Financial advisor in Canada. How not to spend your savings when you move to a new country

The following topics are mentioned in this interview:

• financial literacy;
• pension funds;
• investing;
• disability insurance;
• health insurance;
• bank deposits;
• savings for children's education.

— (Alexei) Hello from Canada! My name is Pavlenko Alexey. Today my guest is Ruslan Zagorulko, he has a rather unusual profession for Russia and Ukraine — he is a financial advisor.

Ruslan, tell us a few words about yourself: where do you come from and how long have you been in Canada?

— (Ruslan) Hello, Alexei. Thank you for inviting me. Briefly: I have been in Canada for 4 years, I am from Ukraine, Kharkov; I have already received my financial education here, got my state license and now I work as a financial consultant.

— (Alexey) Who is a financial consultant?

— (Ruslan) A financial advisor is a person who is well-versed in all the financial products that exist and work in Canada and who, based on family financial analysis, shall we say, tells people how to use a particular product correctly in Canada.

— (Alexei) If some immigrant comes to Canada (it's not quite the same way as in a person's home country), he can get confused and he can spend all his money, for example, to buy a new car, as I was planning to do. Are you trying to prevent that and teach a person how to manage money in Canada?

— (Ruslan) Yes, absolutely right. Well, not exactly teach a person, because all people are adults, all know how to manage their money, as it seems, yes. As far as newcomers are concerned, that's correct. Financial system in Canada is arranged in a different way from the one in Ukraine. There are a lot of possibilities here, a lot of products. Let's say it's like a big financial supermarket. And a person who comes here doesn't understand how it works. I will say more, people who have lived here for 10 or 15 years do not know many things, too, because this is not their field, they do not have to know it. This is my profession, this is my business, and I help people to manage their money correctly, so that they do not lose at least, but gain more.

— (Alexei) What services can you offer?

— (Ruslan) So the main and first point is all insurance products. As much as it may sound to our people who initially do not like them because we all came from countries where everyone was cheated, banks collapsed, nobody paid anything — there is no such thing here, here it all works like clockwork. I will list the things I help with: life insurance, disability insurance (let me clarify here: disability is not like ours, when a person's health is really, really bad).

— (Alexei) Well, he lost a limb.

— (Ruslan) Yes, here it's considered disability if you just can't work for some reason for a while. Also, there is severe illness insurance and travel insurance, so the first one is when an immigrant comes to the province of Quebec, he has no government insurance for 3 months and any visit to a doctor will cost him very, very much. And that's where a private insurance that I can offer comes in. I will do the calculations, I will take care of everything, and the person will be fully covered, and any treatment to a doctor, even if it's a case of a runny nose, or sore throat, or even a fractured arm, will be fully covered. And then literally if you, already living in Canada, want to go somewhere as a tourist, it's the same.

Also for students (I know you deal with international students, yes): when they come to Canada, I can get them health insurance.

— (Alexei) Okay, but now what you're talking about financial advisor services is all insurance, insurance, insurance.

— (Ruslan) No, insurance is the main point at which, in principle, all financial family planning begins. Further, I work with absolutely all state and non-state funds. For example, these are pension funds; for example, this is a state fund that allows you to save for your children's education.

— (Alexei) Oh! Yeah, I know. It's very important.

— (Ruslan) This is also very important, yes, because there are a lot of benefits from the state. These are investment funds, which help you avoid taxation on the interest you will earn. These are like examples. Plus, investment activities, that is, a person can come to me with a certain amount of money that he has accumulated, and I will advise him on how to invest it correctly, in which fund, so that it will increase over a certain period of time.

— (Alexei) Yeah. Then let's start with insurance services and take life insurance. I don't think there are many people in Ukraine who have life insurance; but Canadians, what percentage of Canadians have life insurance, do you know?

$$$$$

— (Ruslan) 99%. It's very common among them, they understand that it's a necessary product for anyone. It is very long to tell why, there are so many types. Even life insurance is a very versatile product.

— (Alexei) Okay, but what is disability insurance?

— (Ruslan) Disability insurance is when a person for some reason cannot continue working for some time (it could be a month or it could be a year). And in this case the insurance company reimburses you practically all your wages for the whole period of your disability.

— (Alexei) Look, if I just moved to Canada, I don't have a job yet. Can I buy such disability insurance?

— (Ruslan) No, this insurance is purchased if you have some income.

— (Alexei) Ah.

— (Ruslan) If you don't have it, you won't be insured.

— (Alexei) Got it.

— (Ruslan) It's based on your monthly income.

— (Alexei) You also talked about serious illness insurance.

— (Ruslan) Yes, it's very good insurance. Why? The list of serious illnesses includes such very common ones as cancer (almost all types), stroke, heart attack, and some heart surgeries, aorta surgeries, and so on. I'm not even talking about falling into a coma and other serious cases, there is a long list of them, so these are things that lead to at least a year of treatment and then more rehabilitation.

— (Alexei) Since medicine is free in Canada, a person will be treated for free; but since he will lose his job for a while, this is the insurance payment that will help him maintain his financial situation?

— (Ruslan) Yes, that's right, as soon as one of the illnesses on the list is diagnosed, the insurance company pays the amount you are insured for in one time. It could be $20,000, it could be $100,000 — it's up to you.

— (Alexei) Well, why go to you and not the Canadian insurance companies? After all, they are big, well-known, respectable.

— (Ruslan) Insurance companies do not sell their products directly, like a supermarket sausage or apples. They sell their products through their representatives, such as myself. But my fundamental difference from many of my colleagues is that I don't work for one company, and as of recently I have signed direct contracts with more than 10 major companies. What does this mean? By contacting me, it is as if a person comes to a financial supermarket, you could say so, that is, I and the person have the opportunity to choose the product that best suits them in terms of conditions and the cheapest one.

