"Inspired to Invest" Podcast

The Key to Unlocking Abundance, Prosperity & Wealth | Wealth Wednesdays 3 with Mauro Arturi

• Serena Holmes

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The Key To Unlock Abundance, Prosperity And Wealth In Your Life!

Welcome to Wealth Wednesdays! An Interactive Webinar Series Hosted By "Inspired To Invest"

đź’¸ Unlock Your Abundance Mindset đź’¸

Ready to level up your wealth-building game?

Join us for Wealth Wednesdays on Wed., Feb. 12/25 from 12-1pm. Wealth Wednesday is an interactive webinar series hosted by Inspired To Invest where we dive deep into the art and science of creating financial abundance, prosperity, and generational wealth.

Every other Wednesday, we will be bringing together business owners, real estate investors, and seasoned entrepreneurs to share insights, real-world strategies, and breakthrough stories on the journey to wealth.

Our sessions cover various topics including personal finance, stock market strategies, and financial planning. Get ready to boost your financial knowledge and make smarter money moves!

We will be diving deep deep into all things wealth-related. Whether you're new to investing or a seasoned pro, you'll find valuable insights, tips, and tricks to grow your wealth.

This is your chance to gain actionable advice on how to expand your wealth in a way that aligns with your purpose and values.

🎙 WHAT TO EXPECT

• Proven tips on real estate investing, business scaling, and wealth preservation• Honest conversations about mindset shifts for abundance

• A community of like-minded people committed to prosperityWhether you're just starting or looking to take your financial legacy to the next level, this is the place to be!

Bring your questions, ideas, and a notebook—because every Wealth Wednesday could be the spark that fuels your journey to true financial freedom. 🚀🔔

Set a reminder, and let's get wealthy together!

Mauro Arturi from Experior Financial will be joining us for this chat - and it doesn't get any better than that :-)

The first half will include the opening discussion with our host, Serena Holmes along with our guest, Mauro. We will open up the session for questions from the audience for the second half so it will be completely interactive.

Mark your calendar, invite your friends, and get ready to level up your financial game at Wealth Wednesdays Hosted By Inspired To Invest!

Check out our past sessions:
Jan. 29 w/ Arlett Tygesen
https://www.youtube.com/live/Y0m2gxn4yvQ?si=MlD0IO36AVkL3T1u

Jan. 15 w/ Sibtain Panju
https://www.youtube.com/live/Y0m2gxn4yvQ?si=MlD0IO36AVkL3T1u


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Speaker 1:

Hey everybody, welcome to Wealth Wednesday. It's a new webinar series that's hosted by Inspired to Invest to discuss all things related to abundance, prosperity and wealth. So it made sense today to have Mauro Arturi here from Xperia Financial, who is the executive director, not the CEO Executive partner.

Speaker 1:

I made that mistake recently executive partner, so I got flagged on that real quick. But Mauro is a 25 year veteran of the financial industry and a senior national executive director and coach for more than 2000 financial associates at Xperia Financial Group, and I've actually known him personally for 20 years and we have a funny story that we'll save for another time. It's been a long time man for 20 years and we have a funny story that we'll save for another time.

Speaker 2:

It's a long time then.

Speaker 1:

It's been a long time just a couple of decades but as the head of the top branch and one of the fastest growing MGAs in North America, moral plays a pivotal role in the success and expansion of Xperia Financial Group. He's known as a ground shaker and dealmaker who makes it rain, and Moral's true strength lies in his leadership. He believes that success is built on the strength of your team and he takes a lot of pride in being a coach, teacher, mentor, advisor and speaker at Xperia Financial Group. Under his leadership, xperia has grown financially. Xperia Financial has grown significantly I can't even talk today by offering superior financial products, competitive compensation and comprehensive training. The company also provides individuals with the unique opportunity to build and run their own business, making Xperia a leader across North America with more than 8,000 agents.

Speaker 1:

I think was the last headline that I saw. So we're going to be going through some questions for the first half, but I would encourage that anyone that's joining us today, if you have a question or something's come to mind, make sure that you just ask it. We don't necessarily have to wait until the very end when the moment has passed, and I'm just going to read a really brief disclaimer as well, just for compliance.

Speaker 1:

The views represented on this webinar are for general information only and do not constitute investment or other professional advice or an offering of securities. The host and guest featured on Inspired to Invest and Wealth Wednesdays makes no representations as to the performance of any particular investment and, should you decide to make any investment, you're responsible for conducting your own review and analysis. It's recommended that you obtain legal, accounting, accounting and tax advice from licensed professionals before you make any investments. So without you moral thank you for being here for today and thank you joining in yeah, that that's awesome.

