BETTY WESELAK CFP® & JILL DIEMER CFP®, Vernon, BC CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERS, IG Wealth Management
BETTY WESELAK, & JILL DIEMER
"The strongest foundation is trust"
Betty Weselak, CFP, & Jill Diemer, CFP are CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERS with IG Wealth Management primarily serving Kelowna, Lake Country, Vernon, Armstrong, Lumby, and surrounding areas. They provide full wealth planning to the communities they serve. Betty and Jill are passionate about building trusted relationships with the people they serve by providing a disciplined approach to pro-active and responsive customer service to reinforce a long-term relationship that naturally builds and leads to open two-way communication.
Both women, with a combined experience of more than 40 years in the business, take financial literacy very seriously and are incredibly proud to be CFP® designated – the most widely recognized designation in the financial industry across Canada and around the world. The CFP® is considered the standard for the financial planning profession. Approximately 17,000 Canadian Advisors hold this sought-after designation in a global network of approximately 175,000 CFP professionals around the world, according to the FP Canada website. They believe in the benefits of ongoing education to stay on top of industry changes and financial planning niches. Betty and Jill believe in the value of good advice, and financial planning that will encompass all of a client’s life stages.
Knowledge is power
In this ever-changing world we live in, working with financial professionals like Betty and Jill, provides many advantages for both the investment savvy and those new to financial planning. The reason could be as simple as they don’t think they have enough money to make it worth a financial professional’s time, but that’s very rarely the case. “You can always do something, regardless of your resources, and when it comes to your finances, something is much better than nothing,” Betty said. “People can save thousands of dollars in taxes or estate fees. It’s money that can make a meaningful difference in a person’s life. They just need to speak with a professional and begin the conversation.”
Although Betty and Jill primarily work with families and business owners who have more than $300,000 of investible assets, they offer a no-obligation one-time consultation to anyone needing financial planning advice because putting that 1st dollar of free cash flow to work and continuing that habit will lead to financial success and they both firmly believe in helping people achieve their planning goals, regardless of their income.
They also hold seminars and other financial literacy events to support clients’ and communities' overall financial literacy.
Betty and Jill liken the importance of working with a financial professional to going to a doctor when a person is feeling unwell, or a mechanic when a car needs servicing. Everyone has a person they know in their life that is more than willing to talk about their big financial wins, but rarely, if ever, likes to talk about any losses. They both stress the investment component is just one piece of the financial plan. A holistic plan encompasses all of your goals and objectives and being able to pivot with you when life throws curve balls, as it sometimes does, is key. And elaborating upon this point they noted that people should have a solid understanding of where their money is going and how it is working for them over the long term.
“Ignorance is not bliss when it comes to your finances,” Jill said. “You really need to focus on them, it isn’t going to magically come together. Some people cross their fingers and close their eyes and hope beyond hope that it’s going to work out. It isn’t.”
It takes effort and discipline; it takes a financial plan.
Betty and Jill follow a disciplined financial planning approach which begins with an in-depth overview of a client’s financial life, so they can identify any gaps or opportunities. They will go through questions addressing your goals and objectives over the short and long term, views on risk and reward as well as a deeper dive into the emotional aspects to start building an overall financial plan that will act as a road map towards a client’s retirement and estate planning needs.
These early meetings are amongst the most important in the Advisor and client relationship. It’s where the trust begins, and where most of the direction for the plan will come.
It won’t ever be a straight road, there will be yields and turns along the way; life events that necessitate revisions, but making refinements is a part of the process Betty and Jill commit to with a client. They’re in this relationship for the long run.
The right partner
Finding the right Advisor isn’t always easy. There are a lot of people out there offering financial services, so how does a client find the right one? Asking a lot of questions is a good start because not every advisor is doing the same thing. You should also make sure that the Advisor is accredited to give advice like being accredited by the CFP®.
A client needs to confirm the Advisor they choose is offering the service they need, and they want to make sure the Advisor is someone ‘they want to talk to’ because those introductory meetings can be difficult. Money can be an emotional subject.
But good Advisors, like Betty and Jill, are there every step of the way, reassuring the client through the process. Over time, not only do they become a valued member of a client’s financial team, but they become a partner in the client’s financial future.
It’s a partnership that’s built on unwavering support and dedication to providing clients with the best financial service they can. Betty and Jill pride themselves on being a stabilizing force for clients, especially when times are tough. Clients can rely on the pair – and they know it. Betty can often be heard saying “It is your peace of mind that is most important.” They will follow through with the education needed to give the client that peace of mind to understand the market environment they are in and what it means for their goals.
Betty and Jill provide retirement plans that are stress tested for those what-if’s that happen in life to reinforce a retirement plan’s ability to endure what market volatility brings or high inflation or any other what-if scenarios that may apply.
Clients need good, reliable partners, but they aren’t the only ones; so do Advisors. The industry is challenging enough and without the right backup, it’s downright perilous. In addition to their team of professionals within IG Wealth Management, Betty and Jill will work with a client’s professional team like accountants and lawyers to ensure those clients are getting the best possible customized advice as it relates to their specific tax planning and legal advice needs as a part of the overall financial planning process.
Who They Are; Core Values
Both Betty and Jill are moms, so they know what it takes to work in a high-demand industry while raising a family. It makes for great talks and more than just a little shared advice. They’ve each seen a lot and had plenty of success throughout each of their 20-plus year careers in the industry, but they have never been so excited about their futures in the business.
Prior to their partnership, they worked alongside each other in the Vernon market for over 5 years. They’ve always shared the same values, but when they first started talking about a partnership, they were surprised by everything they had in common. “It was a natural fit,” Jill said. “We share the same core values about putting the client first, and we have skills that are complimentary, but one of our biggest assets is that we have different perspectives. Betty can bounce ideas off me and I can do the same. It’s a great balance.” Their partnership is paying dividends; both for themselves and for clients.
Neighbours helping neighbours
One of Betty and Jill’s biggest similarities is their passion for their community. Jill lived in the Okanagan for most of her life, and while Betty has lived in Lumby for nearly ten years, her roots are in the Okanagan, too.
They’ve raised their families surrounded by familiar faces; people whose names they know. Betty and Jill see them in the stores they frequent, or on the trails Betty hikes actively. They are proud to be involved in their community. It’s home.
The clients they work with are neighbours. Friends. It engenders a deep sense of responsibility because of the trust that comes with that relationship. Betty and Jill celebrate the financial success of every client, but because they work with their neighbours, they feel like they’re helping build more than a person’s financial future…they’re building a stronger community, too.
Gary Milakovic is a veteran writer with more than a decade in the public sector and corporate communications. He has covered a wide spectrum of topics and his work has been featured by large and small organizations across Canada. Gary is passionate about communication, his writing often focuses on uncovering the “story behind the story.”
BETTY WESELAK, CFP®, & JILL DIEMER, CFP®
Investors Group Financial Services Inc. Member of the
Power Corporation Group of Companies
Suite 200, 2899 30th Ave,
Vernon BC, V1T 8G1
betty.weselak@ig.ca Mobile 250-540-4224
jill.diemer@ig.ca Mobile 250-469-3435