C. d'Eon Group of RBC Dominion Securities - Blogs

[Norm] When I was in high school what they had in my yearbook was most unlikely to succeed and in a way I kind of laughed it off and from that day on I said just wait and see.

[Norm and Donna built a successful company over the past 25 years]

[Now it was time to pass it on]

We thought that's the easiest thing to do was to pass on to family.

[Donna] We have two children, and we had no concept of how to do this in a fair way to respect both girls when they had different goals.

When you have a business and you’re trying to bring it over to the family, you've got family dynamics involved in a business decision and that really a struggle.

When we first started out we were with Denise at the branch level. Denise helped us as much as she possibly could.

[Denise Parkes, CFP, PFP. Financial Planner. Royal Mutual Funds Inc.]

In order to retire when you're self-employed you either close the business, you sell the business, you give it to a family member. It's very difficult.

[Norm] And that's when she brought Bruce and Sandra on board.

[Bruce R. Wannamaker, CFA, CIM. Vice-President and Investment Counsellor. RBC Phillips, Hager and North Investment Counsel Inc. RBC Wealth Management]

[Sandra J. Stewart, CFA. Investment Counsellor RBC Phillips, Hager and North Investment Counsel Inc. RBC Wealth Management]

[Sandra] It's more than just their finances. It's their family histories, and their family dynamics, and their values, and their hopes and dreams, and it's much more important than numbers on a page.

[Bruce] The investments are always a corner stone of what we do and we continue to do that with them. But one of the things Donna said to us off the start was she wanted to have peace at the dinner table at Christmas every year, and so that's one thing we've never lost sight of.

[Donna] Everything has happened around this table.

[Photograph of Norm, Donna, and RBC employees standing in front of a dining room table]

We got all these brains around our table, sitting here trying to work on our problem, our situation focused on us.

[Norm] They come up with answers or they will find the answers.

There's just no way we could have accomplished this without the wealth management team. I mean we'd never be this far.

[Ryan Knipfel, CA, CFP. Financial Planning Specialist. RBC Wealth Management]

[Ryan] Often with business owners we’ll talk a little different options, sale of operating companies, sale of holding companies, what the income tax implications of the two different options could be, things like estate freezes.

[Donna] Ryan did a very in-depth analysis of our financial position, and then they brought Murray in.

[Murray A. Shapiro, LL.B., TEP. Vice-President, High Net Worth Planning Services. RBC Wealth Management]

[Murray] Our role high net-worth planning is to help assess the needs, help get the vision sorted, a plan that looks like we can achieve the vision, and then to bring in the players either internally or externally to make that all happen.

[Donna] We definitely hit some speed bumps, but they have taken us by the hand and gone through every step with us.

[Murray] We're going to probably have to be looking at a third-party sale and there's only so far, I can take that but now there’s James.

[James Wong, CA, CBV. Vice-President, High Net Worth Planning Services. RBC Wealth Management]

[James] My role was to help them understand. First of all, your business is valuable. It's extremely saleable and that you do have options. So, I went through the whole process of not just helping them understand the value of the company, but certainly what is the process if they were to sell the company to a third party, what that process looks like.

[Norm] I just cannot say enough about this team and what they've done for me, what they've done for Donna.

[Donna] They make sure that at the end of the day we're getting what we want. We’re taking care of our family and we get to retire peacefully with the kids and that's that's all we want.

That's all we wanted.

[Female Narrator] RBC Wealth Management is Canada's leading wealth manager. Our approach brings the best of RBC to you. Our resources, solutions, and full access to our team of experts through one single contact, your wealth manager.

[Financial Planning – High Net Worth Planning – Business Planning – Investment Management]

Simply put there's wealth in our approach.

[RBC Wealth Management – There’s Wealth in Our Approach]

[After successful careers Jean-Pierre and Sharon have entered retirement.]

[This is their story.]

[Jean-Pierre and Sharon Recently retired – RBC Wealth Management Clients]

[Jean-Pierre:] For me, it's very easy. In retirement what I want to do, I want to do- what I want to do, when I want to do it. That’s it.

And obviously financial security is key.

[Sharon:] We wanted to know that our finances were being handled properly, while looked after.

[Jean-Pierre:] And at that time, I was dealing with four different financial institutions. So, I decided to consolidate everything within one.

Since we decided to consolidate our financial affairs, we're taking full advantage of every service.

[Bryan Stephens, CFA, MBA, CFP, TEP Investment Counselor RBC Phillips Hager and North Investment Counsel Inc.]

[Bryan Stephens:] They were looking at consolidating things. They didn’t really know what the assets were going to deliver in terms of an income.