Speaker 2:

I love the fact that you did do a disclaimer there, because we got to make sure that people do their due diligence before they actually take any advice, whether it be for me, you or anyone that's on your show. So I really do appreciate that.

Speaker 1:

I think that is important. I know when we connected a little while back, I talked about some of the crazy things that have been happening in the real estate investing world and I think, now more than ever, due diligence is so, so important. So you want to make sure that you do talk to someone that's got experience under their belt and they fully explain everything to do with investments and, you know, ideally, protecting your financial future. Obviously, this focus is on mindset, abundance, prosperity and all of those things kind of wrapped up. So maybe we can get started with things like mindset and abundance if you're cool with that.

Speaker 2:

Sure yeah, good to go.

Speaker 1:

All right. So in terms of my first question, obviously things have been. You know, we hit through COVID and everyone thought that was crazy and it was like no wait, the worst has yet to come. The last couple of years were even more crazy, right, so we've gone through this really crazy challenging time and economic downturns. So my question for you is how would you stay focused on abundance during these challenging times or for someone that is really struggling financially right now, considering all the things that are going on?

Speaker 2:

well, that's a great question. Uh, serena, the main thing is you need to shift your focus. Okay, so you gotta, you got. You can't get caught up in the negativity.

Speaker 2:

I try desperately not to watch anything that's news is so negative and you know, and that's what they sell is negativity, and you get you tend to, especially if you're not well versed in the financial services industry. You get caught up in that and you get really nervous about things and you know, you got to understand that the you know the economy is always going to be up and down. It's going to be challenged. You got to focus on what's good. So you know, if you have a job, it's great to understand that the economy is always going to be up and down. It's going to be challenged. You got to focus on what's good. So if you have a job, it's great. Be grateful and have a gratitude attitude of gratitude that you're working and understand that it's temporary. But you have to make sure that you still stay diligent to what you're doing when it comes to planning your financial future and not let the hiccups, I call them, or the rollercoaster ride of the economy, affect your end goal, because that's the most important thing.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, now, in terms of gratitude, since you're just talking about that, where do you think that really comes into play? When you think about building your financial future and wealth and prosperity, how is that something that you incorporate regularly into your own life?

Speaker 2:

well, it's, instead it's, it's, it's essential, right? Your mindset of going from scarcity to abundance? Yeah, you have to always think about how good it's going to be right, no matter where you are like. I grew up up in the project well, I guess government housing, you can call it projects, whatever you want to call it. So I had no sense of abundance or anything, but I always tried to stay positive on what's next. What's next right?

Speaker 2:

So having that attitude of it's not always bad, right, think about the things that are really good in your life. And it has nothing to do with finance. And it has nothing to do with finance. It has nothing to do with your, the car you drive or the house you own or anything like that. You got to think about the good, positive things that that are in your life and then what I think that manifests a lot of good things around you and and it introduces you to opportunities that you never would have had if you were just sitting in a corner somewhere being negative, thinking about how everything sucks and, like you know, not feeling grateful for anything.

Speaker 2:

So at the end it's hard, you know, at the end of the day, serena, it's hard, you can't. Just I'd be lying to everybody, saying that it's easy to just suck it up, princess, and let's go. No, you really got to dig deep sometimes. And I don't care what level of success you are in life, there's those doubts you have on a daily basis that sometimes you just got to dig deep and say, ok, we're good, we're good. You have that self-talk not negative self-talk, because that's detrimental to you but just that thing, we're good, we're just going to keep moving forward. So I think it's essential to have that attitude of, of, of, like I said, gratitude, where you have to be happy about stuff you do have, but don't settle for what you have.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, yeah, I agree, and I mean I think at the end of the day, your mindset really shapes your reality, right? So even when you are going through those challenging times, you have to know that the only way out is through and it's not going to help you. Like, if you need to dwell on it for a day, that's fine, but don't let a day become a month and a month become a year. But you said something really interesting there just in terms of your background and how you grew up in the project. So maybe we can dig a little bit deeper into that, because obviously I find it helpful to bridge the gap between where you were to where you are even now, like when you shifted from your past role into Xperia. Like you know, how did those shifts, you know, really explode your growth and take you to where you are now? So maybe you can just walk us back through you know your history a little bit more yeah sure.

