Let's Get Blunt About Your Financial Affairs - Book Giveaway & Book Launch

By playing golf at Pebble Beach in 2011 and by going on safari to Botswana and Africa this year, I have been lucky enough to check off two items on my bucket list. One of the remaining items on my list was to write a book.

A year or so ago, I realized I had the material for a book, if I could compile the posts I’ve previously written on my blog. As I flipped through my posts, it became clear to me that the chapters had already essentially written themselves. All I needed to do was to categorize and organize my various blog posts, which was done with the significant assistance of Lynda Kremer, the marketing manager at my old firm, Cunningham LLP.

As I started putting the chapters together, I was pleasantly surprised that the book had a natural flow I had not foreseen. I must say, I am very happy with the end result and finally months after starting this process, I have a book titled not surprisingly, Let's Get Blunt About Your Financial Affairs. The book has just gone up on Amazon and the kindle version is in process. If you are really keen to buy the book, here is the link to Amazon U.S. which provides a "flip version" of the book to preview and a link to the typical bare bones (no flip version to preview etc.) Amazon Canadian version. As an aside, you set the book price in $U.S. and I tried to end up with a $15cdn price; yet somehow the price is now $15.83cdn - sigh ):

The book chapters are as follows:

1. The Lighter Side of Accounting
2. Executors - A Thankless Job (except for the fees)
3. Inheritances, Wills and Estates - Love, Money and Greed
4. The Psychology of Money - Is it Everything?
5. Audits and Being Audited - Minimizing the Damage
6. Tax Topics - All You Ever Wanted to Know but Were Afraid to Ask
7. RRIFs and RRSPs - The Retirement Acronyms
8. Family Assets - Dividing, Sharing and Taxing
9. Retirement - How to Avoid Eating Alpo
10. Estate Freezes - A Cool Way to Tax Plan
11. The Family Cottage - How to Deal with It
12. Proprietorships, Corporations, Holding Companies and Family Trusts - The Technical Stuff

I am under no illusions this book will sell 100,000 copies; although I do think it is better than much of the crap that passes for financial books these days. It’s a practical guide that’s easy to follow. At worst, the book will become a marketing tool for me professionally.

Today I am going to raffle off 5 copies. If you are interested in a copy, please email me at bluntbeancounter@gmail.com and I will announce the 5 winners next Sunday.

In addition, my current National firm is sponsoring a book launch on September 24th in the Richmond Hill/Markham
area. If you would like to join me for the launch and meet me in person (unfortunately I am far more interesting on my blog than in real life) I am keeping a few spots open for my loyal readers. To attend the book launch and hear the gospel according to the BBC, register here.

I would like to thank Rob Carrick, Ellen Roseman and Preet Banerjee for providing testimonials on the back cover and for being very supportive of my blog since its inception. In addition, Roma Luciw & Dianne Nice of the Globe and Mail and Adam Mayers of the Toronto Star have been very kind to me and my blog.

I would also like to thank the numerous financial bloggers, many who have become personal friends, who have supported the blog by noting it in Friday round-ups or by direct mention over the years. This list includes; Jim Yih, Robb Engen, Michael James, The Big Cajun Man, Mark Seed,  Frugal Trader, Rona Birenbaum, Canadian Capitalist, Tom Drake, Canadian Investor and Larry Macdonald, to name just a few.

To my "legion" of readers, many who have been with me since my inception (5 years as of September 20th) I’d like to thank you for reading my blog and your comments and feedback over the years.

In addition, I would like to thank Lynda for all her help in not in only editing, but navigating the self-publishing process, as well as Leah Vlemmiks for her illustrations, Rob Campbell for his technical assistance and Deniz Ayman for her various editing and citing assistance.

Finally I’d like to thank my wife Lori, for her editing assistance, teaching me to write in "sort of plain English" and putting up with the project and me.

So if you are interested in a free book and/or attending the book launch, please email me at bluntbeancounter@gmail.com for the book and register here for the book launch.

This site provides general information on various tax issues and other matters. The information is not intended to constitute professional advice and may not be appropriate for a specific individual or fact situation. It is written by the author solely in their personal capacity and cannot be attributed to the accounting firm with which they are affiliated. It is not intended to constitute professional advice, and neither the author nor the firm with which the author is associated shall accept any liability in respect of any reliance on the information contained herein. Readers should always consult with their professional advisors in respect of their particular situation.

