STRAIGHT ANSWERS
The things you might want to know before we talk.
By the time you get here, you probably have a decent idea of how we work and what it costs. These are the other questions that tend to come up before someone decides to book.
If yours is not here, bring it to the introductory call.
IS DIXON DAVIS RIGHT FOR ME?
Who is Dixon Davis for?
Dixon Davis is built around the years approaching and moving through retirement.
You might be five or ten years away and wondering when you can go. You might be close enough that decisions around pensions, CPP, OAS, tax and retirement income are becoming real. Or you may already be retired and want to make sure the plan continues to work.
The common thread is not a particular age or account balance.
Retirement has become a real financial decision, and you want to know it has been thought through.
Do you have an investment or net worth minimum?
No asset minimum.
What matters more is whether there is enough going on for financial planning to add value. A pension, investments, a corporation, rental property, different sources of retirement income, tax decisions or simply several important choices happening at once can all make the planning worthwhile.
If we do not think there is enough for us to meaningfully help, we will tell you.
I’m already retired. Is it too late for a Retirement Plan?
Not at all.
Retirement creates decisions long after the retirement date itself. How much to spend, where income should come from, when accounts should be drawn down, how investments should change, what to do with property or corporate assets, how much you can give away, and how the plan should adjust as life changes.
Sometimes the best time to revisit the plan is once you are actually living it.
I’m pretty good with money. Is financial planning still worth it?
It can be.
The value is often not in explaining things you already understand. It is in looking at all of the decisions together, finding gaps or opportunities that are difficult to see one at a time, testing the assumptions and making the trade-offs clear.
Sometimes we find a better path.
Sometimes we confirm that the path you were already on is a good one.
Both are valuable answers.
HOW THE ADVICE WORKS
What does fee-only mean?
It means Dixon Davis is paid for financial planning, not for selling you financial products.
We do not earn sales commissions from investments or insurance. Our job is to give you advice based on what makes sense for your retirement, not on what we can sell you.
How your planning fee is paid can depend on the relationship and the professionals involved. Before any work begins, you will know what you are paying, what it covers and how it will be collected.
Do you sell investments or insurance?
No.
We do not sell investments or insurance or earn sales commissions from them. If your plan requires an investment, insurance or other product decision, we help you understand what needs to happen and can work with the appropriate professional to put it into place.
Do you manage my investments?
No. Dixon Davis is a financial planning firm, not an investment manager.
Your investments are one part of the retirement plan. We can help determine what job they need to do, how much risk makes sense, how they interact with your retirement income and tax strategy, and whether changes should be considered.
If you have an investment adviser, we can work with them. If you prefer to manage your investments yourself, we are proponents of DIY investing too and have helped many clients move in that direction.
The goal is not to push you toward one investment model. It is to make sure the way your investments are managed fits the retirement plan.
What if I already have an accountant, investment adviser or lawyer?
Good. You do not need to replace them.
Retirement decisions often cross professional lines. Something that makes sense from an investment perspective can create a tax issue. A corporate decision can change the retirement-income plan. An estate decision can affect what should happen today.
Our role is to build the retirement plan around the whole picture and, where needed, help keep the other professionals involved pointed in the same direction.
Will you prepare my tax return?
Tax is an important part of the planning, but the Retirement Plan is not a tax-return preparation service.
We look at the tax consequences of the decisions we are considering and incorporate them into the plan. Where implementation or tax filing needs to involve your tax preparer or accountant, we can coordinate with them.
GETTING STARTED
What happens on the introductory call?
We start with what brought you here.
You tell us what is happening, what you are trying to figure out and what has you unsure. We will ask questions, explain where we think we can help and tell you whether Dixon Davis looks like the right fit.
If it makes sense to move forward, we will explain the recommended scope, what happens next and what it will cost.
There is no obligation to proceed.
What do I need to prepare for the first call?
Nothing.
You do not need to gather statements, organize your finances or have the questions perfectly figured out before we talk.
Bring a rough sense of what is on your mind. We can start there.
Do I need to know whether I want the Core Plan or Retire To Plan before I call?
No.
Part of the introductory conversation is figuring out how much planning you actually need.
If you already have a fairly clear retirement in mind and specific questions you want answered, the Core Plan may be enough.
If there is more to explore, or you want help figuring out what you actually want to retire to, the Retire To Plan gives us more time for exploration, analysis and comparison.
We will recommend the one we think fits.
How long does the Retirement Plan take?
The estimated timeline for the Core Plan is 60 days.
The estimated timeline for the Retire To Plan is 90 days.
The actual timing can depend on scheduling, how quickly we can gather the information we need and whether other professionals need to be involved along the way.
Do you work virtually?
Yes.
Dixon Davis is based in Victoria, BC, and we work virtually with clients across Canada.
AFTER THE RETIREMENT PLAN
Do you help implement the plan?
Yes, if you want us to.
The Retirement Plan ends with a detailed set of actions, including what needs to happen, when it should happen and who needs to be involved.
If you continue with the Living Plan, we stay involved as those actions are implemented, coordinate where needed with the other professionals in your life, and continue updating the planning as circumstances change.
Do I have to sign up for ongoing financial planning?
No.
The Retirement Plan is designed to stand on its own. If you want to take the plan, implement it yourself and come back when you need another look, you can.
But if you want someone continuing to think ahead with you, keep the plan current, look for opportunities and help make sure things happen as intended, the Living Plan is the natural next step.
What happens when markets, tax rules or my life change?
Like any financial plan, your Retirement Plan is built on models, probabilities and assumptions about the future.
Those assumptions will not all stay the same. Markets move. Tax rules change. Spending changes. Family circumstances change. Your priorities may change too.
When life shifts or an important assumption changes, a plan that once made sense can become stale or out of date.
That is one of the reasons ongoing planning exists.
With the Living Plan, we revisit the assumptions, update the numbers and rethink the decisions as circumstances change, so the plan continues to reflect the retirement you are actually living.