Speaker 2:

Um, when I say projects, I don't mean like I was, we weren't poor or anything. We just didn't have much opportunity. And, being an immigrant family, like most people, you start off with very little in a simple life, but I never let it determine where I was as far as a human being or the value I had. Did I miss out on things growing up? 100%. Did I wish I had more money? Yes, but I wish I had a car when I was 16. Absolutely those those things that we all think that are important. But honestly, serena, I just I just kept moving and surrounding myself with people. It kind of sounds weird, but I didn't even purposely seek out people that were positive. I just was drawn to people that were positive and it just helped me and introduced me to other things. So I was in my previous company you know a little bit of history for 19 years and I had some good success there and everything, but I had blinders on the whole time. I was there, right, I was like this is the only thing that exists. I'm 100 percent in and which is great to be 100 percent committed to anything that you do, percent committed to anything that you do, but without seeing what else is out. There is also it's, it's, it's. It's not a good thing for you, as as a person, to grow into something different, because you have to understand that everything can be better, everything can change, everything you know can improve. So, rather than just accepting it, you know, my partner and I we looked at a different company, which was Xperia, and we were just it's like, our minds were just blown. It was just like, oh my gosh, what an opportunity here. We can still do what we want to do, but the vehicle is so much better and our lives changed. But it wasn't just about our personal lives. It was about the people that we brought along with us, the people that you know that followed us, and I think that's more important too.

Speaker 2:

I think I can say for myself anyway, serena is, I don't think about how things are just going to affect me. I always think about how it's going to affect others around me, around me, and in doing so, it takes the pressure off of me to be the greatest, the smartest, the all that kind of stuff. I just want to be a servant leader. Uh, branson, who's the owner of a virgin? Uh, airlines and records and all that kind of stuff he said, you know, because he has adhd, and stuff he says his, his, uh, success is because is based on the fact that he put people who were better at doing things, that he was around him, and I've been blessed to be able to find those people.

Speaker 2:

You know, was it easy? No, because I invest a lot of emotion into it, I invest a lot of time into that, but it's definitely worth it. It's definitely worth it. It's definitely worth it. So, yeah, coming from a place where you you have not if you always think I have not you're definitely going to continue to have not. So, rather than thinking about that, just be happy, do your thing on a daily basis, but have a goal, have a vision of moving forward, and sometimes you have to borrow someone else's vision right, because sometimes we don't have vision at the end of the day.

Speaker 2:

Uh, like I said, you walk around with sunglasses on or or blinders on. You don't really see what else is out there. So you borrow someone else's vision and you kind of like piggyback on that for a while until you can actually see it happen.

Speaker 1:

So yeah, and I think that's your point like sometimes you just don't know what you don't know, right? So you're kind of going down this path with your blinders on, like you said, and you just may not have realized what other kinds of things are out there, right? And I think it's important to walk that line between asking the right questions and just exposing yourself to different concepts and opportunities, but then also remaining focused to get where you want to go, right? There was someone I actually did his podcast a while ago and he had put up a post that said something like if you try to catch 10 rabbits, you're not going to be able to catch all 10. But if you go after just one, you'll probably be able to catch it right.

Speaker 1:

So it's like you have to expose yourself to those concepts and find out what's out there and then really focus and get laser focused on what you want to get and how you want to get there right.

Speaker 2:

So it's just trying to figure all of that out yeah, 100, you can't be, you know, uh, what do they call it? Jack of all trades, master of none. You still have to be focused on what your end goal is. Yeah, but understand that there's other ways to to attain that goal. It's not just way right. You have to be open to listen to other people, especially because you know I'm a little bit long in the tooth, so I joined the industry when there were no computers, when there were no, you know budget the old school way.

Speaker 2:

Right, it was all on a napkin and it was all just like. Right now, the information that the younger generation has.

Speaker 1:

And the tools, yeah.

Speaker 2:

And the tools. It's just like you have to be open to other ways of doing things and then just sticking to well, this has always worked for me Then that's the only way to do it. That's, that's the bad way of thinking.

Speaker 1:

And there's a lot of efficiency and, I think, a way to really explode your growth. Because I know when we were talking like you know, you used to be driving all over the city and meeting with people and stuff like that, and even with the pandemic and adapting to things like Zoom. Then instead of maybe meeting with two people in a day or four people, you can meet with like eight, you know, and that's just kind of talking at that level where you're transactional. But when it comes to building your team and just again what that looks like, why would you say Xperia has presented such a robust opportunity, maybe compared to the path that you're on before?

