In 2013, I sat in a room with a close friend and said, “I’m going to become an advice-only financial planner.” I’d recently finished undergrad and was fascinated with personal finance. The combination of math, psychology, uncertainty and importance was too much to pass up. Before I could dive in, I knew I’d need education, training and experience. Since then, I’ve focused on doing just that, and today I’m thrilled to launch Ripple Financial Planning.

Over the last decade I’ve regularly faced the following three questions, from others and myself:

• Why financial planning?

• Why advice-only?

• Why start a new business?

Below are my answers, which I hope explain why I’m so excited about this business and the potential ahead.

Why financial planning?

Money is an essential tool for everyone. It’s how we pay for our essentials and what we save for our aspirations. While it affects everyone, it’s very rarely discussed or taught. As a result, money causes a great deal of stress for many Canadians.

This doesn’t need to be the case. A financial plan, followed through with support, can significantly improve well-being. Creating a plan requires an understanding of the tools, mindsets and practices that are most likely to result in success. Following through with a plan requires discipline and knowledge.

As a result, I believe financial planning is an area where I can provide meaningful value to a wide range of Canadians. I can use my experience in financial services, psychology and math to develop successful plans. I can combine empathy and philosophy to help people uncover and work towards their unique preferences and goals. And I can simplify the material and steps involved to make them relatable and actionable.

Why advice-only?

Financial planning services in Canada are often bundled with investment management services. You may work with an advisor from a local bank branch to grow your money. These same individuals may provide you with guidance on what to do with your finances. While this is common, it’s not an ideal arrangement because there are conflicts of interest and a lack of transparency.

Your advisor is often paid based on the products they sell (e.g., investments, insurance, loans). As a result, they may recommend products that aren’t in your best interest. Also, it’s not transparent how much you’re paying and what services you should expect to receive.

Advice-only financial planning addresses some of these challenges by charging a set price for a given service. For instance, if you’re wondering how much you need to save for a goal and what the best way is to do so, an advice-only financial planner may charge $2,000 for a financial plan to get you there. In this case, because the planner doesn’t sell any products, there’s no conflict of interest in their recommendation.

I recently outlined, in greater detail, the pros and cons of advice-only financial planning. My goals in offering this type of service are:

1. to provide financial planning to a broader range of Canadians.

2. to be transparent so you understand how much you’re paying and what you’ll receive.

Why start a new business?

Before starting a practice, I reached out to some of the most reputable financial planning practices across Canada to see if it made sense to join them. While advice-only financial planning isn’t currently common in Canada, it’s been available for over 20 years and is continuing to grow in popularity. As a result, there are a lot of excellent practices with talented people already in business.

After many conversations, I realized two facts were leading me to create my practice.

1. I’ve wanted to run a business since I was 16. The autonomy and learning that are common when running a business are something I’ve pursued throughout my career.

2. I want to expand access to financial planning services to individuals earlier in their careers. Many top firms require a minimum investment (e.g., $500,000) or charge fees that are expensive for people starting out. However, people early in their career stand to benefit the most from the value of a financial plan since they have so long to follow it. As a result, I plan to bring quality financial planning services to those in their early to mid-career, at affordable prices.

Closing remarks

Since I can remember, I’ve loved simplifying ideas and making them relatable. From tutoring high school math, to running workshops in grad school, to publishing The Snowman’s Guide to Personal Finance, I’m at my best when I’m helping people understand an important idea. If you’re wondering if you could be getting more from your money and you’d like to discuss how we can work together, please schedule a free 30-minute consultation. Alternatively, please feel free to email me with any questions or background, and I’ll get back to you within a day.