Our Approach

[MUSIC PLAYING]

When you talk about legacy, I don't think that it's just after you're gone, what have you left? I think it's how you've lived your life the whole time.

The legacy that I'm the most interested in leaving is the one about having been responsible for what I was given, and doing the best job of making sure that those resources have been used in the best and most efficient and most effective and most impactful way. A part of that part is making sure that we're working with our sons to educate them, and get them ready to take over that part of that legacy.

My role has always been not only to manage their investments, but be a guide, help navigate through many financial choices they have. To do that successfully, it is important for me to be very knowledgeable about who they are, their family histories, their goals, their wishes, and their values. You need a plan that includes insurance, estate planning, business succession, charitable giving. You need other experts to contribute. And that is the role that Arnie, Jamie, and others play.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

As anybody who has children, you want to make sure that you're giving them the best values you can, especially with the responsibility and the challenges that come with large amounts of wealth.

We have tried as best as we can to be intentional parents in all aspects. Life is busy, and sometimes we've been less intentional than others. But in this area, we're trying our best to instill in them some responsibility with money.

We want to think about how we're living our lives now, and what we're being involved in, and the causes that we're supporting.

They're getting to the stage where they're making plans for what they're going to do after high school is over. And so we're working through how to make sure they remain motivated. So that's a bit of a challenge to thread that needle. And so that's something that I'm sure we'll be looking to Harp to give us some insights on as well. It's worth mentioning that Harp has brought us several resources over the years regarding training our boys with becoming good stewards of money.

I think actually when your kids are teenagers, they quite often prefer having other people than their parents give them advice and information. So it's a very good time for us to be bringing people into their lives who can give them advice and to just share some wisdom.

And it changes over time. In a 15-year-old, in a 17-year-old, there's different planning that needs to take place at that stage versus when they're getting involved in relationships. There is another type of planning that you want to look out for, so it's an evolving piece. It isn't just doing and going through a planning process, and now we're done.

So even if tomorrow morning, all is taken away, I'm confident that they'll have learned principles that would help them to avoid problems later in life, just because they've hung around and seen the advice that we've been able to get over these years.

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]

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]

[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]

[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]

[Classical music playing, as a ships horn sounds off]

[Wealth Management Dominion Securities logo]

[Greg Cochrane]

I'm the President/CEO of fourteen hundred-fifty Souls.

Not a lot keeps me up at night, except for fourteen hundred-fifty souls.

It's my job. My job to take care of you and your families.

We emigrated from New Jersey in the fifties.

My dad and mom were Canadian and my dad was a crazy entrepreneur too. So, we started with Royal bank back in the fifties. You can imagine it was our go-to bank.

When I got into my own business, the bank was always there for me.

I got into my first full-time business when I was twenty-nine.

Our Banker was World Bank, and I remember bouncing paychecks and going to our commercial Banker in London.

The fear of just, closing down was the most important thing. I would have done anything to keep us open because, I believed we could turn this around.

I felt embarrassed because I had screwed this up.

He gave me the best advice.

He said “so we could call your loan now, but I believe you're going to turn this around with your partners. Now, I need you to do two things.”

I said, “What’s that?”

He said “give me your credit cards,” and I open up my wallet. He cut them right in front of us! Our Royal Bank credit cards, cut them, right in front of us!

He said “no more credit. It's all cash.”

It was the best advice I ever got.

When we sold that business in ninety-seven, while we had accomplished a lot, we realized the material gains that we were looking for, we were looking for security for ourselves, and our families.

The bank and the team that we have, it's a complete team. Think about this, it's like a mini family office you have.

Those folks, they know, they know what our goals are.

Our private bankers, and our folks at PH and N, and at DS they know about our family nucleus.

The bank has become simplified for me because I just hand over most of the challenges we have, whether it's a trust, my will, my RCA, to extensive loan portfolios.

They give me peace of mind.

It allows me to do what I'm good at. I can't/I don’t want to run money. I want to build businesses.

In 1994, I wrote down my purpose in life, and my roles of my responsibilities. And I figured out what my purpose was.

I was help helping others get what they want.

I'm here to serve fourteen hundred-fifty people at DCM.

I'm here to serve my partner's.

I'm here to serve my family.

Sometimes you screw up, but if you have that North Star that says, okay, that's what makes you happy.

I think that’s important.

[Wealth Management Dominion Securities logo]

[Whitehorse Yukon sign]

[Coast Mountain Sports sign]

[Mary-Jane] Business is hard. It's hard.

I mean Craig and I are pretty good at taking risks in retail and we're pretty confident with the risks we take, but there are still risks.

