Brad Smith, CIM, Senior Investment Advisor, Advice First Wealth, February 11, 2025

Brad Smith, an Investment Advisor at Advice First Wealth, recently highlighted the importance of truly diversifying your investment portfolio. Many investors assume their portfolios are diversified when they may not be. Incorporating private investments can enhance diversification, especially during periods of market uncertainty. Is your portfolio truly diversified? Keep reading to learn more about what to consider.

Tim Borody, CPA, CMA, CFP, Investment Advisor, Advice First Wealth, February 3rd, 2025

As the new year gains momentum, many of us turn our attention to goal setting. Traditionally, this means defining specific targets we want to achieve—whether it’s saving more money, advancing our careers, or embarking on new adventures. But what if we shifted our perspective? Instead of focusing solely on rigid goals, we could explore the broader realm of possibilities, allowing us to envision what’s truly achievable in our lives.

Tim Borody, CPA, CMA, CFP, Investment Advisor, Advice First Wealth , January 28th, 2025

When it comes to saving for the future, Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs) and Tax-Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs) are two of the most popular tools available to Canadians. While both accounts offer unique benefits, they serve different purposes and are suited to different financial goals. Here, we’ll break down the key differences between RRSPs and TFSAs and explore the advantages and disadvantages of each to help you determine which one might be right for you.

Tim Borody, CPA, CMA, CFP, Investment Advisor, Advice First Wealth, January 20, 2025

As the new year begins, it brings a sense of renewal and an opportunity to set fresh goals. Among the resolutions for better health, career advancement, or personal growth, financial planning should top the list. A solid financial plan acts as a roadmap, helping you align your financial resources with your short- and long-term objectives. Here, we present a framework to help you understand the importance of financial planning and how to start the year on the right foot.

September 9, 2024

Financial stress can take a huge toll on your emotional and physical health and your relationships and the overall quality of your life, leading to insomnia, weight gain and depression. It’s not worth it; there are more important things in life than money!

August 2, 2024

Nobody likes to think about catastrophe scenarios such as death, serious illness or even losing a job. But failure to plan can be planning to fail and will subconsciously create nagging worries.

June 19, 2024

Many people do not make wills. The most common reasons for this are procrastination, fear of tempting the ‘Grim Reaper’, not being able to decide who should inherit, not wanting to pay the fees or thinking that assets will pass automatically to the family.

Then there are the people who are just selfish and don’t care what happens after they have gone.

July 5, 2024

Do you know how much you want, need and will leave after your death, and how you are going to achieve this?

June 14, 2024

Nobody likes to pay unnecessary tax but are you taking advantage of all available methods to reduce your tax bill legally?

With careful planning, you can:

June 4, 2024

I have seen many investors with a portfolio that has no real relevance to their lifestyle and ambitions.

Often they have some lower risk investments in deposit accounts and then longer-term investments to provide the best returns they can get, or an income to supplement their pension.

But far more can be done to make your money support your lifestyle, such as having an emergency fund and then investing money in lower risk deposit accounts to fund expenditure more than income within the short to medium term (up to five years).

May 10, 2024

During my career in financial planning, I have found many investors take far more risk with their money than they need to. This often leads to tears because they have invested in poor performing or risky investments.

Financial advisers need to complete an investment risk analysis before that client invests their money, as part of the regulatory process.

April 26, 2024

As I mentioned in my first blog in this series, financial planning is about ensuring when you have one foot in the grave and look back over your life you have no regrets.

Because by then it will be too late to do anything about it and you will be mourning lost opportunities.

A bucket list is an essential - and hopefully fun - way of making the most of your life.