Our financial advisors | MaVia Advisory Team | National Bank Financial

MaVia clients - people just like you!

At MaVia, we recognize that every client is different. From net worth to family size, from age to future goals, we’re here to help you achieve security, satisfaction and peace of mind in a way that’s customized to you. So if you’ve got questions on how to manage your assets to get where you want to be with your financial planning, let us help you provide clarity.

Examples of client profiles

To help us explain more, here are a some examples of situations we have encountered. Read these fictional client profiles to understand common threads between the concerns in these stories and those at the top of mind for you.

Heather - The pragmatic planner

On paper, Heather is comfortable—her family has significant financial assets through their home, investments and other assets. She earns a good salary, and the same goes for her partner. She knows she’s lucky—she’s noticed the impacts of inflation with prices creeping up these days, but unlike many others, she doesn’t need to make changes to her lifestyle.

Despite all this, Heather is feeling anxious. Early in their relationship, Heather defaulted to letting her common-law spouse take care of the money because she found it intimidating, but she’s starting to realize how little she knows about how it’s all handled. Are they on track to meet their goals? Can they afford to put their kids through university and retire comfortably? Should they sell their cottage? Does her partner know what they’re doing?

Heather’s in her mid-40s and worried she doesn’t have much time to get her financial house in order. Her primary concerns are ensuring that she and her kids will continue to enjoy the lifestyle they’re accustomed to as they all get older. Her relationship has also hit a rough patch, and it’s also crossed her mind that if she splits with her partner, she might not be left with much.

For Heather, it’s essential for her to find a compassionate and empathetic financial advisor to help her understand her current financial picture. She’s motivated to learn more about the options available to her so she can make informed decisions to protect herself and her family’s future.

Donna - Securing her future

Donna is deeply concerned that her retirement won't turn out as she had dreamed. She's about a year out from that last day of her working career, and she's been looking forward to a slower pace of life —one filled with weekend getaways, quiet dinners out, and sleepovers with her future grandchildren. But her husband isn’t in the best of health. In his late 60’s, he’s already managing his diabetes, hypertension and arthritis with prescription medications and frequent doctor visits, and she’s worried it’s only going to get worse. So with his health issues, should she delay her retirement and continue working? Or should she retire on schedule and take advantage of his relative health now to travel and spend time together before it gets worse? Donna and her husband have never been high earners, but they’ve been responsible, diligently saving a portion of their paycheques every month. Now she’s wondering whether that’s enough.

Donna’s aware that, in all likelihood, she’ll outlive her husband, and she’s worried that they’ll run out of money before then—she doesn’t want to rely on her kids or be forced to downsize and significantly compromise her lifestyle. Donna wants to know how she can use her resources to add to her quality of life without sacrificing her future. She needs an advisor who can help ensure her a secure future even if her husband passes away.

Robert - The creative philanthropist

Robert’s in a situation we’ve all dreamed of—having recently come into money. He’s a working writer with tutoring responsibilities, a pipeline of paid projects and his passion project—a full-length novel that he works on in his spare time.

Robert’s worried he’s not up to the task of handling such a large sum responsibly. After a relative passed away, they left him with more money than he’s comfortable with managing. While he’s always had enough for his daily expenses, he wasn’t in the position to live extravagantly with the ebbs and flows of his freelance income. Now he wants to ensure he’ll manage his newfound wealth well.

Firstly, Robert needs to learn how best to invest and save this money so he can continue to draw from it for his day to day needs—he’d like to dedicate more time to his novel. But he also hopes to create a trust or a non-profit that can help burgeoning writers and give them the type of guidance and mentorship he would have loved to have in his younger years. He’s not clear on how this would work, but he knows nothing would bring him more satisfaction than knowing that his funds were used to support the next generation of artists.

Robert’s looking for a financial advisor who can guide him on this learning curve, while showing him how best to use this gift in a way to benefit others in the years to come and cement a legacy in his community of creatives

NB – Heather, Donna, and Robert are fictional and do not reflect the stories nor profiles of real clients.

Our financial advisors | MaVia Advisory Team

How we help you

These three individuals have concerns that are very typical of those in our client base. Their net worths may vary, and their daily needs might be covered, but there’s a lot of uncertainty about what their future holds.

We know most people aren’t experts on investments. We take into account issues like tax implications, asset allocations and finance strategies—less for you to worry about—so you can move forward with confidence.

At MaVia, we take a big picture perspective, reviewing our clients’ goals and finding a way to achieve them that’s consistent with their values, priorities and interests. Understanding the numbers is only one part of creating a quality financial plan. Imagine being able to meet your goals in a holistic manner, one that takes into account all the facets of your mindset and lifestyle. We’re here to provide solutions, opportunities and a path forward to a more fulfilling way of life.

Whether one of these stories describes your circumstances perfectly or you’ve found yourself in a unique situation, we’re here for you, and we can help. Let us show you what your money can do for you - in terms of work-life balance, future planning and achieving the quality of life you’ve always dreamed of.

