What clients say about the The O'Neill Wealth Management Group
Our involvement with Maureen O’Neill and her Wealth Management Group has been an entirely pleasant and positive transition for my wife and I. We were fortunate to have two good salaries and saved a nice little nest egg through our working careers. We were lucky with mutual funds but I had managed them on a wing and a prayer and was becoming increasingly nervous about our lack of professional guidance. We wanted to keep our investments growing even as our revenue diminished in retirement. But where to find a group we could trust and have confidence in to help us do that?
Our bank advisor suggested we meet Maureen O’Neill and her team. It took a while to arrange that first meeting because we were skittish about passing control of our money to someone else. But Maureen led us through the process of designing our own Investment Policy based on our retirement goals. We eased into the situation and were very quickly pleased with the financial results, with the accessibility of Maureen and her colleagues, and with the reporting and discussion timetable. The fact is we never did lose control of our money. And we were particularly comforted with the large network of experts working for us on a regular basis to identify trends, threats and opportunities in the marketplace.
How would we describe Maureen’s approach to managing our funds? Professional, family-friendly, client-centered, thorough, maneuverable to meet unexpected financial needs, communicative…those are some of the characteristics that leap to mind.
After almost six years of working with the O’Neill team, we remain very pleased and entirely satisfied that our investments are in solid hands. With the team in the driver’s seat, my wife and I get on with the joys of retirement knowing that our investments will provide the security we need in the years ahead.
-Charles
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Prior to working with Maureen and the O'Neill Wealth Management Group we felt only our advisor was making any money. Now we are exceeding our goals for investment returns and are confident that the advice we are getting is serving our interests. We only wish we had met Maureen sooner!
-Mike and Maureen Coates
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Prior to moving our portfolio over to the team at O'Neill Wealth Management we were with a long term investment advisor. Our portfolio performance was less than record breaking and when the crunch hit in 2008 we took a huge hit to our portfolio. We did not have any meaningful ongoing discussion with our advisor, as a matter of fact he was less than easily reachable and had no valid information as to why our portfolio was under performing. Switching to DS was not an easy decision for us, putting all our eggs in one basket was a tough choice to make
However we made the move over in 2013 and since that time our portfolio has recovered from the losses sustained in 2008 and continued to perform very well. We are very impressed with the team at O'Neill Wealth Management, their professional approach to managing our portfolio with things like quarterly meetings, in depth financial planning and retirement based investment goals has really put our minds at ease. We know the team at DS is working hard to manage our portfolio and make the best possible choices given the frame work we have laid out for them in our investment policy.
The team at O'Neill Wealth Management has provided us with peace of mind in knowing our wealth is being managed in a systemic and professional manner. Since making the switch to O' Neill Wealth Management we have enjoyed easy access to the entire team, they have our best interests in the forefront at all times and are always ready to listen to our comments and concerns. I can honestly say to anyone that is considering switching their portfolio over to O'Neill Wealth Management/Dominion Securities that it could possibly be one of the best investment decisions you will ever make.
-Paul and Sue
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What are some of the benefits we've realized by working with the O'Neill Wealth Management Group?
• The team’s discipline in scheduling regular meetings to discuss the results of our portfolio.
• Ensuring a focus on our stated goals, updating those goals and updating our financial plan on a regular basis.
• Service: We value the fact that you look after the paperwork and details required related to our use of the various tools in our portfolio (RESPs, spousal loans; life insurance as investment).
• Referrals to other professionals: your ability to match us with an accounting professional suited to our personalities and needs.
• Confidence of working with an efficient and friendly team with the backing of a large, secure institution.
-Bruce and Kate
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Before working with Maureen and team I was self managing my portfolio using BMO Investerline accounts. Prior to signing up with RBCDS I had been shopping around for an investment advisor, with no satisfaction. Some could only “pigeon hole” us into one of their groups, however our situation didn’t match any (no income, potentially retired, late 40’s). Another provided what I thought was incorrect info concerning capital gains when selling mutual funds and when I questioned him, he never returned any of my calls.
Meeting up with Maureen she was understanding of my financial situation and goals and worked to transition my existing portfolio towards our agreed goals in the most tax and cost efficient manner; never pushy.
I felt that I was doing an acceptable job of self management, however when my portfolio requirements changed to providing 100% of income (versus all growth) I wasn’t confident to manage the necessary actions to generate an income in a cost efficient manner. Additionally I didn’t wish to spend the time making the trades, transfers, etc. and equally importantly should anything happen to me income generation could suffer due to the fact that only I was managing the portfolio.
With O'Neill Wealth Management I’ve had no financial worries and my portfolio is providing steady income stream + growth.
The whole team is always responsive and courteous to all my requests and continually provides regular portfolio updates as well as ad hoc reports in response to global financial news.
Soon after signing on Maureen arranged for a retirement analysis to be done. It has been very helpful in budgeting and estate management. Of the other financial management firms I “interviewed”, none mentioned doing a retirement analysis.
I have, and will continue to recommend to friends contacting Maureen & team for second (or first) opinion about management of their portfolio.
-Neil
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My wife was dealing with Maureen before I got involved. I had RRSPs with SunLife and nothing else so no management on my part. My wife however had RRSPs with RBC for quite a while. When I heard that I might be offered early retirement, my wife suggested we both talk to Maureen to see how we should organize our finances. And that is how we got started.
When I retired, I thought I would manage our finances on my own since the literature is full of people who claim to be doing just that. However after thinking it over, I decided I did not want to spent time doing all the necessary research and laying awake at night wondering if I should buy or sell something. So the first benefit has been the less time spent and also the peace of mind. The other thing Maureen and team brought to the table has been the method and the system to allocate what percent to what product or sector or geography. I was already familiar with the percent to be allocated to fixed versus flexible income instruments. I was less aware of the sector and geographic allocation. That has been the value added in my opinion.
I almost forgot one more benefit and that is of the bi-annual meetings. Even though those meetings are somewhat routine by now, it helps to meet to ensure we are still on the same page with respect to plans and expectations.
To tell you the truth I never looked anywhere else. We met Maureen a few times prior to my retirement and I felt comfortable with her. For me, that is the first hurdle. If I didn't feel comfortable that would have been the end of it. She explained how the group did its work and basically what we were getting for our money. The fee was also in the ballpark since I have a good appreciation of the fees out there. I should also mention that when we were discussing how to handle the retirement payout, she brought in one or two specialists to do all kinds of calculations. This was the first time we had looked at our entire financial picture that way.
-Gaétan
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1. How did you manage your portfolio prior to working with us?
Worked on my own and consulted an RBC contact for execution as well as managed a self-directed account at TD Waterhouse.
2. What are some of the benefits you've realized by working with our team?
The team is big picture outcome oriented. Their focus on tax and retirement planning instill confidence.
3. What advice would you give to someone who is thinking about looking for a second opinion on their portfolio?
Talk to a professional. The team under Maureen are phenomenal, responsive, skilled, extremely helpful and outcome oriented.
-Andy and Krista
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1. How did you manage your portfolio prior to working with us?
We had MD Management, and we had very limited assistance and direction.
2. What are some of the benefits you've realized by working with our team?
We were looking to get organized with our regular investments and your group helped us with that.
3. What advice would you give to someone who is thinking about looking for a second opinion on their portfolio?
I highly recommend Maureen. She is diligent, knowledgeable and organized.
-Anonymous
