ELENA LAUDI, Financial Security Advisor, IG Wealth Management, Investors Group Financial Services
ELENA LAUDI, Financial Security Advisor, Mutual Funds Representative,
IG Wealth Management, Investors Group Financial Services Inc.,
Financial Services Firm, Kirkland, Quebec
“Let’s Bring Your ‘One-Day’ to Life”
“The future is coming, whether we are prepared for it or not. Although no one could have predicted that in 2020 our business, physical, mental, and emotional lives would be turned upside down by a deadly virus, clients that planned for the unknown did not panic because they had a plan which meant they were in a better position to weather the storm,” says IG Wealth Management, Financial Security Advisor, Elena Laudi.
Clients appreciate this. One client says, “When I had to make a decision if I would go back to work (I am a teacher) at the end of last summer, I went to Elena to see if financially I could afford to take a sabbatical. I am 62 years old and terrified of COVID. Elena had all the answers for me. She introduced me to some government programs and benefits that I qualified for and looked at my current portfolio, my expenses and came back to me and said “take the year if you need it, your plan can weather storms for quite a while and you will still be able to retire comfortably at 65.”
Even when she wasn’t a wealth advisor, Elena worked with and around money. Before joining IG she spent eleven years as Sales Manager, Food & Beverage Services with Société des casinos du Québec. While there, the casino treated her department as a not-for-profit centre which meant La Société subsidized events that were held to raise funds for many Montreal foundations. Approximately 80% of clients fit into this category. However, in 2007, the casino decided to operate the events space, dinner theatre and banquet rooms on a for-profit basis.
“Moving away from a not for profit centre to a profit centre in a casino and encouraging people to come and gamble by luring them with wine and fine food was not what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Gambling is not in my values! I wanted and needed a role where I could continue to make a difference on a personal as well as a local level.” At age 42, having provided her children, Franco and Marina, with a loving and stable foundation upon which to create their own unique “One Day,” Elena courageously left her corporate job, upgraded her financial credentials, and embraced her inner entrepreneur.
Elena joined IG Wealth Management, (IGWM) a Canadian leader in providing personal financial planning services. It was the right move. Today, she is licensed in three provinces and advises families, entrepreneurs, and small business owners from Quebec to B.C. She is on the way to obtaining her CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER designation.
Another satisfied client says, “I’ve been working with Elena for the past few years and have truly appreciated her knowledge and wisdom…Her advice and guidance have proved to be valuable and instrumental in my being able to retire ahead of schedule, a milestone I celebrate every day. Thank you for helping me achieve my freedom 54 Elena! Being professional and knowledgeable is one thing but Elena also happens to be an all-round wonderful person. She is kind, generous of her time and always has my best interests at heart. I have complete trust in her and never hesitate to recommend her to my family, friends, and acquaintances. I feel privileged to know her and to benefit from her expertise.
Philosophy & Approach
Elena is inspired by the leadership of her regional manager, Matthew LeBlanc. “As a former CFL receiver and kicker and Vanier Cup winner, Matt believes in the team approach in business and in life.” Elena views clients, herself and the rest of the IG Wealth Management as one team, pulling together for the win. “Clients are 50% of the team and the rest of us are the other 50%. We’re all an important piece of the puzzle. To bring home the cup, everyone has to do their part.”
When it comes to money - building it, leveraging it, protecting it, and managing it - it is important to work with someone who has the client’s best interests at heart. Whatever your short or long-term financial goals – buying a home, paying for an education, insuring your future, living well in retirement, or planning your estate – Elena will work with you to develop a plan that will help achieve your financial goals.
Elena ensures clients’ financial plans reflect THEIR values, goals, and behaviours and that goals are realistic and achievable. Warren Buffet once said, “I don’t look to jump over seven-foot bars; I look around for one-foot bars that I can step over.” Elena agrees. “Our solid, holistic plans are purposely designed to weather all storms,” she adds.
Clients depend on Elena to know the rules, including what they are/are not allowed to do as well as for her knowledge of how the markets work. She loves working with clients’ children and other young adults who are just beginning their financial journeys. ”IG Wealth Management has put together a number of beautiful and information-packed workshops for them. It always makes me smile to hear words like I wish I had met you when I was a new graduate,” she says.
One client says, “Elena works with three generations of our family! Each family member has different needs, varying levels of financial know-how and a never-ending list of questions but Elena always takes the time to address our concerns with understanding and a great deal of kindness. Before her, my grandmother’s experience with financial advisors was limited to the never-ending carousel of faces coming and going within her banking institutions. The service was impersonal, inadequate and it eventually concluded with a mistake that had a very big, very bad impact on my grandmother’s income tax assessment. With her patient, professional approach, Elena has been an absolute relief. We rest assured knowing our financial plans are tailored to our needs and our investments are within trusted hands.”
Her comprehensive financial security planning services also include access to internal specialists and other subject matter experts. “Other than drafting wills, our in-house lawyers/notaries cover everything else. Best of all, there is no additional cost to access this expertise – it’s all part of our client/service-first service approach,” adds Elena. She is supported by a great assistant, Marc Bedard, a retired Advisor and her daughter, Marina, who is responsible for the team’s social media.
“When it comes to building, managing and protecting wealth, we always treat every client’s account as if were our own,” she says. More than one client has remarked that the level of care and attention received from Elena and her team is very different from what was received from other institutions.
Up Close & Personal
Elena is committed to making a difference in her local community and since 2017 has volunteered on the Annual Ball Committee of Fondation de l'Hôpital général du Lakeshore | Lakeshore General Hospital Foundation (https://www.linkedin.com/company/fondationlakeshore/)
She is also a member of the Board of Directors of PME Mtl (https://www.linkedin.com/company/pme-mtl/) and sells tickets/sponsors events for the Centre of Dream of Hopes that benefits children and adults with intellectual/physical disabilities. She also financially supports and sponsors events for Friends for the Cure, and the Montreal General Hospital.
Elena is married to Egidio Perugini. The couple loves to entertain and has two children. Son, Franco, lives in Vancouver, is a CFA and works for the BDC. Franco is married to Caitlin, a marketing coordinator at the Vancouver Art Gallery. Their baby, Evlyn, recently celebrated her first birthday. Daughter, Marina, works with Elena. When she is not working with clients, Elena likes to cook, garden, golf, cycle and spend quality time with friends and family.
As a last word Elena says, “Although I can’t guarantee rates of return. I can however, guarantee that I will work hard every day to help you achieve your One-Day.”
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
Elena Laudi
Mutual Funds Representative,
Financial Security Advisor,
Advisor in Group-Insurance and Group-Annuity Plans
300-1675 Trans Canada Highway
Dorval Quebec H9P 1J1
Cell 514-927-5572| Fax 514-822-1031
Investors Group Financial Services Inc.