The Investor’s Role

You and your financial adviser are partners, and the goal is to achieve your financial objectives. So you should approach each session with your adviser like a business meeting. To ensure that it’s productive, take some time to prepare in advance.

Plan Your First Meeting

The first time you meet with your Desjardins financial planner or adviser, you’ll be asked lots of questions in order to establish your investor profile and investment goals. By understanding what their clients consider important, advisers can develop more timely and relevant advice.

Get ahead of the game by asking yourself the following questions before you meet with your adviser:

• What is my current personal and financial situation? How soon before I retire? Do I have any debt? How much money do I plan to invest? What are my total assets?
• What are my priorities and objectives?  Maximizing investment return? Paying less income tax? Simplifying the management of my investments? Having access to my money at all times? Saving more? Having regular income once I’m retired?
• What are my plans?  What do I want to do with my money? Buy a place? Travel? Save for retirement? Set up an education fund for my kids or grandchildren?
• What do I hope to achieve? Short-term growth, which may involve risk? Steady income? Lower—but less risky—returns? Am I aware that higher returns often involve more substantial risk?

When you meet with your adviser, you should agree upon the scope of the service that you expect to receive. How often will you get together to review your plan? Will your adviser provide regular reports on how well your investments are doing? How quickly will your calls and emails be answered?

Make the Most of Your Relationship Over the Long Run

Your financial adviser is here to help you. To make your relationship successful, before each meeting you should:

• Determine what documents you’ll want on hand. For instance, notices of assessment, insurance policies, investment statements, etc.
• Monitor your investments. Examine your account statements and transaction notices. Ask your adviser questions and request clarification if you need it.
• Keep your adviser informed about your situation if your personal or financial status changes (due to marriage, birth of a child, divorce, death of a spouse, launch of a business, and so on). That way your strategy can be updated to reflect what’s going on in your life and where you are in the financial life cycle.
• Keep your records up-to-date. Retain copies of your investment statements and transaction notices.
• Learn more about personal finance. Read up on investment products you might buy, or the latest trends in the market; explore financial websites, check out savings plans, and more.