• Why should I work with a financial advisor?

    Financial planning is complex and it can be daunting to tackle it on your own when you have a lot of other things competing for your time. We ask the relevant questions, offer an objective perspective when it comes to making wealth-related decisions, and work with you to create a financial plan you can follow. We will be with you at every turn to adapt your plan as needed, and help ensure you are always well-positioned to reach your goals, regardless of changing priorities and market shifts.

  • What questions should I ask when choosing a financial advisor?

    How long has the advisor been in the business? What certifications, education and/or designations do they have? Do they have strong understanding of financial planning for both small businesses and personal planning? Do they focus on all aspects of wealth management, such as tax, accounting, succession and insurance-related issues, with easy access to a team of experts in those fields? Is their fee structure transparent?

  • What information will you need from me to create my comprehensive financial plan?

    We will start by discussing your current and future goals, followed by any initial concerns you may have. Next, to ensure we can provide a comprehensive plan, we will need current investment and bank account statements, insurance policies, and details on outstanding debts and monies owed, your most recent tax returns, a household budget (if you have prepared one) and plans for travel, large purchases, or helping children with education, home ownership or other pursuits.

  • What should affluent families expect from a financial advisor?

    For families with significant wealth, a financial advisor should do more than oversee investments. The role should include coordinating the decisions that shape your financial life, from tax and estate planning to retirement, business interests, insurance and the transfer of wealth.
    At Gibbings Aylward Group, we bring those pieces together into one clear strategy, helping create the freedom to make decisions with greater confidence and less financial complexity.

  • How does a Kelowna financial planner support families with complex wealth?

    A Kelowna financial planner can provide the structure and coordination that become increasingly important as wealth grows more complex.
     
    For our clients, that may mean aligning investments, corporations, real estate, tax planning, estate structures and family priorities while working closely with accountants and legal professionals. The result is a plan designed not simply to manage wealth, but to give you greater freedom in how you use it.

  • Why work with a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® professional?

    A CFP® professional is trained to consider your finances as an interconnected whole, rather than focusing on one product or decision at a time.
     
    For affluent families and business owners, that broader perspective becomes increasingly important. Retirement, taxation, investments, estate planning, insurance and family priorities often overlap. Comprehensive planning helps ensure those decisions support one another and, ultimately, support the life you want to live.

  • What is the difference between an investment advisor and a financial planner?

    An investment advisor primarily helps you manage and structure your investments. Comprehensive financial planning goes further by considering how your investments work alongside your taxes, cash flow, retirement plans, estate, business interests and family priorities.
     
    We believe investment decisions are strongest when they are made within the context of your complete financial life. Your portfolio should serve the plan, and the plan should serve your freedom.

  • What should a financial planner for business owners understand beyond the business itself?

    A financial planner for business owners should understand that business wealth and personal wealth are deeply connected.
     
    Corporate structures, retained earnings, liquidity, insurance, succession, retirement and estate planning can all influence the freedom you eventually have outside the business. Our role is to help turn business success into a coordinated personal and family wealth strategy.

  • What distinguishes high net worth financial planning from traditional financial planning?

    High net worth financial planning requires a broader level of coordination.
     
    Significant wealth may involve corporations, trusts, real estate, multiple investment structures, insurance, tax considerations and estate planning across generations. Rather than treating each element separately, we bring them together so every decision supports the same long-term vision for your wealth, your family and your freedom.

  • What is generational wealth planning?

    Generational wealth planning considers not only how wealth will eventually transfer, but how the next generation is prepared to receive and steward it.
     
    That can involve beneficiary planning, family governance, estate structures, financial education and conversations with children and grandchildren. Thoughtful planning helps preserve both financial capital and family intent, so wealth can continue to support the people and purposes that matter across generations.

  • Why is tax planning different for high net worth individuals?

    Tax planning for high net worth individuals often involves multiple layers, including personal income, corporations, investment accounts, trusts, charitable giving and estate considerations.
     
    Rather than looking at each decision separately, we consider how they interact over time. We work collaboratively with accountants and legal professionals to identify planning opportunities and help ensure tax decisions support your broader wealth, family and legacy objectives.


     

  • How can thoughtful tax planning create greater freedom today and preserve more wealth for the future?

    For affluent families and business owners, tax planning is not simply about reducing tax in a given year. It is about making deliberate decisions around how income is earned, how assets are structured, how wealth is invested and how it will eventually move to the next generation.
     
    By coordinating financial, accounting and legal perspectives, we help identify opportunities to improve tax efficiency while keeping the broader plan in view. The result is more flexibility today and a stronger foundation for the wealth you intend to preserve and pass on.