Speaker 2:

I'll tell you because it's it's experience a company that was built by advisors for advisors. So we were blessed enough to know that Jamie and Leanne was with our our then that's the co founders and CEOs of the company, and we were blessed to know them in our previous journey and they realized that you know what, there's a better way to to to to a better way to build the mousetrap. And what they did was they took the best of three different industries. So not industries, but different models. So we took the, the, the, the captive model, which was the Sunlifes investors group, and everything where you, you work for a company, the, the, the, the training is good and the, the, um, the name recognition is great, but you don't have any kind of ownership, you don't have any kind of that kind of stuff. So and and and, really you're just working for someone. And then they also, when they left our former company, they went into the mga world, which is a managing general agency, which is basically a brokerage world, where now you have multiple products but you also have better comp, ownership of your book of business, all that kind of stuff. And then they went and then, because of where we came from, the network marketing, uh, kind of, you know, distribution, uh aspect of the business. They brought that in also, so where you can actually build a business within a business, and they combined all three together.

Speaker 2:

So not only are we able to attract people brand new to the industry, we're also able to attract veterans that are from the industry, and we're also able to attract people that are just looking to, you know, sell and make and not build a business. So, at the end of the day, we were able to do all that. Uh, well, we, I was able to do that through jamie and leanne and xperia. So that's what makes us different and that's why we're growing so quickly, like we are by far the fastest growing. Uh, mga and imo in the us, uh, right, so we were, um, just, and I know you said we're at000, but I just want to put that in perspective for you.

Speaker 2:

Last year this time at the beginning of February, we just crossed over 4,000 licensed agents, because you'll hear a lot of companies say they have 30,000 agents. They're not licensed, right. So we don't like to put smoke in mirrors and we like to tell the truth. So at the end of the day, it's licensed agents was 4,000. And fast forward. One year later, serena, we doubled it to 8,000. One year. So that is serious growth, and that's because our not and it's not just because of comp, because you can get every time you go out there, you can chase compensation anywhere. You're always going to get better somewhere else. It's the environment, it's the, it's the um, the culture that we've created, that we actually care about you, the individual, not just how much business you're writing. So I think that's that's a big reason why experience exploded.

Speaker 1:

I'm familiar with the concept of like affiliate network marketing.

Speaker 1:

I was with the EXP for a long time and I just felt like you know, if you're going to be doing the same work, it's like you're paying less but getting way more. You know, it's just such an interesting concept and as you grow your business, it was even something that develops passive income. It's willable. You know people were getting on stage at the rally and like crying because they, you know, paid off their parents' phones or retired their spouses and stuff like that. So it's very powerful in that sense. And even with the Wealth Club that I'm part of now, like we've kind of created that affiliate marketing strategy so as we continue to grow and build the membership and stuff like that, there's value for people, obviously bringing people into that network and being able to learn and stuff like that. But can you talk a little bit about, you know, that network of marketing concept? For someone here that's joined us, it may not be totally familiar with what that really means that's joined us, it may not be totally familiar with what that really means.

Speaker 2:

Well, basically it's allowing people to have the same opportunity you have in building a business within your corporation. So a lot of people, like you know, they say it's multi-level marketing or it's a pyramid scheme, and obviously those things are.

Speaker 2:

Sharing the wealth a pyramid scheme and obviously those things are sharing the wealth. Yeah, it's not. It's. That's not what we are, obviously, because you know in a pyramid you have to. In a multi level marketing, you actually have to buy a product to become part of that network or whatever. Here it's it's a professional brokerage where you got to get licensed but at the same time you can go and hire and train your own agents and get compensated on that. And the best example of that, serena, would be a real estate brokerage. So you have the broker of record who's going to own that office, the REMAX office or whatever it is and he or she is going to have 10, 20, 100, 1,000 agents, like eXp, and every time they make a sale on the house, that brokerage is going to get a piece of that.

Speaker 4:

Okay.

Speaker 2:

So the difference in our business model is it's not just the broker that gets all of it, it's the person that actually helped develop that new person, that came in and trained them, help them, guide them and all that kind of stuff. They get rewarded for making that person profitable for the company. And right now it seems like, well, does that mean you're making money off of what I do? Well, the reality in life is anything you do someone is making money from.

Speaker 1:

That would be like any business. You wouldn't be in business if that wasn't part of it.