[Craig and Mary-Jane RBC Wealth Management Clients Business Owners]

In the nineties, I was in our one of our stores it just before Christmas and I walked through the back rooms and looked at all the inventory and started to cry. I can still get teary about it was just like “oh my God. Are we going to sell all this stuff? Do we have the money for this?”

[Craig] RBC has been a game changer for us and what they've done, they’ve taken us to the next level.

We went to a meeting in Vancouver and there was a group of professionals there and we looked each other and we almost thought we walked into the wrong room.

It’s like, “all these people are here for us?”

We feel like a curtain has been pulled back and there is a whole set of resources that are available to us that we weren’t aware of before and they have done some financial planning for us that goes beyond simple financial planning, but kind of family planning, estate planning, succession planning, financial literacy- for children.

[Mary-Jane] That part is so important.

[Craig] We've got this detailed financial plan now, beyond a financial plan, it’s more like a life plan.

[Mary-Jane] Last year is able to buy a new a new horse. Now, I'm a crazy horse person and I was able to get this beautiful animal, and they're not cheap. I would advise no one to ever think it's an investment. Like it's really, really, a dumb way to spend your money, unless you love them.

[Jeff Glaicar, MBA, CIM, FCSI. Vice President, Portfolio Manager and Wealth Advisor RBC Dominion Securities Inc., RBC Wealth Management]

[Jeff Glaicar] Successful business owners sometimes don't know how successfully they have been.

When your financial means are there and we can do a road map to show that you can do that., you can go ahead and do something like MJ did, and she can only do it at a certain age and she's done it and it's the best personal dividend anyone could get.

[Mary-Jane competing at 1.10 metre Adult Amateur Champion, BC 2019]

[Mary-Jane] There’re no regrets, right? I was able to achieve something that was really, really, obviously, important to me.

[Craig] Part of the reason that we have the confidence to go and buy this very expensive horse is because, we had a plan.

[Mary-Jane] Yeah.

[Craig] Because of that plan, it let us do those kinds of things, without being concerned about it.

[Mary-Jane] And I don't feel guilty. I didn't feel guilty doing it.

[Craig] We weren’t spending our child’s inheritance.

[Mary-Jane] Or putting our business at risk.

[Craig] And it's happened because of planning and because of this relationship we have with the people at the World Bank.

[RBC Wealth Management logo]

[Meet Sue and Drew RBC Wealth Management Clients]

[DREW:] Sue and I met at University. I was getting a coffee in the lounge and saw her and just fell in love. Just that simple.

[Drew and his partners recently sold their national network of veterinary hospitals “Calgary North Veterinary Hospital and Emergency Service”]

When the sale of the company came on there's a lot of things that came with that and taxes and creating trusts and things like that that you know aren't really our strength.

[SUE:] You're just relying on what you hear from friends, what you get online and you know, it's difficult because you're always worried you're going to miss something.

[DREW:] We had our goals. They were pretty roughed in goals. We didn't really know exactly how they would be actuated and the team pulled it together and sort of said, “Okay well if you want to do it, here’s the options.”

[VI LIVINIUK:] Drew and Sue sold their Veterinarian Practice.

So that meant that things on the financial front became a little more complicated, and they didn’t really know where to start.

[Vi Liviniuk, CIM, CFP, B.Ed. Vice President, Associate Portfolio Manager. RBC Dominion Securities Inc. RBC Wealth Management]

At that point it was important that would that I bring in all of my financial partners that are specialized in helping clients with different facets of their financial well-being. Whether it's a state planning, tax planning, insurance planning, right down to charitable giving.

[VAN THAI:]

[Van Thai, PFP. Private Banker. RBC Wealth Management]

If you're dealing with the advisor on investment front, and you dealing with me on the personal private banking front, it's just seamless. We are a team.

[Cody Cormier:]

[Cody Cormier, B.B.A. (Finance), LL.B., TEP Vice President, High Net Worth Planning Services RBC Wealth Management]

(Sue and Drew wanted to impart their values and beliefs to their son, but I suggested that they schedule annual family meetings and at that family meeting one of the things they could do is talk about philanthropy and setting up a private endowment fund inside a public foundation would be a good idea, and that endowment fund would generate income annually and it could get directed to the parents’ favorite charity or the son's favorite charity.

[DREW:] To have a fund that's of itself can can make its own wealth and not just be a stagnant donation every year that comes out of your general account. And it's doing quite well so that's also good for our charities.

[SUE:] Whenever we want to make a contribution, we just give them a call and it's all taken care of. We just have to give them the name of the charity and that's it.

[DREW:] It's a rewarding thing to put something together and then have it come through exactly how you envisioned it.

[SUE:] We have this team of people and they know us and they know what we want to do, what our goals are, what our aspirations are and I can’t say enough about it.

[UNKOWN WOMAN SPEAKING]

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.

[Wealth Management Dominion Securities logo]