Fee Only Advice
Advice-only financial planner. Writer. Financial simplifier.
You can call me a fee-only advisor, fee-for-service planner, or an advice-only planner.
At Boomer & Echo financial planning, we don’t sell products or get paid commissions to refer you to someone who does. Instead we offer sound financial advice to help you invest wisely, prioritize savings goals, manage debt responsibly, and decide on big picture questions like: when can I retire, how much can I safely spend, am I invested appropriately, how do I create a tax efficient withdrawal plan, should I pay down my mortgage or invest, or can we afford to have one parent stay home with the kids full-time?
I am a QAFP™ professional who loves helping regular Canadians solve their regular financial problems. I specialize in comprehensive financial planning, retirement planning, investment analysis, cash flow optimization, portfolio reviews, and decision consultation.
How does this differ from a typical "Financial Advisor"?
While I am not licensed to sell investments or manage them for you, I can help you implement your own do-it-yourself portfolio — including screen sharing to help you open an online brokerage account, transfer your existing accounts and investments, and show you how to place a trade.
I start with the idea that investing has been solved with low cost index funds, and that investing complexity has been solved by using a single asset allocation ETF. I can also review your current portfolio and analyze the asset allocation, risk, and fees and then measure its performance against a comparable benchmark or index.
All of this means that I offer the opposite of what you get from your average advisor at a big bank. They receive commissions to sell you bank mutual funds, take mortgage vacations, and open full service accounts — not to give you sound advice on how to reduce fees, pay down debt, and save to reach your short-and-long term financial goals.
What I Believe
- Low-cost, globally diversified ETFs are the best way to invest for most people.
- Simplicity beats complexity — especially when it comes to portfolios, drawdown strategies, and tax planning.
- Cash flow is king in retirement. I help clients figure out how to turn their savings into reliable income, and when it makes sense to spend it.
- CPP, OAS, and workplace pensions are under-appreciated and often misunderstood. I’ll show you how to maximize them.
- Tax planning is a key part of the retirement income puzzle. I’ll help you create a withdrawal strategy that keeps taxes low and income steady.
- Personal finance is more about behaviour than spreadsheets. I’ll give you the confidence to stop second-guessing every money decision — and start spending with purpose.
How it works
We charge by the project, not by the hour. A typical financial planning engagement costs $4,200 + GST per household (singles or couples).
What you'll get is a full review of your financial picture, along with a clear, practical roadmap to follow – all shaped through an ongoing conversation over the course of an entire year.
We'll work with you to put together and implement a financial action plan based on your identified goals. You’ll get unlimited access to me by phone call, email, or video call while you work through your plan. At the end of the year we’ll review the entire process together to ensure that you're on the right path.
My goal through this advice-only planning model is to teach you how to manage your finances, so that you don’t have to rely on me going forward. If you would like to continue to work with us after the first year, you can retain our services annually for half your original fee – just $2,100 + GST.
We also want to empower you so that you're not intimidated by bank salespeople when it comes time to renew your mortgage or open a discount brokerage account.
More questions? Read this comprehensive guide to how our advice-only financial planning practice works:
Your Comprehensive Financial Plan
Each plan includes:
- Cash Flow Optimization
- Debt Management
- Prioritizing Financial Goals
- Investment Analysis
- Retirement Planning
- Detailed & Tax Efficient Withdrawal Plan
— $4,200 (for singles or couples) —
+ GST
We onboard 12 new clients a month
We're a two-person practice and Robb personally builds every financial plan, so we cap new clients at 12 per month to protect the quality of our work and our life outside it.
Many prospective clients have been reading the blog for years, listening to podcast interviews, and already have a good sense of our planning philosophy and whether we're the right fit.
If that's you, just complete the short questionnaire below and provide as much detail as possible about your situation and goals.
Lindsay will review your submission against our fit criteria - if it's a match, she'll confirm your start month and send the intake package to begin the information-gathering stage.
Please note: there is no introductory call. Your first meeting with Robb will be the 75-minute review of the first draft of your completed plan.
Because we specialize in helping regular Canadians with regular financial planning needs, priority will be given to individuals and couples with straightforward situations that align with our area of expertise.
We specialize in providing advice-only financial planning for Canadians with straightforward financial needs. Complete this short questionnaire (2–3 minutes) and we'll review your situation to determine whether you're a good fit to work with us.
Client Reviews
I've worked with several financial planners over the years and Robb has been the absolute best to work with. He gave me clear and detailed advice and guidance. With his demonstrated knowledge and expertise, I was able to achieve my goal of re-organizing my investments with great results, in a short period of time.
He was also very responsive (and patient) to any random questions I had. I especially liked that his services are fee-based, so that I knew he gave me the best advice amongst the many products and strategies available in the market, based on the things that are important to me. Thank you Robb!
C. Cruz, Calgary
Robb has been such a pleasure for me to work with over this past year. I have always come from a place of fear about my financial future, and very quickly, Robb, showed me that the path was not as bad as I had made it out to be. He was so patient in answering all my questions and explaining various aspects of financial planning to me. He gave me practical, easy tools to use to help me understand budgeting, and he also did research in areas for me in areas such as disability insurance. Most importantly, he never made me feel badly for things I didn’t understand and he has been supportive and encouraging. I truly feel empowered about my finances as a result of working with him!
Radha Nayar, Toronto
My wife and I had reached a point where we needed to make some choices about the future. While we had a plan, it lacked enough detail to give us the confidence we wanted and with decisions this big it seemed foolish not to get a second opinion.
Robb was the sounding board we needed. He gave us a detailed plan with actionable suggestions, helped us evaluate possible scenarios and continues to provide support as we need it. I would recommend this service to anyone looking to improve or solidify their finances.
Kurt Krumme, Toronto