Lisa Ramsay
Tell us about yourself.
I’ve been in finance since the mid-eighties, and I’ve been a financial planner since 2005. When I started in the industry, portfolio management wasn’t something that was available for the average investor, so I actually built portfolios for my wealth clients’, which is how I started specializing in this area. I’ve worked with the provincial government, banks, and private industry and I’ve had the opportunity to sit on all sides of the table, so I have a unique client approach. I launched Trailane Financial in 2018 to bring my specialty and this approach to clients.
What is Trailane Financial?
We are a full-service financial planning boutique firm that serves individuals, families and businesses. We incorporate risk management and wealth building through a solution-oriented, top-down approach. We work with our clients in a team environment to achieve the client’s financial goals and dreams, we develop effective strategies, including tax planning, risk management, and savings and wealth management, estate and succession strategies all with a focus on flexible life planning.
We have five advisors who work with the client as a team or individually. Every time we sit with a client, we bring transparency, honesty, and integrity, and provide effective, professional planning. Our motto is, “We work to keep more green in your jeans and help you pay less taxes!” We work diligently to fulfill this promise. We put the client first—always.
What are your primary responsibilities?
I’m involved in every aspect of the business. I work with clients, but I also keep the business moving forward and conduct training with the advisors, build relationships with our providers. I am the go-to. I’m janitor at the end of the night and financial advisor, go to guy during the day.
What is your company’s mission statement?
Trailane Financial is devoted to serving our clients with integrity, honesty, and professionalism. We provide quality, individual, and value-added services working alongside an internal and external team of advisors, legal, tax and other specialists to equip our clients with the most complete advice. We look to build strong connections, create open interactions, and foster trustworthy relationships.
What does that mean to you?
This means our clients come first what is important to them is the focus of our planning. We listen to clients and ask them a lot of questions to find out what is important to each of them—we plan for each client as uniquely as they are. Each client is treated as an individual and with the courtesy and respect they deserve. As a team, that is what we strive to do for our clients.
How do you and your team honor your mission statement?
We do this by giving each client honest and effective planning through complete honesty and transparency. We do this by making sure the financial advisor and the client are a good fit. Trust is an integral part of the relationship. For example, if I sit down with a client, but we just don’t click, I’ll match them with another of our advisors they do click with. We do a thorough fact finding to make sure we understand the client’s needs, goals and dreams and time horizon. Questions, questions, and more questions with lots and lots of listening and lots of notes. And we educate the client thru each step of our process.
What makes Trailane Financial unique from other firms?
We are resourceful. As a small boutique firm throughout Alberta and Ontario, we do what is right for the client every time. We are big-picture thinkers; we find out the client’s “why.” The client may not always know, but once we help them articulate it, we can plan for them, and the client will stick to the plan because it is, truthfully, all about them. Everyone’s idea about finances and wealth is different. We understand this. This approach helps our clients reach their goals, because it is about them, not what the firm is telling them to do to benefit the firm. It is always about the client and their needs.
Our advisor team is also unique. Each of us specializes in a very specific area. My specialty is estate and business succession financial planning, and wealth building. We have an advisor who has been specializing for years in health care, so he has a thorough understanding of insurance and is well versed in the area of medical underwriting. Another of our advisors is an immigrant, so he focuses primarily on risk management and wealth for new immigrants. One of our advisors focuses solely on families, and another specializes in small businesses and self-employed individuals.
How are you continuing to innovate to best serve your clients?
First, we’re introducing a robo-investing platform so that clients who want to reduce fees on their investments can utilize this tool, be self-directed, and have control over their portfolios. They are ETF portfolios, and this is a wide platform that covers the gamut of offerings. From conservative to high risk. Our clients can choose to have the ability to direct how they want their portfolios to look over time, so it is truly self-directed. Second, we’re partnering with a U.K. firm to transfer pensions from the U.K. to Canada for qualifying recognized overseas pension schemes, QROPS. We are also partnering with a national lending firm that handles both personal, business and mortgage loans thru traditional, secondary and, nontraditional (angel investors, turnkey etc.,) avenues.
Can you share some activities you’re involved with?
I’ve taught for Junior Achievement, and I’ve done an interview with insurance experts. As a company, we conduct seminars—a business planning one called “I have to do what!?” and a risk management seminar on family insurance and “why it’s a good thing” and “This isn’t your Grandparents Insurance!” We are going to be launching a series of short videos on you tube that will address a wide range of topics that are current and relevant. We also post articles on relevant topics on our website and face book page. I also support local charity programs thru volunteer work.
Editor’s Note: Please confirm address details.
Lisa Ramsay
Founder, Sr Partner — Trailane Financial
Alberta and Ontario, Canada
LinkedIn: Lisa Ramsay
Facebook: Trailane Financial