Speaker 2:

Every business is like that. It's just you don't have the opportunity to do it yourself without a bunch of capital invested and all that kind of stuff. So we've allowed people to be able to get into the industry to learn the industry, but also build a business and get that residual income. And in financial services you don't have to build a hierarchy or you don't have to build other agents in order to get residual income. We're blessed that our industry has renewals and trailers and all that kind of stuff from insurance and investments.

Speaker 2:

And you know, if you're not thinking about immediate gratification, long term you're going to get great returns for your investment. Because you know I still get pain today for clients that invested with me 20 years ago. You know that's unheard of right. I have very successful mortgage broker friends who make millions of dollars and are very, very successful and they say to me I love your business model, I'm jealous of it, because you still get paid for stuff you did years ago, whereas I have to get the mortgage renewed every single three years or five years or whatever it is, and they're always chasing the next uh rate. You know whether it's lower or whatever, uh, or their friend got into the industry or whatever. So, yeah, so we're able to protect our, our business model that way, um to the point where you're eventually, 90 of your income is residual and passive, which is, I believe, everyone's dream, like we think about it when we talk about just financial services and investing money so that, by the time you retire, you can live off of that money passively yeah without having to work.

Speaker 2:

It's the same thing as building our business. So I'm building a business until it's going to create enough income for me so that I can step away from it, and it's going to create that residual and passive income for me so that that can step away from it. And it's going to create that residual and passive income for me, so that. That's. That's the attraction. I believe that experience.

Speaker 1:

yeah, no, and it's a great way to build a foundation because obviously usually people have to take their after-tax dollars and invest it that way into different vehicles and stuff, and this is kind of just built into what you're doing already. Now, going back to that concept of wealth, what kind of advice would you give to someone that's just starting out and they're working towards that? Like, not everyone's built to be a financial advisor. Not everybody is interested in, you know, that kind of role. So, just in terms of traditional wealth building, what are some of the tools that you have available that you would suggest to someone? And maybe, especially when it comes to, like, a business owner or something like that, that you know they don't have a pension to rely on, they're probably not putting into CPP Like, what do you think are some of the best things that they could get started with?

Speaker 2:

Yeah Well, for the everyday person actually for anybody really, it's do it now, don't procrastinate, don't wait till you think that you're ready to invest. I wish that I knew what I, what I know now when I was 16, because I've been working since I was 12, but I never invested my money. I never saved my money, I spent it. I got money and I spent it, whether it be with friends or at bars or whatever it is, on dating or whatever it was. I never really saw the value in money. So, starting off really young if anyone has children or nieces and nephews, make sure they start right away, and it could be just 25 bucks a week, you know, or 50 bucks a month, and that will eventually grow to something to, by the time they're in their 30s could be, uh, you know, a healthy hundred thousand dollars, fifty thousand dollars or or anything like that. But but you have to.

Speaker 2:

You have to learn about how, to educate yourself about how money works yeah biggest challenge is most people because they don't know how the rules to the money game. They'll go to the institutions and no knock on the banks or anything like that. But you know, you know they're transactional. They don't really care whether or not you're making money, whereas in our business it's a, it's a our, my income is correlated with your success, right? So the more money you make, the bigger my commissions are, or my trailer. So I'm going to have a vested interest in you making money. I'm not going to just stick you somewhere so you're not making any money.

Speaker 2:

So make sure you learn about the different vehicles that are out there, not a GIC. Most people invest in guaranteed investment certificates because they think it's safe, but the reality is you're going to outgrow and outlive your money if you do that, because inflation is higher than what you're getting on that uh return anyways. So, uh, compound interest, you know. Make sure you're. You're investing on a monthly basis to to catch the highs and the lows of of how the markets are. Because, like right now, everyone thought, because trump was going to get in, the markets were just going to soar, and they did for a couple of weeks.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, but you know, they wanted to take over canada and then everything changed.

Speaker 2:

it's politics, so it goes up and down, right, and if you're only investing at one time, then you have to submit yourself to those ups and downs, whereas if you're constantly investing you're taking advantage of those low times in the market. So, learning that kind of stuff, learning about different types of insurance products, especially for business owners, how to get money out of their corporation, and this is a little bit higher level, but getting money out of their corporation and funneling it through an insurance plan so that later on they can liquidate that insurance policy to capture that money with very minimal tax.

Speaker 1:

That's something I just want to jump in. It really, I think, speaks to the quality of your financial advisor, and I just mentioned that because I actually had a whole life policy, which I now know is known as infinite banking, and the advisor I worked with really didn't explain that. I think the way that it should have been explained to me at the time being a business owner right, and really how powerful that can be to really, you know, borrow against your own policy and how you can leverage that and how that's really beneficial as a business owner. So I think I had it for maybe five or six years and I just was like, oh, I feel like I'm overinsured, I don't need all this additional life insurance, and canceled it.

