How are we looking out for you during
this time, and how should you be
managing your money?

How did we respond to the pandemic?

As the Covid-19 situation caused an economic decline and markets started to falter, we reached out personally to our clients and hosted online sessions to explain what was happening and how to react. This was a great time to look at planning needs and tax issues as we were all at home cleaning things up. People had the time and felt like they were accomplishing something when the world was otherwise frustrating.

When markets fell sharply in March, we proactively connected with our clients to help them manage their cashflow needs and discussed the best ways to react
to the market decline so that they could preserve their wealth while maintaining their lifestyle.

Communication was key. We took full advantage of
the variety of tools available, both digital and more traditional, to connect with our clients, even if it was only 10 minutes to answer a question and ask how they were doing. That human touch was important to people forced into hibernation.

How should you respond?

Staying invested is the best way to keep on track. It’s best to own investments that will be good in the long term instead of getting caught up with or focusing on the short-term movements of the market.

We can re-assess your portfolio by reviewing your time horizon. If everything is in check, there should be time for the markets to recover before you need your capital. We will also look at why we tailored your portfolio in a particular manner and ensure this is still suitable for your family.

If you’re worried about anything, talk to an advisor. Once we go over the numbers, most clients feel a sense of relief. The numbers you hear regarding global stock market losses are very different than what our clients are actually experiencing.

This is also a great time to discuss adding a “cash wedge” of some sort to your portfolio. Basically, this
is an investment designed to cover emergency needs. We generally suggest a year or more worth of income requirements. When markets drop, it’s good to have the ability to switch your withdrawals to come from this cash wedge so you aren’t locking in losses or cashing in more investment units to get the same cash amount monthly.

When should I re-open?

As business owners ourselves, we are faced with the same difficult decisions as business owners everywhere, and we understand their challenges. In terms of re-opening, business owners need to decide if they can be profitable, and ensure they take full advantage of the programs they may qualify for to help them reach profitability. Some business owners also want to discuss their re-opening operational plan; would they need more staff, would they have to change processes, could they change processes permanently… These are things we should talk about together.

As you can see, we’re full of advice and look forward to sharing it. If you have questions about what we’ve written here, or anything else regarding how to manage your money in this day and age, give us a call at 1-888-305-7526 or 902-423-1200. Speak to an advisor and see how we can bring our diverse expertise together for your success.