We brought the assets and did the financial planning on projections and showed them that you actually have more income than you thought. Then we moved on to bring other experts to talk to them about trust structures and tax planning and estate planning.

[Adelle Léger, CPA, CA, CFP Vice-President, Financial Planning Specialist RBC Wealth Management]

[Jean-Pierre:] We had the very comprehensive financial plan that was done for us, through Adelle. That was a great service.

[Adelle Léger:] As many parents want to do- they want to help their children and their grandchildren.

They wanted to make sure that they could do: A) Do it and still reach their financial goals, but also do it in a more tax-efficient manner. So, we suggested that they set up a trust so that they could income split on the investment income derived from that capital

[Jean-Pierre:] We had a will but it was would you say twenty years outdated.

[Sharon:] Oh no, no, no. Thirty-five. Thirty-five years out dated.

[Jean-Pierre:] So, it was a great suggestion to say “you better bring your will up to date.”

So, we did that through the Estate Planning offered by Kathryn.

[Kathryn Aitkenhead, LL.M., CFP, TEP Vice-President, Will and Estate Consultant RBC Wealth Management]

[Sharon:] She really asked a lot of questions about our family. So that she could steer us in the right direction based on what we wanted

[Jean-Pierre:] Because none of us are experts in Estate Planning and this is a very important part of your life and your financial security and it was nice to deal with an expert in this area.

[Rosie Marrone Private Banker RBC Wealth Management]

[Rosie Marrone:] We form a team and all of us work together in providing a customized financial solution.

The financial plan that we provided the demonstrated to them that all the lifestyle goals that they had for themselves were going to be met and then some

[Jean-Pierre:] It provided us a feeling of security. Would you say? [Asking Sharon and Sharon nods in agreement]

Knowing that, you know, the money was there.

Not only for us but also for our children and grandchildren. That was important to us.

[Sharon:] It's a big relief and you just know that you’re going to go forward with your life and in the manner that you want to.

[Jean-Pierre:]And you can't put a price to this.

[Sharon:] It’s invaluable.

[Jean-Pierre:] Yeah, invaluable.

[RBC Wealth Management employee] RBC Wealth Management is Canada's leading Wealth Manager. Our approach brings the best of RBC to you. Our resources, solutions, and full access to our team of experts through one single contact, your wealth manager.

Simply put “There's Wealth in Our Approach.”

[RBC Wealth Management logo]

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Within the last year, Denise was diagnosed with cancer, so it was quite an ordeal for us. It was definitely thought-provoking. Having a daughter like Kayla, with her disabilities, it was her future, once we are no longer here, was of paramount importance to us.

I got a call on my cell phone saying, Yvonne, we just discovered this, and I really need you to give me some reassurance of, am I going to be OK? Can he shut down his business? Can he wind it down and really focus on Kayla, and to care for Denise? And that was what he came to me to seek answers for.

It's all good now. I'm living for every day. But you never know if something is going to come up that is life changing like this. So to have everything in place already at a fairly young age has been in our favor for sure.

Our house was in order.

Yeah.

And our house was in order because we had a great team that were working with us to make sure that everything was in place.

What separates RBC from the previous institution we were working with is the breadth of services that Yvonne offered us.

Within her team was Gerry D'Souza, who was the insurance expert, Robyn Solnik, who was the will and estate planning expert, and Grant Henri, who did an overview of all the components of our portfolio.

What we're always trying to do is help the client understand the optimal way to structure things, and how they can benefit from it. He's very dedicated to his family, and wanted to make sure that everyone is going to be OK. And I do think that a life event like that causes even the most dedicated business owner to step back and look at what's really important. Also, with Kayla having special needs, left him feeling very uneasy about the financial implications of stepping away from his business.

Parents that have children with special challenges, they're in a unique situation. As part of the planning, we also discuss more practical issues that have to do with if they're not around. So it's not all about the tax, and the numbers. We're also looking at the softer issues that are so important to people.

It's very important for us to know that once we're gone, that she's going to be able to maintain the quality of life that she'll currently has, and will be properly taken care of in the future. So wealth preservation has been something that's been on the forefront in working with the team here at RBC, and it means everything to us.

It's just nice to know that the people that you're working with, that are determining the quality of your retirement, understand what we require as a family, and are working in tandem as a team. So--

And they care.

--it's very comforting.

Yeah.

And they do care.

RBC Wealth Management is Canada's leading wealth manager. Our approach brings the best of RBC to you-- our resources, solutions, and full access to our team of experts-- through one single contact, your wealth manager. Simply put, There's Wealth in Our approach.

[MUSIC PLAYING]