referring firm does not direct our recommendations, and we remain independent in the advice we provide while respecting the client's existing professional relationships.
Why Work With an Advice-Only Financial Planning Firm?
Many financial planning firms in Canada also manage investments or sell financial products. Our model is different.
Objective Financial Partners is paid for financial planning advice. We do not earn investment management fees, and we do not sell investments or insurance. Our fees are based primarily on the planning work we provide rather than the amount a client has available to invest.
This independence can make an advice-only financial planning firm a natural partner for an investment advisor or wealth management firm. If you refer a client to us for financial planning, we are not looking to take over their investment account.
It can also be important to clients. Someone may be happy with their investment advisor or portfolio manager but need additional help with retirement, tax, or estate planning. They can obtain that advice from Objective Financial Partners without moving their investments simply to access financial planning services.
Financial Planning for Canadian Clients of U.S. and International Firms
Objective Financial Partners works remotely with clients across Canada and internationally. We can also be a resource for U.S. and international investment and wealth management firms with Canadian-resident clients.
Canadian clients may have RRSPs, RRIFs, TFSAs, CPP, OAS, workplace pensions, corporations, and Canadian tax and estate considerations that affect financial planning recommendations. Clients who have lived or worked in both Canada and the United States may have additional considerations involving retirement accounts, tax residency, Social Security, pensions, estate planning, and investments.
An international investment firm can continue providing investment management services while Objective Financial Partners assists with Canadian financial planning considerations. Where appropriate, we can work alongside the client's Canadian and foreign professional advisors as part of that process.
About Objective Financial Partners
Objective Financial Partners has provided fee-only, advice-only financial planning since 2012.
We work with clients across Canada and Canadians living abroad, including retirees, business owners, incorporated professionals, executives, and families with complex financial situations.
Many of our clients already work with investment advisors and portfolio managers, which makes professional collaboration a routine part of our planning process. Our role is not to replace the other professionals advising a client, but to provide financial planning expertise and help ensure important financial decisions are considered together rather than in isolation.
We can provide comprehensive financial planning directly to a client, supplement the expertise of an existing advisory team, or provide additional planning capacity to firms that want to expand their planning offering without developing every capability internally.
Work With Objective Financial Partners
If you are a financial advisor, portfolio manager, investment counsellor, wealth management firm, family office, accountant, lawyer, or other professional looking for financial planning support for your clients, we would be happy to discuss how we can help.
The relationship may begin with a single client who needs specialized retirement, tax, estate, or cross-border planning advice. It may also involve an ongoing outsourced financial planning or paraplanning arrangement for your firm.
We can work directly with your clients, alongside your team, or behind the scenes depending on the support required.
Looking for financial planning support for your clients?
Contact us at info@objectivecfp.com or call 1-855-691-8471 to discuss how we can help.