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Success Stories
“Cents and Sensibility”
Retired, with a million plus portfolio,
all of JH’s investments were in US and Foreign
equities. He was advised to invest for the long term
and as a result, most of the funds were purchased on
the Deferred Sales Charge method. JH was concerned he
may be taking too much risk. With the
help of Second Opinion and a new financial
advisor, JH now has a sensibly balanced and
lower risk portfolio, expected to earn a rate
of return high enough for him to achieve all of his
financial goals, while reducing his ongoing fees by
50%.
“Show
Me the Money - Eh!”
A very successful business man with little time to manage
his portfolio, BR enlisted the advice of a “stock-trader”.
With a philosophy of only recommending Canadian stocks,
BR’s “advisor” managed to lose him
money in the Canadian market during 2004/05. After getting
a Second Opinion BR is now with a full service
financial advisor and is well diversified
with Canadian, US and International managers who have
consistently outperformed against their
respective benchmarks.
“The
Power of One”
AB had four brokers, none of whom knew the others existed.
Multiple positions were leaving him unaware of what
he owned, whether or not he was duplicating investment
positions or how to make adjustments if and/or when
needed. With sound advice and recommendations from Second
Opinion AB now has one consolidated statement,
which shows all of his positions. AB made changes to
reduce his risk and now he knows how
to make further adjustments if and when required.
“Seize
the day – Casually”
Retired with a healthy Government of Ontario pension,
AJ can enjoy his retirement knowing he has more than
enough to ensure his present and foreseeable financial
goals are met. While there is no need to earn an above
average rate of return, AJ’s advisor none the
less recommended a ‘growth’ portfolio. After
having received a Second Opinion AJ now has
the confidence to be firm with his
advisor and to insist on a conservative ‘income’
portfolio.
“Lost
in the Woods”
With 35 mutual funds — some balanced and others
international — it was impossible for PT to get
a true understanding of the breakdown of her portfolio.
While she wanted to have some emerging market exposure,
she could not tell from her statements if any already
existed or not. With the help of Second Opinion
and a new adviser PT now has a very simple portfolio
made up of six Exchange Traded Funds ( ETF’s)
. Her current portfolio is now easier to manage with
better diversification and lower fees. She
now knows precisely how her funds are invested.
“Reclamation”
A retired businessman who manages his own accounts,
MH allowed himself to get into a complicated and volatile
investment portfolio. Feeling the need to go online
and check the portfolio every hour, his investment portfolio
had taken over his life. Second Opinion helped
MH to reduce his number of positions by more
than 50%, increase the bond portion of his
portfolio and now, with a need to check his portfolio
only once a week, MH has reclaimed his life.
“Risky
Business”
TR is a do-it-yourself investor who inherited a high
value portfolio primarily investing in two stocks. She
knew there was high risk associated with investing in
only two securities but she was unable to make a move
to diversify.Second Opinion helped teach TR
how to diversify and now, with a well balanced portfolio,
she no longer has to worry about the unnecessary risk.
“To
diversify or not to diversify…”
As a young professional just starting to build an investment
portfolio, DS is well read and aware that different
advisors will recommend completely different strategies.
Having received two very different proposals he wanted
an objective assessment before making a decision.
Second Opinion was able to point out the hidden fees
and unrealistic rate of return estimates in one of the
proposals, making DS’s ultimate decision easier
in the end.