Speaker 1:

But what I should have like I just didn't understand, like how it was, and even I think when I looked back with him, like long after the fact, I don't think he even had a really good grasp on it, like he was just really more traditional in a lot of senses, right.

Speaker 1:

So there are so many things out there and I think that's why it's so important, because you don't necessarily know all the right questions to ask, right, and it helps to kind of get those different perspectives and really outline where you're in where you want to go right, because I think that was like a lost opportunity, that to your point, like if you knew then what you know now, I'm like, ah, like you know it could have been really the thing to speak to that serena is.

Speaker 2:

In our industry it's easy to get a license, um, and to be focused and on just selling one product or maybe two products or whatever, because that's what you know and that's what I love about Xperia is that we have people that manage millions of dollars of assets, really know the insurance part of it Even. We have some of our business development partners in head office, sean Redford, who's been in the industry for over 25 years. He's really well versed on how to help high net worth people. So being with a company that only services one aspect or one demographic is detrimental to growth.

Speaker 2:

Right, the company I was with before only served you, you know, new people to the country, or average, uh, people, which is fine, that's the biggest part, part of the population but when it came to servicing other people, like business owners, like you were saying, I didn't have the capability or the knowledge to do that. Yeah, so it's like I've left all that money on the table and I've left that opportunity for that client to educate them properly, because I wasn't open to other different products and things like that. So it's very important to make sure that not you as a consumer only, but the person that you are working with is well versed in multiple areas of financial planning um, or wealth building, or insurance planning, or whatever it is and that's the thing I think like from an insurance perspective, like, yes, it's insurance, but it's understanding the investment opportunity that's attached to that by overfunding your policy and where those advantages can kind of come into play.

Speaker 1:

Um, what are your thoughts on having like an infinite banking policy for, like your child?

Speaker 2:

Again, when it comes to that kind of stuff, it's everyone is. Everything is done based on needs based. So the one thing I love about what we do is we do a fine a needs analysis for every client. So we need to make sure that they've, you know, when it comes to their kids. Let's say they've maxed out their RESPs, even though you know people don't like the fact that there's a 20% return guaranteed from the government. Yeah, every time you put money into an RESP, whether they use it for school or not, it doesn't matter, you're still getting the growth on that. You know that money that they're contributing on the grants.

Speaker 1:

So for anyone that doesn't know, like if you put in $2,500 a year into RESP, the government will put in an additional 500. So it's something we've been doing for our daughter. So she's got her little nest egg started already. But not everyone necessarily knows that.

Speaker 2:

And you get, you also get the growth on that. So Serena, let's say your daughter at 18, 19 years old, says you know, I just want to sell real estate or I don't want to go to school or whatever, you're still going to have access. You or your daughter is going to have access to all that growth. Put it into her RRSPs. You just have to pay back the grant. So you know there are advantages to that. So I wouldn't be. I would definitely not talk about giving a child a permanent whole life policy until they've done that, until you've done the breakdown and the needs and stuff like that. Give this to their, their grandchildren, as a gift for for long-term uh, you know, purchase of a home or or or just having the insurance and the cash value there for the long term. So yeah, it's.

Speaker 1:

It's basically we don't do anything unless it's it's needs based selling right yeah, I just wanted to understand your perspective on that now, before we go into some questions with everyone else, I just have one or two for you, just when it comes to things like philanthropy and giving back what role does that play for you when it comes to achieving true prosperity?

Speaker 2:

I honestly think, no matter how much wealth you have, no matter how successful you become and please let's preface this with everybody's definition of wealth and all that stuff is different, right, it could be $100,000 a year, it could be a million dollars, it could be $10 million, a billion dollars, I don't know. Whatever it is. Whatever it is, though, you have to give back, and how do you give back? Sometimes you can't give back when it comes to money because, at the end of the day, you know it's expensive to live in Canada and in the GTA, so you have to try and take care of yourself. But also, you know, give back in ways of maybe your time, or give in, like I said before, your positive attitude, or give in, in, like I said before, your positive attitude, just being happy and and spreading. That alone is, I believe, you know, giving back. You know it doesn't always have to be a dollar figure, but, that being said, the biggest, the biggest satisfaction for me is when people are in need and, without them even asking, you can just ask them how can I help? Yeah, you know, and that could be charities, that could be whatever.

