BRENDA RUMBLE, Senior Wealth Advisor, IG Wealth Management, Chatham, Ontario

CARMEN MORGAN
May 25
5 min read

BRENDA RUMBLE

“Clients ask ‘when is the best time to start estate planning?’

I tell them, ‘when you start saving.’”

After the family and funeral home phone calls, they call Brenda.

It is a role that few financial Advisors seek out and fewer still are built for. But Brenda Rumble, Senior Wealth Advisor at IG Wealth Management, has become the person her clients' families reach for in the hours after loss because she has made herself indispensable long before it ever comes to that. She knows where the documents are, what the executor will need. Most of the work has already been done.

Before she ever opened a financial planning file, Brenda spent 14 years driving a school bus. When her husband took a job that required travel, her schedule became unworkable with a family at home. At a crossroad and looking for a new career, she went in search of work that could genuinely help people. In 2014, she came across a serendipitous financial Advisor role that required no prior experience.

Her client list ranges across all stages of life, but over the past decade she has grown her commitment to retirement and estate planning. “My retirement clientele suite me perfectly,” she says, "They have no filter. They tell you how it is, and I love it." She takes a what-you-see-is-what-you-get approach to most things in her life and can be overly honest and fiercely protective of her clients and their best interests. That involves having tough conversations, as well as helping clients map out potentially complex legacy situations.

But her commitment to estate planning runs deeper than professional preference, and is rooted in personal experience. In 2018, her best friend's husband was diagnosed with cancer. He passed away within five weeks. Brenda had delivered life insurance cheques before, but this was different, she was navigating the estate process as both an Advisor and a friend.

"I learned very quickly how difficult it is for an executor or a widow to circumvent the estate process," she says. "It became very clear to me how I could tailor the steps for my clients, prepare them, and do most of the work for them.”

That philosophy was put to the test a few years later when an executor became a client because of how Brenda handled things after his mom’s unexpected health turn and eventual estate process. Up until his mom became ill, he had no idea who she was or what she did. Brenda not only assured him that she would be there whenever they needed her, but in his words, Brenda went “above and beyond anything he ever thought an Advisor did. Brenda would come visit with mom every week. She made sure mom knew that everything was set up and that all I needed to do was let her know when she passed and she would handle everything with me. To this day, I don’t know if Brenda knows the impact that her caring and compassion for my mom had on me and my family. To this day, whenever I need her for something, she is there for me.”

“It’s kind of an aha moment for people, when they see how Financial Planners make things easier,” says Brenda.

Brenda settles 12 to 15 estates a year. The funeral homes in her community are accustomed to her walking in alongside a client. When a client passes on, Brenda moves quickly and quietly. She contacts insurance companies, fills out claims, accompanies widows and widowers to the bank to transfer accounts. She sits with clients to make call after call to pension boards, government agencies, and insurance carriers until the paperwork is done.

"It's important for people to be able to grieve and not carry the burden of the estate details," says Brenda. "Oftentimes, if it's a widow or widower grieving, their children are helping out, but the children are grieving the loss of a parent, too."

Brenda's Top Three Pieces of Advice for Estate Planning

1. See a planner before you touch your pension. Many people in Ontario carry generous pension plans, and that income, layered on top of RRSP or RRIF savings, can create significant tax exposure in retirement. "Your biggest part of your tax bill is going to be your income," Brenda explains. "If your RRIF is over $150,000, you can guarantee 52% of your estate is going to taxes because that's the highest tax bracket right now." Meeting with a planner before retirement allows for strategic drawdowns that protect both income and estate value.

2. Have the uncomfortable conversation. Brenda does not shy away from mortality. "I will make you have that uncomfortable conversation. We're going to talk about death. Sorry, not sorry." She brings up wills, powers of attorney, and end-of-life logistics earlier than most clients expect. Her own experience, watching her husband battle a rare form of leukemia, and losing several family members over the years, has reinforced what she already knew professionally: things change fast, and being prepared is not morbid, it is a gift.

3. Think of your Advisor as your financial spouse. Years ago, a client coined the phrase that now defines Brenda’s practice philosophy. "Think of me as your financial wife when it comes to savings and spending," she tells new clients. That means consulting her before a major purchase, not after. "I want to be the one you think about when you're thinking about spending a couple of grand. What's Brenda gonna say?" It is a relationship built on trust, transparency, and the occasional gentle reality check.

Brenda’s team currently includes her executive assistant, Eric. "He is the reason I am compliant," she laughs. "He takes care of the backroom business and there is no way to replace him." She also has a university student, Emmy, helping out and learning under her guidance. Brenda is reminded of her own mentor, Tracy Bechard, who has since retired, and what it meant to see things differently in her early days under Tracy’s tutelage. “I remember learning how a pension can work against you with large RRSPs, and how to move money to beneficiaries outside of probate.”

Brenda’s vision for her practice is clear: to become the go-to estate planning resource in her community, and to be the team that meets clients at every stage of the process and carries as much of the burden as possible. "I don't want people to have to be stressed going through the death of a loved one," she says simply. "And it can get very stressful."

For Brenda, wealth management has never really been about wealth. It is about showing up with the right paperwork, patience, and empathy — and the kind of honesty that only comes from someone who has lived through the hard stuff herself.

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.