1. A 30-minute call
We talk about your corporation and what made you reach out: surplus that keeps growing, passive income near $50,000, the tax your estate will owe, a buy-sell agreement, a policy you already own. I tell you plainly whether it is something I can help with.
No preparation, no documents and no advice yet. It's free, and I call you at the number you give when you book.
2. A review of your numbers
If we continue, we book a longer video meeting of 45 to 60 minutes. Before it, I send a short list: the latest corporate financial statements, the corporate and personal tax returns, investment statements, existing policies, the shareholder agreement, and any questions your accountant has raised.
In the meeting we go through how the corporation is structured, where the money sits, what it earns and what it costs in tax, and what happens if you sell or die. We also separate needs from wants. I record your situation and priorities in a needs analysis, which you review and sign.
3. Your options, in writing
Within a week you receive a written summary for you and your accountant: what we found, the options worth considering, what each costs, and the trade-offs.
For investments, the options come from my fund review every six months, which compares the large fund providers on return per unit of risk and per dollar of cost. The goal is the most growth for you after fees and after taxes. The method is on how I compare.
For insurance, I compare 14 Canadian insurers, including all the large ones, and include every one that offers the right design. If the policy is large or your health history is complicated, I first ask insurers for a preliminary opinion, so you know where you stand before you apply.
4. A decision on your timeline
We go through the options together, ideally with your accountant, and you decide. There is no follow-up pressure. If you choose not to go ahead, your decision is noted in the file and the door stays open.
5. Putting it in place
Investments. For mutual funds, available to clients in Québec, we complete your investor profile and open your account with WhiteHaven Securities Inc. Moving existing investments takes some paperwork and usually two to three weeks. Before anything moves, I look at the transfer fees and the tax cost, and whether the move is worth it.
Insurance. You sign the application electronically, and the insurer sets its medical requirements and completes underwriting, which usually takes one to three months. My final recommendation comes on confirmed pricing, with a letter explaining why this policy and this insurer. If the new policy replaces one you own, you receive the regulator's notice of replacement. When the policy arrives, we review it together.
6. After it is in place
I review your investments as often as every three months, and sooner when your situation or market conditions call for it.
Your insurance strategy is reviewed every year, and whenever something changes: a sale, an estate freeze, a new holding company, a new partner. Around your corporation's year-end I coordinate with your accountant. Documents reach you through secure links that expire, so your information stays protected.
What it costs
Nothing for advice, at any step: not the first call, the review, the written summary or any conversation after that. If you buy a policy, the insurer pays my commission, and the premium is the same whoever places it. For segregated funds, the insurer pays me too.
Mutual funds are held in one of two kinds of account. In a client name account, with advisor-series funds, part of the fund's management fee is paid to WhiteHaven Securities Inc., which passes part of it to me, and nothing is billed to you separately. In a nominee account, with F-series funds, WhiteHaven Securities Inc. charges an annual fee agreed with you in writing and passes part of it to me. What each costs in dollars, and why advice is free, is on how advisor fees work; the details are on the compensation page.
Working with your accountant and lawyer
My role is to make your accountant's and lawyer's work easier, by positioning your assets so they grow and stay in the family over the long term, with as little lost to tax as possible.
I don't prepare tax returns, draft legal documents or give tax opinions. Those belong to your accountant, lawyer or notary. I bring the investment and insurance side, and I coordinate so the pieces fit.
Who I am, what I'm licensed for and how I'm paid: about Anton Ivanov.