Speaker 2:

Whatever it is, I do, I do donate myself to to many charities. Uh, I'm part of a foundation that helps uh, adults with learning disabilities that I sponsor on an annual basis, and even something that the church every winter gives out sleeping bags. So I'll buy a van full of sleeping bags and it's not expensive, it's not crazy, but at the end of the day, three, four, 500 bucks goes a long way to people in need. And it's not to make you feel better, it's just to know that it's not just about you, right, and and that's, I think is, is very important to the, to the future.

Speaker 2:

And I hate the fact that when people say to me well, those people can afford it, those people don't have to do it. Right, like when you look at hospitals that get uh donations of 10 million dollars to put on a, well, that's because 10 million dollars is nothing to them. Well, it's still 10 million dollars. They still have to make that decision to, to give it to the that hospital or to that church or to that orphanage or whatever it is. So you know, at the end of the day, it's just because you have money doesn't mean you should or, I'm sorry, you, you have to invest. Most people do that, do it because they know that it's the right thing to do, and most people don't know that you're doing it.

Speaker 3:

Yeah for sure.

Speaker 1:

I mean I had a mentor once that said that true wealth really amplifies who you really are. So if you're naturally like a scumbag and really rude to people and greedy, having money will amplify all those qualities. But for someone is a good person, wants to give back, wants to share in those. You know that wealth and opportunity and help people. Money will just give you that vehicle to yeah, we have our saying.

Speaker 2:

Our saying is good. Uh, money makes good people better and bad people worse yeah, yeah, 100, we'll um open it up.

Speaker 1:

I know that a few more people have kind of joined us, so if anyone has any comments just reflecting on what Moral has talked about, or any questions about wealth building, now is your opportunity, so the floor is yours.

Speaker 4:

I have a question.

Speaker 1:

Yes, go ahead Hi.

Speaker 4:

Regarding what you said earlier about life insurance policies, about whole life policies, so I didn't sorry, I kind of missed. What's your take on the whole life policy versus term insurance in terms of what would be more suitable for somebody to have?

Speaker 2:

Again, it's all based on needs, so you do a needs analysis first.

Speaker 2:

So if someone needs a lot of insurance, like at a young age, for a mortgage and and debt and all that stuff, then the cost effective way of taking care of that is through term.

Speaker 2:

Obviously, term is is the the best product for the average person out there. Okay, that being said, I sold term insurance only for most of my career and then ended up having conversations with my clients in their 70s, when that term was renewing, that they could no longer afford that term policy. So I believe that you have to have a good mix of everything in someone's portfolio when it comes to insurance. So you have a majority of it is term and if they've maxed out their tfsa's, rsps and other tax, uh tax effective vehicles, then you put either a ul or a whole life small, small portion in there so that at least you have that guarantee of coverage as you as, as you get older, and then make sure you have critical illness or living benefits, because the truth is most of us are are going to get injured or ill before we die. So, yeah, so it's, it's a, it's a, it's a healthy mix of all three, but mostly going to be termed for sure would you not?

Speaker 4:

not that I don't know how long this would take, but would you be able to explain a little bit about what you mentioned, also about using your whole life policy to pull money out to you? Against a policy yeah, how does that work?

Speaker 2:

well, there's, there's a, there's a few ways of doing that and again, that's not for the average person, francesco. Okay, more for a corporation. Yeah, that has a lot of money sitting in there. They're, they're, they're divin account that just sits there and they have no access to it unless they take it out as income. So what you can do is you can start, you buy an insurance policy through the corporation that's going to eventually grow in a cash value because you're over contributing it to it, and then later on you're going to collateralize that policy through, let's say. Let's say an easy example would be Manulife. Manulife sells the policy, but they also have Manulife Bank, which they'll give you the loan up to probably 80 to 90% of what the cash value is in there.

Speaker 2:

And then that loan, you can either pay interest on it, only don't pay anything on it because it's secured with the, the, the, the value of the policy and you as a, as the owner of that, that, that policy, you can take that cash value and start using it for retirement purposes, investing and all that kind of stuff. Okay.

Speaker 4:

So that's more for like somebody in a corporate setting, not necessarily a personal.

Speaker 1:

Not necessarily like for anyone that has a business right right like the way that I kind of looked at it. Where I lost that opportunity is that I had that policy personally. What I should have done is set that up through my holding corporation. Okay and I would dividend money from my operating company up to my holding corporation, because if I was intending to buy a property anyways, you put that money into the whole corp. Put that into the policy board against the policy by the property.