Choosing The Right Investment Advisor - Book Giveaway

In late April of this year, I read an article by Eric Lam in the National Post titled “Picking advisor best not left to chance”. Despite being sleep deprived at that point in time, I quickly noticed the article was based on the book  Choosing The Right Investment Advisor by Carol Santamaura, and that the proceeds of the book were being donated to the Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto.

So why did I sit up and take notice? Well firstly, I have known Carol since she started as an investment advisor and we have had mutual clients for years. Secondly, as I have blogged on the topic of philanthropy, or the lack of it, a couple times, I appreciated the fact that Carol was donating the proceeds of her book to charity. Finally, the topic of Carole's book is of great interest to me. My profession provides me a unique vantage point from which to view the performance of many investment advisors and I can certainly tell you that many people have definitely not chosen the right investment advisor.

Recently I had lunch with Carol to catch-up and talk about her book. The book is an easy read and provides Canadians with a methodical manner in which to choose the right investment advisor for them.

During lunch I asked Carol if she would provide me with some comments on why she wrote the book and some of the key aspects of the book. Carol was kind enough to not only provide that information below, but she also provided me with five free copies of the book.

If you would like a free copy of Carol's book, please email your name to Lynda@cunninghamca.com and I will draw 5 names and send the winners a copy of the book.

Choosing The Right Investment Manager- Comments by Carol Santamaura

 

The goal of my book is to educate the public and simplify the process of choosing the right Financial Advisor. Further, by donating all of the profits to Cancer Research at Princess Margaret Hospital, it also allows me to support a cause close to all of us.

Since I started managing clients’ assets in the early 1990s, I have been fascinated by how people select their financial or investment advisors. This a very important decision; after all, much of one’s financial future is in the hands of this person. Yet, it always astonishes me how little research investors actually undertake before they sign up! Some say, “I met him/her at a party” or “he/she coaches my son’s soccer team.” One person even boasted that their advisor had been a professional athlete.

When I ask prospective clients and high–net worth investors how they selected their current advisors, I expect their answers to be based on the level of due diligence that a responsibility of this magnitude requires: quantitative criteria such as credentials, ethics, or returns. But typically that is not the case.

My research into why people don’t do more research into finding the right advisor has led to the following conclusions:

1) The financial services industry is complicated. 

The financial services industry has witnessed explosive growth over the last several years. Much of the difficulty in selecting an advisor lies in the increasingly complex and confusing nature of the industry. These days, it seems that everyone is a financial consultant of some sort, as the term is now broadly defined (e.g., investment advisor, investment executive, financial planner). There is also a substantial overlap in the products and services that can be provided by companies and individual advisors. Yet another challenge facing the average investor is that he/she may not fully understand what he/she needs or what advisors can provide.

2) The industry itself has done little to inform the public about this complexity. Therefore, investors are very often ill equipped and lack the knowledge and tools necessary to make the right decision.

My book unravels the complexity and provides information about selecting an investment advisor. It covers various topics ranging from what products and services the investor needs, to how to apply selection criteria for an ideal advisor. It also discusses strategies to ensure a long-term successful partnership.

Three informative sections guide readers through the complexities of the investment industry. Section one deals with the kind of investor one is and what sort of advice one requires. Awareness of certain characteristics in one’s own behaviour as it relates to investing clarifies the decision to work with an advisor and helps to identify what kind of products and services are suitable. For example, a conservative investor may want a portfolio made up primarily of fixed-term investments with little volatility. A risk-taker who is willing to take on greater volatility may prefer a portfolio of growth stocks. An ‘in-betweener’ would benefit from, that’s right, a middle path.  

Section two offers practical guidelines and useful tips for finding, evaluating, and working successfully with an advisor.

Section three examines the Canadian investment industry as it stands today, from companies and the services they provide, to individual advisors, their qualifications, and the products they are licensed to sell.

My hope is that people will be better off after having read my book for the following reasons:

1)   they will have greater confidence their advisor acts with integrity

2)   they will be able to sleep at night

3)   they will be comfortable in knowing they made the right choice.

So, whether one is looking for an advisor for the first time, or evaluating one’s current situation, this book provides a perspective on how to take an informed approach to choosing and working with the right advisor.

Carol would like to  dedicate this blog in memoriam of Jill Max, former head of RBC - DS Private Client Bond Desk. 


Carol A. Santamaura is a Vice President and Portfolio Manager at RBC Dominion Securities in Toronto. Carol can be reached by email at www.carolsantamaura.com

The blogs posted on The Blunt Bean Counter provide information of a general nature. These posts should not be considered specific advice; as each reader's personal financial situation is unique and fact specific. Please contact a professional advisor prior to implementing or acting upon any of the information contained in one of the blogs.