If you are like many of our clients, you recognize that your time is limited and you want to use it to focus on your family and your own business activities rather than managing your increasingly complex personal financial situation. Depending on your personal circumstances, we have a number of options to suit you and your family’s needs including:

1. Comprehensive Financial Planning
2. Retainer-based Personal Financial Management
3. Modular Personal Financial Management

Comprehensive Financial Planning:

Our comprehensive planning service includes a complete financial plan providing optimization strategies covering all areas of planning as follows:

1. Cash flow and debt management including allocation of projected surpluses
2. Tax planning including strategy development for income splitting, stock option management, tax deferral and international concerns
3. Financial independence/retirement planning
4. Investment planning: strategy and review
5. Risk management and insurance (sufficiency of risk coverage plus review of product options)
6. Estate planning including tax planning at death and review of wills and powers of attorney
7. Capital needs and special commitments: education funding, business interests, second property purchase, charitable gifts, etc.

After completing the plan, we:

1. Develop a detailed time sensitive Action Plan (what should be done, by whom, by what date, for what financial result) and
2. Assist with ongoing implementation of Action Plan to the extent agreed upon by the client.

Retainer- based Personal Financial Management

If you are a busy executive or professional wanting ongoing financial advice and support but if our Integrated Investment Management service is not a fit (because your investment assets are tied up in your company stock and/or being allocated to pensions, corporate stock plans and debt repayment, or you manage your investment assets on your own) then our retainer based Personal Financial Management service will take care of all of your other financial needs. This service will help you set up a tax effective plan, manage your cash flow and proactively allocate surpluses most effectively towards your goals. We are committed to keeping you on top of financial priorities and opportunities.

We work with you to develop a sound understanding of your financial position and financial goals; then develop a plan to achieve them. We agree up front with you what needs to be done on an ongoing basis. Then for an agreed monthly or quarterly retainer fee, we will help you to implement recommended strategies, proactively stay on top of financial priorities and monitor your progress towards achieving your goals.

Modular Personal Financial Management

Some of our clients prefer to address specific planning needs based on their most pressing questions.  In this case they can access our Modular Financial Planning, where we address specific planning areas as agreed to, reviewing your present financial situation and issuing a written report of recommendations then meeting with you to thoroughly discuss the report and agree upon an Action Plan and implementation. The review would include any one or more of the financial concerns below:

1. Cash management and budgeting
2. Education funding
3. Investment review and investment policy
4. Estate Planning
5. Retirement Planning
6. Risk management and insurance
7. Cross border taxation advice

OUR APPROACH

Our proprietary approach to personal financial planning begins with questions about your primary issues and concerns.  Liquidity for your retirement? Buying homes? Securing your family’s future?  Planning for your children’s education?  We listen carefully, learning as much as we can about you and your family so that we can advise you the most meaningful and personal way.

We then combine our experience with advanced planning software and customized approaches for dealing with more sophisticated planning situations, to create a personalized and comprehensive financial plan.  Once the plan is completed we create an Action Plan that sets out the specific matters to be implemented, by whom and when, as well as the financial results you can expect.

Your engagement with us does not need to end after the initial planning is done.  If you opt for our comprehensive Personal Financial Management service or Kerr Financial Advisors’ Integrated Investment Management service, then we will take joint responsibility for your Action Plan to ensure its goals are met, keeping you informed with quarterly status reports.

The Kerr Financial 7-step Financial Planning Approach

1. Listen carefully to understand your personal and financial needs.
2. Develop a personalized and comprehensive financial plan using the Kerr Financial proprietary approach, with input from our internal team of financial planning, accounting, tax and investment specialists.
3. Explain the plan and discuss alternative strategies for improvement.
4. Agree on the Action Plan, setting out what is to be done, by whom, by what date and for what financial and personal
5. Assist with the implementation of the Action Plan items and management of the Action Plan to ensure steps are completed successfully.
6. Monitor progress toward financial goals, and push ahead when delays occur.
7. Manage your financial deadlines, which could include tax estimates and installments; tax return preparation; allocation of bonuses or profits in line with planning priorities; assistance with corporate compensation and benefit decisions including stock options, stock plans and flexible benefit programs; and development of a plan to achieve financial independence and manage your many sources of income.