ALEX CHU, PFP, Financial Planner, Investment and Retirement Planning, RBC, Edmonton, Alberta

ALEX CHU

“When markets drop, the typical answer clients get is, ‘Don’t worry, just keep holding.’ That’s true but it doesn’t address the real concern. Reassurance comes from understanding what’s actually happening, and why.”

The disconnect between what Advisors typically say and what clients actually need to hear has shaped Alex Chu’s approach to wealth management and retirement planning. As a Financial Planner with RBC in Edmonton, Alberta, he believes the antidote to market anxiety isn’t reassurance, it’s understanding.

His career in the financial sector began at the University of Alberta with a major in economics. He was drawn to stories of some of the largest forces in the world, including monetary policy, interest rates, and global money supply, and how those frameworks filter down into the everyday decisions of households and investors. “It all starts from the macro economy,” he says. “Much of the economy is run by government policy, and that translates into a huge impact on the markets.”

After graduation, Alex began his career, where many start—as a teller. “One lesson I kept learning over and over in that role is that people want someone they can trust and to feel heard when it comes to their financial goals and concerns. I encountered so many people who were moving their money, opening up new accounts with me, or changing Advisors because they hadn’t felt heard at their previous institution.”

Over the past seven years in his role as a Financial Planner, Alex has worked towards specializing in retirement planning—a path that, in retrospect, gave him a rare vantage point on the industry. He uses that economics background almost daily, bringing the macroeconomic story into the conversation with clients, not as a lecture, but as a way of demystifying volatility.

“Once clients understand what’s happening in the market, they know what we’re waiting for, why we’re waiting, and what to expect,” Alex says. “That clarity is the real reassurance.”

When clients ask Alex why markets are doing what they’re doing, he doesn’t deflect into canned responses. He can comprehensively explain the real reasons for market behaviours and explain the mechanics with concepts like quantitative easing, and the practice of injecting liquidity into the economy, as an example.

“I also point them to history, to put my clients at ease,” says Alex. He will explain how the unprecedented rate cuts and stimulus during the pandemic, as an example, helped fuel the equity market rally that followed, and how high inflation and the aggressive interest rate hikes that followed it contributed to the correction. “It’s not about predicting the future,” Alex says. “It’s about helping clients see the cause and effect. Once they can see it, the volatility feels less random and less scary.”

History, he believes, is one of his most useful teaching tools. Each episode, whether it was the 2008-2009 financial crisis, 2015 Canadian downturn tied to falling oil prices, or the 2018 fourth quarter sell-off, followed a pattern. And while painful in the moment, everything made sense in retrospect. Alex uses historical events as anchors when current events feel disorienting. When clients ask about geopolitical shocks, he can tie the conversation back to the economic mechanism and macroeconomic policies that are actually moving the prices.

Economic literacy tends to take care of the emotional side of financial planning, but on the other end, Alex is keen on structure, and firm about what step comes first.

“The plan comes first. Then the portfolio,” he says. “A lot of clients want to start with the investments—what’s the return, what should I buy? But the right question is: what’s this money for, and when do I need it? The investment piece falls into place once you answer that.”

Specializing in clients who are transitioning toward retirement means helping people to navigate shifting priorities. The day-to-day demands of young families and mortgages start giving way to bigger questions. Will there be enough money? How do I take it out without giving too much of it back in tax? What does life look like for the next 30 or 40 years?

“The biggest help most clients need in retirement planning isn’t whether they can retire,” Alex says. “It is more a question of: ‘I have all this money, how do I invest it in a tax-efficient way, position it for the right level of risk, and withdraw it in a way that maximizes the future?’”

In Canada, that question gets complicated quickly. RRSPs, TFSAs, non-registered accounts, capital gains versus dividends versus foreign dividends versus interest income. Each piece carries different tax implications, and the optimal strategy depends entirely on a client’s specific situation.

The first question Alex asks isn’t how much someone is saving, it’s whether they have a pension, and what their tax bracket is likely to look like in retirement.

“Take a teacher or firefighter who’s going to retire after 30 years with a full pension, plus CPP and OAS,” he says. “We want to forecast potential retirement income and evaluate the most optimal vehicles for their savings. Each individual situation is unique, and so for example, RRSPs may not necessarily be the right place to put extra savings for some, and there could be actual benefits for others.”

For self-employed clients and business owners, the conversation is different again. Alex looks at whether they’re paying themselves through salary or dividends, whether they’re contributing to CPP, whether their business will be sold or wound down at retirement. A consulting practice, a dental clinic, and a manufacturing business all carry different exit dynamics, and each shapes the plan in distinct ways.

“There are so many scenarios,” Alex says. “The job is figuring out which one a client is in, then working backwards from there and building a customized financial plan.

What unites all these conversations is the value Alex believes he ultimately delivers, which isn’t a number on a statement.

“When I do the full plan with the investments aligned and the client really understands it, what they get isn’t just a portfolio, it’s clarity,” he says. “A lot of clients come in worried. After we go through everything, including the numbers, the goals, the strategy, they leave with a sense that things are in order. Having that clarity is where the biggest value is.”

Carmen Morgan is a skilled business writer and storyteller, collaborating with business owners and executives to tell their stories and share perspectives on growth and success, as well as perseverance and adversity. Over two decades she has refined her interview, writing and editing skills to capture the nuggets and captivating details that engage readers and make a story memorable. 

Alex Chu, PFP®, Financial Planner.

Investment and Retirement Planning

RBC Financial Planning l Royal Mutual Funds Inc.

1055 St. Albert Trail

St. Albert, Alberta T8N 4K6

780 - 690 - 6273

alex.chu@rbc.com