When you become a client we’ll work through a number of tasks to get you up and running. After providing you with access to My High Level Wealth (our secure online client portal), we’ll start the process of creating your first financial plan, assessing your risk profile, determining a suitable investment portfolio for your circumstances, and developing an action plan to achieve your financial goals.

To start working on your financial plan, we’ll need documents and information from you. Below is a list of items we will want to discuss during your first planning meeting. The list may look a bit daunting but it is designed to accommodate a wide range of financial circumstances and only a subset of the items will apply to you. The more information you can provide, the more comprehensive your financial plan will be, but don’t stress over tracking down every single item on this list. We can always add in more information to your plan when you have it. Financial planning is an ongoing process, and we will work to refine your plan over time as more information becomes available or your circumstances change.

If you have any of the below items in a digital format, the best way to share them with your advisor is by creating a new document in My High Level Wealth and uploading the files. For paper records, please have the physical documents with you for your first planning meeting.

Sources of Income

Employment income

  • Your occupation

  • Name of employer

  • Current employment income (e.g. salary, bonus, commission)

  • Expected changes to employment income in the future

  • Taxable benefits received in-kind (e.g. employer-paid parking)

Pension and retirement income

  • Canada Pension Plan (CPP) benefits (if being received)

  • Old Age Security (OAS) benefits (if being received)

  • Number of years resident in Canada since age 18 (if not yet receiving OAS benefits)

  • Details of employer pension plan (e.g. most recent member statement), if applicable

  • Details of individual pension plan, if applicable

Other income

  • Rental property revenues and expenses

  • Annuities

  • Expected windfalls or inheritance

Savings & Investments

Bank accounts and savings products

  • Bank accounts (e.g. chequing, savings)

  • GICs (Guaranteed Investment Certificates)

  • Term deposits

Investment accounts

  • RRSP (Registered Retirement Savings Plan) including personal, spousal, employer-sponsored

  • TFSA (Tax-Free Savings Account)

  • FHSA (First Home Savings Account)

  • Non-registered

  • DCPP (Defined Contribution Pension Plan)

  • RRIF (Registered Retirement Income Fund)

  • RESP (Registered Education Savings Plan)

  • RDSP (Registered Disability Savings Plan)

  • DPSP (Deferred Profit Sharing Plan)

  • LIRA (Locked-in Retirement Account)

  • LRSP (Locked-in Retirement Savings Plan)

  • LIF (Life Income Fund)

Contribution and withdrawal history for registered savings plans

  • RESP (Registered Education Savings Plan)

  • RDSP (Registered Disability Savings Plan)

Property

Details of property you own

  • Principal residence (current estimated market value and original cost)

  • Recreational properties (current estimated market value and original cost)

  • Rental properties (current estimated market value and original cost)

  • Other assets (e.g. vehicles, boats, RVs, jewellery, artwork, collectibles), only to the extent you want them included in your financial plan

Debt

Details of debt you owe

  • Mortgage (balance owing, institution, interest rate, payment amount, payment frequency, renewal/maturity date)

  • HELOC (Home Equity Line of Credit)

  • Credit cards

  • Student loans

  • Other

Insurance

Details of personally-owned insurance policies

  • Term life insurance

  • Whole life insurance

  • Universal life insurance

  • Disability insurance

  • Critical illness insurance

Details of group insurance policies

  • Life insurance

  • Disability insurance

  • Critical illness insurance

  • Mortgage insurance

Expenses

Providing information about your typical household expenses will allow for a more comprehensive financial plan. If you aren’t sure how much you typically spend, we can still create a plan based on the factors you do know.

  • Household budget (if one exists)

  • List of your typical living expenses and estimates of their frequency/amount

Other Documents

Financial planning documents

  • Financial planning documents from your previous advisor (if applicable)

  • Investment planning documents from your previous advisor (if applicable)

Legal documents

(We don’t typically need to see these documents but it is helpful to know whether or not they exist)

  • Will

  • Power of attorney

  • Personal directive

Corporations

If you are a shareholder of a private corporation, we will need additional information.

  • Corporation name

  • Listing of shareholders and their respective ownership stakes

  • Province of incorporation and taxation

  • Corporate year end

  • Details of any unanimous shareholder agreement(s)

  • Corporate tax account values such as RDTOH, CDA

  • Listing of corporate assets and liabilities (e.g. savings, investments, property, debt, shareholder loans)

  • Current earnings and expected future earnings growth

  • Expected corporate distributions (e.g. salary and dividends)

Trusts

If you are the settlor, trustee, or beneficiary of a trust, we will need additional information.

  • Settlor

  • Trustee(s)

  • Nature of the trust

  • Beneficiaries

  • Listing of trust assets

  • Legal and tax advisors