Frequently Asked Questions

General

Everyone can benefit from professional financial planning services. A well-managed plan will give you the confidence and the peace of mind of knowing that you’ll be on track to achieve your goals. With your input, we create a roadmap to help you optimize your money through investments, charitable giving, and tax and estate planning to help you build a meaningful and satisfying life.

Our objectives go beyond simply aiming for a good rate of return. We believe in taking a holistic approach to money management, considering your family, goals, and what brings you joy and satisfaction. We see money as a tool that, when used wisely, can help you live the way you’ve always dreamed and provide for your future needs in a method consistent with your values and priorities.

As Dimensional Fund Advisor (DFA) certified advisors, we manage and invest your money in DFA products, which we believe provide superior value and performance compared to other funds on the market.

Rather than trying to time the market or relying on benchmark returns, DFA funds approach investments differently. It aims for better returns through a portfolio with an emphasis on stocks, smaller businesses and value companies. Conventional investment strategies do not take these factors into account.

This method was developed after years of academic research. The fund has low fees, is known to outperform the market, and is only offered through DFA-certified advisors.

Your money will be managed in a disciplined and methodical way to ensure you’ll achieve the performance necessary to meet your goals.

Financial

While the standard age to start Canada Pension Plan payments is 65, you are eligible to begin payments as early as 60. However, you’ll receive a larger benefit if you delay your payments until after 65⁠—an increase for every month you defer up until age 70.

Another factor to consider: your CPP payments are considered income and could affect your tax situation, especially if you’re drawing from your RRSP or workplace pension plans at the same time.

In short, when you should take CPP depends on your expected life expectancy and the makeup of your other assets at retirement. As your investment advisors, we can help determine the best time for you to start taking CPP based on your specific situation and needs.

Based on your assets, age and overall financial picture, we can craft a roadmap to ensure you can maintain your lifestyle and get to all the items on your bucket list during your golden years. We’ll help you determine:

Your optimal age for retirement
How and when you should begin drawing from your CPP
The best way to take advantage of your pension, if you have one
How to turn your assets into retirement income in a tax-efficient manner

Our roadmap will thoughtfully incorporate each of these components into a plan that will maximize your money’s utility and help you achieve some much-deserved peace of mind.

To name an executor for your estate, you’ll need to go through the process of preparing your will. In this document, you’ll be required to identify a person to manage your estate and fulfill your last wishes.

Managing your estate is a complex task, and choosing someone you trust to manage your affairs ethically and accurately is essential. It’s also ideal to name a secondary executor if your first choice is either unable or unwilling to carry out the duties. You may also opt to name a professional, such as a lawyer, accountant or corporate trustee as your executor.

To ward off the effects of inflation, we use a variety of strategies that help maintain your money’s purchasing power. For example, one way to protect your money is to invest your funds in a portfolio that achieves a higher rate of return than the current rate of inflation.

We can also structure your portfolio to reduce your tax burden by using registered accounts, specific investment products, charitable donations and other strategies that provide tax efficiency.

Financial concerns of women

Money can feel intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. Unlike some advisors who make it seem unnecessarily complicated, we want our clients to understand and feel confident in how we’re managing their money. Part of our role is education⁠—meeting our clients where they are and giving them the tools they need to feel knowledgeable and make informed decisions when it comes to allocating their assets. We welcome questions and clients that take an interest in how investments work: at MaVia, we believe in maintaining transparency in our approach and process. Our goal is to empower, not overwhelm.

While it’s common for couples to merge their finances and share ownership of a number of their investments, it’s ideal to maintain some individual accounts for flexibility. The TFSA is potentially a great place to start your own portfolio. It’s a type of registered account with significant tax advantages⁠—and can only be held in one name.

We’ll evaluate your assets and portfolio, and may recommend keeping your investments separate or combining some to reduce tax implications and other losses, based on your circumstances.

Many of our clients have children and elderly parents that they need to care for. At the same time, they have their own financial needs. In many cases, we do recommend that you work towards securing your own safety net first, but that doesn’t have to mean neglecting your family’s needs. We’ll assess the timelines involved and suggest different portfolios or investment products based on your circumstances and those of the family members you wish to support. In many cases, you have more options than you may have initially thought.

Many of our clients are single, happy and thriving. And for those in relationships, it’s not uncommon to outlive your partner. Either way, you can plan for a bright future. A financial projection prepared by a certified investment advisor can help you prepare for all the possible scenarios by making the right moves now. By assessing your current situation, we can make recommendations that will lead you to financial peace of mind, whether on your own or with a partner.

Ideally, you will be able to retire once you’ve accrued enough assets to achieve your goals and provide for your retirement while you’re still young and healthy to enjoy a slower-paced life. If you’re not yet at retirement age, set a target and tell us about it! We can discuss how to manage your assets so that you’ll be financially confident and secure once you hit that age.

Reach out to us! You can contact the MaVia team here. We would love to initiate a conversation and find out if we’re a good fit for your needs and situation. We look forward to hearing from you.