RAE EVANS, CFP® CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® Professional / Division Director, IG Wealth Management
RAE EVANS
“Building the Best Possible Future”
“Clients and some Advisors and professionals record and interpret what has happened in the PAST whereas financial planners, like myself, focus on helping clients plan for the best possible FUTURE. This includes helping them meet their goals, achieve their lifestyle dreams, and fulfill their bucket lists,” says Rae Evans, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® professional and Division Director at IG Wealth Management in Fort St. John, British Columbia.
“Great ideas require planning,” says Mautic Founder and CTO, DB Hurley, in his online article entitled, “The Importance of Planning.” In the aforesaid article, Hurley discusses how planning helps clients identify goals, offers directions, uncovers and finds solutions, provides perspective, and helps people stay focused on what’s important to them. Rae agrees with Hurley. “Unfortunately, the public often doesn’t understand what we do or how a professional Financial Planner can help you achieve your wealth and lifestyle goals.”
In an August 14, 2019 online article, “How a Financial Advisor Can Help You Meet Your Goals,” author Dana Anspach describes the role of a Financial Planner as “…a professional who helps you organize your finances and projects the results of your savings and investments so you can see how well prepared you are for retirement. They also help you make decisions with your money that will help you reach your financial goals as efficiently as possible.”
“As a Division Director and CFP® professional, I help clients get more out of their money, so they can get more out of their lives. I do this by providing financial guidance in six key areas; investments, retirement, mortgage planning, estate, tax, and insurance planning,” Rae explains.
She adds, “Many people think the rate of return is the most important factor in creating, growing, managing, and protecting wealth. While important, no one can control the ups and downs of markets. Rather than simply focusing on the rate of return, planning to ensure your investments are right for you, that you have significant cash flow, are minimizing taxes, have a solid estate plan, and are prepared for unexpected illness, injury or death can have a far bigger positive impact on your financial well-being.”
“When it comes to retirement planning, we want to ensure clients have confidence and clarity in their retirement plan. If a client is diagnosed with a serious medical problem, we want him or her to be able to focus on getting better, rather than on worrying about losing his or her home. And, if someone is selling a business, we want to ensure that the sale is structured in the most tax-efficient and family-friendly manner. Our process addresses these areas, and more.”
Some Context
Originally from Australia, in 2004, Rae and her husband, Dean Thom, an entrepreneur and business owner in town, relocated to Fort St. John, British Columbia. “I worked for corporate lawyers when I was in Australia and learned how important it is to minimize tax.”
When she immigrated to Canada, Rae was expecting her first child. She seriously considered having a career in accounting but found that financial planning was a far better fit. “My entrepreneurial spirit and a desire to manage my own business and time led me to join IG Wealth Management in September 2009. I consider my career to be a win/win; I provide in-depth holistic planning for business owners and pre-retirees/retirees. I also mentor new IG Consultants on how to do the same; If you are considering a career change, I look forward to speaking with you personally,” she says.
“IG has been around for more than ninety years and is constantly changing and adapting in order to provide the best possible client service and solutions. Clients appreciate this. It is a wonderful place to work. I love our open, sharing, and supportive culture. I also appreciate the company’s commitment to improving Canadians’ financial literacy.”
Philosophy & Approach
Rae takes her time discovering what’s important to clients, what they want their money to do, and what keeps them up at night. “I do everything in my power to remove any uncertainty around when, if, or how to retire, and to make certain clients’ money will last as long as they do.”
This focus allows for deeper relationships with clients, their families and their trusted advisors. “I also have a good working relationship with several accountants and lawyers in town. These professionals can be quickly mobilized if, as, and when their expertise is required. We are also happy to work with clients’ existing advisors.”
Rae, her Associate, Pamelyn Koehn (Pam), together with various other internal specialists work together to produce customized financial plans. Pam has a varied background of banking, First Nations business development and marketing, and comes from a family involved in farming and small business. She has a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Marketing and Finance from UNBC. Pam assists Rae all areas of the practice and specializes in insurance and mortgage planning.
