What do you call a financial planner that does not plan finances?

I know that sounds funny. But it is an important topic to understand.

Most people assume that when they hire a financial planner, they're getting a personalized roadmap for their financial life. Yet surprisingly, that’s often not the case, and it can have a huge impact on your future.

In my latest podcast episode you’ll learn:

• Why don’t most financial planners plan finances?

• What does Ed’s team see with the public?

• What is a financial plan?

• What difference does a Financial Plan make in your life?

You want to retire soon.

What is the best way to set up your retirement income to give you the maximum cash flow that will reliably last the rest of your life?

Many financial planners use the “4% Rule”, which says that you can, for example, withdraw $40,000/year rising by inflation for life from a $1 million portfolio. Is that safe?

I studied 146 years of investment history. The conclusions are surprising:

1. Most of the advice seniors are given is not supported by history.

2. I found what really works to give you the maximum reliable retirement income – both how to set up your portfolio and manage your income.

In my podcast episode you’ll learn:

• What is the typical advice given to seniors and does it work?

• What does Ed’s study of 146 years of history show about the 4% Rule?

• Which asset allocations provide the most reliable retirement income?

• What is the main risk to your retirement for any asset allocation?

• Is it safer to hold some cash to use during market downturns?

• What are the reasons that the actual results of history are surprising?

• How can you manage “sequence of returns risk”?

• What is the impact of inflation?

• How does your risk tolerance affect your retirement income?

• What is Ed’s rule of thumb for a safe withdrawal rate?

• Are there advanced methods to manage a higher retirement income with 100% success?

How can you tell whether financial advice you receive is real financial advice or financial quackery?

Much of what happens in the financial industry is financial quackery, but because the common methods are familiar to most of us, they appear normal.

You can’t really see how inadequate and funny many financial procedures are until you compare them to other fields.

“Quackery” is a fun word that normally refers to medicine. It is a type of health fraud that promotes products and services that have questionable and unproven scientific bases.

In my latest podcast episode you’ll learn:

• What is financial quackery?

• Why is it a major problem for Canadians?

• How can it ruin your retirement plan?

• What is “risk” in financial planning?

• How can you make informed decisions about your risk tolerance AND your goal?

If you’ve ever been handed a generic investment recommendation after a fifteen-minute chat and a “risk tolerance questionnaire,” you may have met a financial quack.

Just like in medicine, real advice requires a proper diagnosis—and skipping that step can be costly.

🦆 Discover how to spot the quackery, protect your retirement, and make decisions that actually align with your life goals.

This is a personal post and my first post with a request.

My wife, life partner and business partner, Ann Hetram, passed away unexpectedly from cancer 2 months ago.

She received excellent care at Princess Margaret Hospital, which is the best cancer hospital in Canada.

In her honour, I am co-captain of a team in the Journey to Conquer Cancer walk to support research at Princess Margaret Hospital.

My team is the Harbour Square Team for my condo building. The walk is on Sunday, June 15 at 9 AM. It starts at the University of Toronto, Varsity Stadium, 299 Bloor Street West, Toronto.

Donations support breakthrough research, supporting over 1,600 researchers and scientists working on innovative projects, such as early detection methods, personalized cancer treatments, and immunotherapy advancements.

Ann’s cancer was classified as an “unknown tumor”. She received a personalized cancer treatment including immunotherapy. I’m hopeful that with your support, research will advance to help others facing rare cancers like hers.

Whether you walk with us, join virtually, or donate — every step and every dollar counts.

Thank you,

Ed

How can your life really be different if you focus on maximum wealth-building principles?

It’s not about the money. It’s about your life.

This story is an extreme version of the life of an ordinary person managing his money exceptionally.

The concepts are in my last post, “Rempel Maximum – 5 Steps to Becoming a Multi-Millionaire”.

We often hear that building wealth is just about numbers. But here’s the truth: the numbers are just the tools. What really matters is what those numbers do for your life.

In this article, you’ll see the stark contrast between two ordinary guys—Joe and Rich—who made radically different financial choices.