— (Alexei) Well your profession is something like a mortgage broker, but for insurance?

— (Ruslan) Yes, yes, that's right, one-to-one, i.e. the principle of operation is the same.

— (Alexei) Got it.

— (Ruslan) I am an independent broker, not a representative of any insurance company.

— (Alexei) Ruslan, let's switch from insurance and move on to some financial packages, investment packages. What can you offer for clients?

— (Ruslan) Yes, I would like to clarify that every financial product, be it a private pension fund or a fund for saving for children's education, always contains an investment component: the money that you accumulate in a pension fund or pay for an insurance policy is always invested in the economy and generates a certain profit. Naturally, part of this profit is passed on to you.

— (Alexei) Tell me why it's worth doing investments with your help rather than going to the bank and putting money on deposit, for example.

— (Ruslan) Well, the deposit is a very common product in our source countries: Ukraine, Russia and so on, where 10-15% per annum was at least.

— (Alexei) "Very reliable."

— (Ruslan) "Very reliable", yes. Here in Canada, the interest rate is very different, it's lower than inflation.

— (Alexei) How much?

— (Ruslan) From small amounts, it might be less than 1%; more or less serious amounts, it might be a little more than 1%. These are your guaranteed deposits in the bank.

That money that you invest through your pension fund or some insurance products is handled by certain funds — investment funds. There, the money is clearly allocated, depending on your risk tolerance, by markets, by currencies, and so on and so forth.

— (Alexei) Can you tell me how much is the average?

— (Ruslan) Yes, on average they bring in 6-10% per annum, which means that it is 100% that you will protect yourself against inflation. And naturally, for some long-term period you will make money and multiply it.

— (Alexei) It doesn't mean that the money is set aside for 1-2 years? what period are you talking about?

— (Ruslan) The investment component is calculated, as a rule, for a long-term period — 10 years and more.

— (Alexei) Okay. And so the situation depends on the degree of risk. When investing, there is always the possibility that one will lose all the money or, on the contrary, make a lot of money. So, when it comes to getting 10% per annum, the risk of loss increases, and when it comes to 6%, it's more or less reliable for a long period of time, you might say. Is it so?

— (Ruslan) So, here in Canada, your deposits are fully guaranteed by the government, meaning that the money you put into a pension fund and so on is invested. You will never lose your personal money. Even if an entire fund, insurance company, or investment company goes bankrupt, the government will return the money. You might not make any profit if something like that happens, you might earn more, you might earn less, but you will never lose your money.

— (Alexei) I also made a video about saving money for children. And as far as I understand, Ruslan, with your help you can also save to funds that are guaranteed to add 20%, and in Quebec 30% to what you save for your children.

— (Ruslan) Yes, it's a great fund. As soon as a person comes to Canada and they have children under 16 years old, or they already live here, they have a baby, and the family has never used this fund, you have to open it right away, because it opens literally if you have $50. But what's a huge advantage of it: you're paid a lot extra by the government, both the federal government and the Quebec government. So here, living in Quebec, basically, to put it simply, you get 30% per annum on your money that you save for your children's education.

— (Alexei) That is much better than the 10% per annum in Ukrainian banks.

— (Ruslan) Yes, even more than in Ukrainian banks, it's true. That is, in this way the state encourages people to save for their children's education, so that they have money and can get a good, decent education in the future.

— (Alexey) How much do your consultations cost and how much time do you spend talking to clients?

— (Ruslan) So consultations are absolutely free. I'll explain why: because I earn on commission, that is, I get paid by the company whose product I sold to the person (the person directly concludes the contract). Usually there are two meetings. The first meeting lasts an hour or an hour and a half, depending on the situation. I get to know the family members, find out about their financial and family situation, their wishes, their plans for the near future so I have data to analyze later. And after a week or so we meet again, and I completely show, advise them how to allocate money, which products to buy and which, on the contrary, should not be bought. And then people choose the product of their choice.

— (Alexey) Do I understand correctly that you have a conflict of interest, that is, if you work with 15 insurance companies and each company gives you a percentage of the transaction, then you will primarily advise the company that pays you the most commission?

— (Ruslan) No, wrong, because the first and main point: the difference in commission is very insignificant — a maximum of 4-5%, one will pay $200, the other $200-215. For me, rather than earn an extra $15-20, selling a product where I will be paid more commission, it is better to serve the person correctly, offering the right product. And then he would recommend me to his friends, acquaintances, and so on, where I would earn more, for example, $200. Well, I am speaking figuratively.

— (Alexei) And you'll be with this client all your life?

— (Ruslan) Yes, I accompany the client throughout his life, that is, I am, in general, like his personal financial advisor, as long as I work, as long as I live.

— (Alexei) Here's a question about insurance, by the way: what about car insurance and property insurance?

— (Ruslan) Car insurance and real estate is a separate category, a separate license, which is handled by other specialists. They only deal with real estate and cars. I don't work with that, I work with any products that are designed specifically for people, for their financial planning.

— (Alexei) OK. Well, thank you very much, Ruslan, for coming, for telling me. For those people who are going to immigrate to Canada, to the province of Quebec, I advice Ruslan, a financial advisor. And he will help you to multiply and save your money.

— (Ruslan) Yes, guys, thank you very much. Please: always contact experts before you do something, because you can just get burnt a lot, not knowing the market Canada, not knowing how things work here, especially this is free for you, I am always happy to help you, contact me. I hope Alexei will leave my contacts under the video.

— (Alexei) Yeah, okay.

— (Ruslan) Thank you.

— (Alexey) Subscribe to the channel, get the likes. See you in Canada!

— (Ruslan) So long!