Rae and Pam look at many different retirement scenarios like the impact of delaying CPP or taking OAS at 70, selling or keeping an investment property, or when and from where to withdraw money in retirement. “We both enjoy having careers that are 100% client focused. We get rewarded with referrals when we do a good job.”
According to the Investment Economics Household Balance Sheet – Canada 2017, the authors state that by 2026, women will control 50% of all the wealth in Canada. “Although financial literacy is getting better across all segments of the population, it is especially problematic for women. We want to ensure women are aware of ALL of their options and are planning to host more Women and Wealth and Mastering Retirement workshops in the future. Please contact Rae (rae.evans@ig.ca) if you are interested in attending a future event.”
A good Financial Planner blends philosophy, education, and rapport. As noted earlier, Rae is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER (CFP®) professional. She also has her Branch Manager Certificate, and a Certificate in Office Administration from Australia’s Lithgow College of Technical and Further Education (with distinction).
Clients appreciate the team’s hands-on, caring and empathetic approach to building, managing and protecting wealth. “Although we may not be able to control when something will happen to us, we can plan for and mitigate the risks.”
Chartered Professional Accountant and Business Advisor, Tara Waddy, says, “…Rae takes a personal and detailed approach to planning by looking at both current and long-term needs of clients. She uses this detailed approach to ensure that each client has the financial confidence to realize their goals. Rae meets regularly with her clients as she knows life is dynamic. When life changes so will the plan – Rae is ready to adjust and reconfigure it as needed.” IG agrees with the veracity of Rae and Pam’s approach and in 2018, selected their team for the B.C. North internal financial planning award.
Up Close & Personal
“I love the close-knit community and spirit of Fort St. John and am a proud and active Rotarian and member of Eastern Star. Over the past fifteen years, I have also volunteered for a number of community organizations and non-profit societies in the city. Over the years, our family has also hosted nine Rotary exchange students. I want my kids to be open to different cultures and ways of life. We all learn as much from the exchange students as they do from us.”
Rae and Dean, have two healthy and active children, daughter, Romany (15) and son, Harrison (12). Romany loves swimming and has a part time job at KFC. Harrison is a crazy baker and both kids are in band. The family loves animals especially their two mini Schnauzers, Roxy and Harley, a number of chickens, and Fowler, the rooster. Other family members include Gordon, Romany’s Siamese fighting fish, and Jasmine, Harrison’s ball python snake. Regardless of the season, in their downtime, you will find the family doing something outdoorsy, like skiing, snowboarding, kayaking, camping, or bird watching.
As a last word, Rae says, “With planning it is possible to build the best possible future. If I had any words of advice it would be this. Life isn’t a dress rehearsal and neither is retirement. Make everything count. If it’s your retirement, make sure it’s the best possible retirement. If it’s your career, make sure you love what you do and are getting the most out of it. If it’s your business, whether entering the business, operating it, or transitioning out of it, make sure you’ve planned for every possibility.”
This is a general source of information only. It is not intended to provide personalized tax, legal or investment advice, and is not intended as a solicitation to purchase securities. Rae Evans is solely responsible for its content. For more information on this topic or any other financial matter, please contact an IG Wealth Management Consultant. Mutual funds and investment products and services are offered through Investors Group Financial Services Inc. Insurance products and services distributed through I.G. Insurance Services Inc. Insurance license sponsored by The Canada Life Assurance Company.
Suzen Fromstein is the author of Suits and Ladders, Ten Proven Ways to Keep Your Job Safe - with a few jokes thrown in. Suits and Ladders was an Amazon Best Selling Book in the Career Guides Career Guides Category
Rae Evans RRC
Senior Financial Consultant
Division Director BC North
9319 - 100 Avenue
Fort St John BC V1J 1X8
(250) 785 4312 C: (250) 262 6115 rae.evans@ig.ca