One followed conventional advice. The other followed a plan most Canadians don’t even know exists.

In my latest podcast episode you’ll learn:

• Why conservative investing may quietly sabotage your retirement, and what you can do instead.

• How aggressive (but smart) leverage can massively increase your net worth.

• The truth about long-term stock returns compared to balanced portfolios.

• How the Smith Manoeuvre can create wealth without using your cash flow.

• What “last decade risk” is, and how to avoid it derailing your retirement.

• The power of tax-efficient investing and how to compound your tax refunds.

• How building wealth gives you more than luxury — it gives you freedom, confidence, and impact.

• Why hardly anyone should actually follow these principles to the maximum.

• What living an “exceptional life” actually looks like when you manage your money exceptionally.

Remember the show “Who wants to be a millionaire?”

Are you the kind of person that wants to build some serious wealth?

Live an exceptional life? Be financially free?

I don’t mean just a comfortable amount. I mean a lot – like being a multi-millionaire.

The truth is, average people can become very wealthy just by managing their money for maximum growth.

I’m not talking about a “get rich quick scheme”. I’m talking about a solid, reliable way to become wealthy over time.

The Rempel Maximum is the most aggressive of the 8 Smith Manoeuvre strategies.

In my latest podcast episode you’ll learn:

• What is the Rempel Maximum?

• What is your motivation?

• Where does this idea come from?

• What are the 5 steps to building maximum wealth?

• What are the 5 power principles it is based on?

• What are the risks?

• What tax & investment strategies can be part of the Rempel Maximum?

• Some examples of the Rempel Maximum concept vs. conventional wisdom.

The Smith Manoeuvre is an efficient strategy to use equity in your home to invest for your future without using your cash flow. It converts your mortgage over time into a tax deductible investment credit line.

Most Canadians are searching for a feeling of financial security, but all the bills & life expenses mean they never build up enough of a nest egg to be secure. The Smith Manoeuvre is a strategy that can help you build your nest egg and help you achieve the retirement you want without using your cash flow.

We have become known as experts in the Smith Manoeuvre, having helped hundreds of Canadian families implement it. It is one of the most effective wealth-building strategies when done by the right people in the right way over the long term.

In my latest podcast episode you’ll learn:

• What is the Smith Manoeuvre?

• What are the benefits?

• What are the risks?

• How do you manage the risks?

• How do you implement it?

• How do you avoid having to use your cash flow?

• How long should you ideally do the Smith Manoeuvre?

• Are there really 8 Smith Manoeuvre strategies?

• Is it legal?

• What is the best way to invest with the Smith Manoeuvre?

• How can I learn more and find out whether the Smith Manoeuvre is right for me?

Are you one of those investors for whom things just seem to always work out well?

Getting superior long term returns seems to take little effort. Whatever strategy you use seems to eventually work. You don’t spend much time or effort, yet most of the time you are feeling quite confident about your investments.

Or are you the type of investor who always seems to struggle?

It seems everything you buy goes down right after you buy. When you finally sell, they take off. And the investments you hold long term mostly underperform.

We have often encountered both these types of investors. Struggling investors are far more common. They usually have trouble believing that many investors outperform with little effort. Those that find investing effortless just shake their heads at the frantic activity of struggling investors. This applies to both professional and amateur investors.

Why is investing so easy for some and for others it is always a struggle?

In my podcast episode you’ll learn:

• The real reason some investors succeed with ease while others constantly struggle — and it’s not about picking the right stock.

• The 3 core beliefs that define successful investors: Faith, Patience, and Discipline — and how each one dramatically impacts your long-term returns.

• Why faith in the market and humanity is more important than trying to outguess short-term movements.

• The staggering cost of impatience: how chasing performance can quietly erase up to 75% of your lifetime returns.

• Why fewer transactions = better results, and how overtrading (especially by DIY investors) sabotages success.

• The #1 mistake most investors make — and how having a long-term financial plan keeps you grounded and growing.