Frequently Asked Questions

If there is a question you want answered that is not listed below, please contact us at info@firstoakfinancial.ca or by phone at (604) 363-7549.

1. How is First Oak Financial compensated?

We are compensated in two different ways:

1. When we set up our clients with financial products such as life & health insurance or investments, we receive a commission directly from the insurance or investment company for which we place our client’s business with. For example, when we implement a life insurance policy for our client, the insurance company pays us a commission – there is no exchange of money between the client and us. This is a broker arrangement, as we have access to over 15 different insurance companies and will base our recommendation solely on the best fit for our client.
2. For planning work, such as a retirement plan or general consulting services, we work on a fee-for-service basis. On average, a retirement plan can span anywhere from 5 hours to 20+ hours, depending on complexity. It is important to note that prior to conducting any fee-for-service work, we will provide an Engagement Agreement outlining the amount of time we estimate to spend on your file. We are fully transparent in advance and no work will be commenced before both parties agree on the scope of work. There are no hidden or erroneous fees.

2. What is the process when working with First Oak Financial?

When reaching out to us, you will be contacted within 2 business days (often sooner) by First Oak’s owner and Certified Financial Planner, Jeff Graham. For those interested in insurance and/or investment services, we conduct a thorough review in order to learn all about what’s important to you. This is a crucial component when working with a Certified Financial Planner, as it allows us to provide accurate recommendations that align with your objectives. Once that exploratory process is complete, we will present our proposed solutions. At this point in time, we will decide whether this is a good fit and if you are wanting to proceed with implementing our recommendations.

For those wanting planning-based services, such as retirement planning or financial planning, there will be a similar process as mentioned above, although the process tends to be more thorough and complex.

Please note you can book meetings directly with Jeff Graham by clicking HERE.

3. What does a Certified Financial Planner do?

Certified Financial Planners (“CFP”) have expertise in the following six components: insurance, investments, tax planning, estate planning, retirement planning and financial management. First Oak’s owner, Jeff Graham, holds both the CFP and Chartered Life Underwriter (“CLU”) designations, so he has expertise in the above areas as well as using life insurance as a tax-and-estate planning mechanism, particularly within privately-owned Canadian corporations.

We work in a very flexible capacity. We have clients who use our services to implement their life and health insurance solutions, other clients who we do retirement planning for, and everything else in between. Simply put, we offer our help where it is needed, and allow our clients to communicate the areas in which they want us to focus. We do not require a client to invest with us in order to oversee their insurance, for example.

4. Which insurance companies do you work with?

We are contracted with many of the top insurance companies in Canada, such as Canada Life, BMO Insurance, RBC Insurance, Empire Life, Industrial Alliance, SSQ, Equitable Life, Sunlife, Manulife, and many others. We also offer our clients non-traditional insurers like Humania and Canada Protection Plan.

5. What types of insurance do you offer?

For individuals and families, we offer life insurance, critical illness insurance, long-term care insurance, income replacement insurance, personal health insurance and travel insurance. For business owners and businesses, many of the same insurances apply, as well as corporately-owned life insurance, key person insurance, group benefit plans, split-dollar critical illness, business overhead expense coverage, and private health services plan (“PHSP”), among others.

6. What are some of the investments you offer?

Accounts: RRSP, TFSA, RRIF, Non-Registered, RDSP, RESP, Spousal RRIF, Individual Pension Plans (“IPP”), locked-in pension plans, First Home Savings Account (FHSA), term and life annuities, and the new Advanced Life Deferred Annuity.

Investment products: Guaranteed Investment Funds, Annuities, GICs, Mutual Funds (held within accumulation annuities), Exchange-Traded Funds (“ETF”).

7. What is the best way to get in contact with you?

By phone at (604) 363-7549, by email at info@firstoakfinancial.ca, or book a meeting directly with Jeff Graham, First Oak’s owner, by clicking HERE.