Stewart & Kett as featured in
Cynthia Kett

Permanent life insurance is a big financial commitment compared to term insurance. Cynthia Kett, principal at Stewart & Kett Financial Advisors Inc. in Toronto, says advisors must discuss with clients the need to be able to commit to paying premiums for at least 10 years if they choose the permanent life insurance option.

As co-founder and Principal at Stewart and Kett Financial Advisors Inc., Cynthia Kett has more than 30 years of experience advising families on retirement, estates, and philanthropy, including tax planning. We asked her to explain everything endowment-related, just as she would to a client.

“If you haven’t done any retirement planning,” says Cynthia Kett, advice-only financial planner at Toronto-based Stewart and Kett Financial Advisors, “this is the time to do it, in your 60s.” When transitioning into retirement, Kett “strongly” recommends that individuals do what’s called an investment policy statement.

Cynthia Kett, a certified financial planner and CPA, says “giving” shares to children who are not adults by law is tricky. “Children under the age of majority can’t hold shares in their own name because they lack legal capacity to [enter into a] contract,” says Ms. Kett, a trust and estate practitioner with Stewart & Kett Financial Advisors Inc. in Toronto.

We spoke with Cynthia Kett, Certified Financial Planner® professional and Principal of Stewart and Kett, about how she helps her clients avoid the pitfalls of trying to “keep up” and change their negative mindsets about finances.

Cynthia Kett offers advice on how to prepare for retirement.  She suggests starting to save as early as possible to have enough in retirement.

“Wealth is a factor of not only how much you make, but how much you keep,” says Cynthia Kett, an advice-only financial advisor and principal at Stewart & Kett Financial Advisors Inc., in Toronto.

Because lawsuits exceeding $2-million are commonplace nowadays, even less-wealthy individuals need substantial personal liability coverage, says Cynthia Kett, principal at Toronto’s Stewart & Kett Financial Advisors Inc.

Are you trying to gain clients with your smarts? Cynthia Kett, principal at Stewart & Kett Financial Advisors in Toronto, offered an additional challenge: stretch your limits as a professional. “That’s when growth happens,” she said.

Cynthia Kett, principal at Stewart & Kett Financial Advisors in Toronto, says many of the estates she deals with don’t use a professional executor. “If there are a lot of assets in joint name, and everything is rolling over to a surviving spouse outright, that kind of estate would not need a professional executor,” she says.