Speaker 4:

Yes, it's kind of convoluted.

Speaker 1:

I know it's very hard.

Speaker 4:

Yeah, it's a circle. Yeah, it's just a circle of transactions.

Speaker 1:

It's just a more effective way to kind of build up a policy and also, I think, down the road when it comes to legacy planning and things like that, there's other advantages to having it structured that way, as opposed to just taking the money and buying it out. Like I talked to someone once, I had a really good example. He's like you know, if you want to eat, he goes. You know, if you plant an orchard when you're ready to harvest the apples, are you going to chop down the orchard and eat the apples or are you going to pick the apples? And he kind of compared having that full life policy in the same way that you're just harvesting the apples, you're not cutting the orchard down. It's not like you're paying yourself buying things. Paying yourself buying things. You know. You're just repurposing in a different way to be more strategic and effective.

Speaker 2:

Okay, the most important thing, francesco, are you in the industry.

Speaker 4:

No, you know what I just? I just got into just for learning purposes. I don't work, I'm a realtor, that's what I do but I just got my license for life insurance, critical illness annuities. I just wanted to learn something new, just for that purpose. So I'm still kind of I'm as green as green could be. Yeah, good.

Speaker 2:

The thing you need to know, francesco, especially in our industry. It's very regulated and you have to make sure client comes first. So just because the product sounds great doesn't mean it's for everybody OK, and you got to be careful about that, because a lot of people are selling products that aren't suitable for the client and selling it based on the fact that they can take money out later on, which is great. Those things are part of the policy, yes, but have things in canada and in the us. There's like 401ks and and, and here we have tfsa's and and rsps. Max that stuff out first and then whatever extra money you have you can start putting towards, uh, those types of policies.

Speaker 1:

okay, but yeah, you got to make sure that the client's needs are taken care of first, first and foremost and I think you have to understand different caveats, right, like with rsps, for example, like you may feel different about this moral, but I personally am a little bit averse to them, like unless you really have so much income, just because of different things and caveats that can happen later, right? So the whole point is that they're tax deferred. But what if you get to the point that you actually don't end up living through your retirement where you can take out that reduced amount over 20 years, like for my mother-in-law, for example? She got sick when she was in her mid-60s and passed away and knowing that she was sick, she had to take all that money out. So you can imagine the tax impact and all of that. And if she hadn't, there's just a very significant tax impact on your beneficiary as well.

Speaker 1:

So I think sometimes those have really been promoted, encouraged, and obviously the TFSA is like a different opportunity for people, right. But I think you just really want to understand you may reap that benefit now by the tax advantages, but you want to know what the consequences are like later if your plan doesn't go according to plan, if that makes sense right, right, right, right one, maybe the balance between the products as well exactly, and that's why you will have a critical illness policy.

Speaker 2:

versus having to go into your rsps to help you during a time when you're ill, you actually get a lump sum from a living benefit or critical she actually passed away.

Speaker 1:

So like she was terminal and she had to take everything out and she wanted to deal with that before, like she didn't want to leave that to the estate to deal with. So yeah, it was a very significant impact that she was a high income.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and that's when you need a whole life or a permanent plan that's going to take care of the tax implications. But, that being said, you still should invest in an RRSP.

Speaker 1:

I'm not saying don't do it at all. I'm just saying you want to consider the balance and understand those consequences if things don't go according to plan.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, you're right, but again, you have to make sure that's what planning is about, right. So I'm going to put rsps in place, I'm going to put tfsa's in place, but I'm going to make sure I'm also going to have something that not only takes care of my debt but, long term, if all that stuff falls apart or my health falls apart or whatever, I have something that's going to take care of the tax implications for my kids, my grandchildren and whatever. But that again, that being said, I know we're going to probably disagree.

Speaker 2:

But with RSPs, you still have whether it's a big tax return or credit or whatever you're growing that money tax-free during the time where you're making peak income. So, even though you're going to pay taxes when you come down, don't forget that you're also getting the growth on that money, right? So not only are you getting the tax break, but you're going to pay taxes when you come down. Don't forget that you're also getting the growth on that money, right? So not only are you getting the tax break, but you're getting the growth on that tax break. So, yeah, there's so many different ways to do it, but yeah.

Speaker 1:

What are your thoughts on the S&P? Francesco, I don't know if you're on the call, but we had a billionaire named Mark Wade who was on one of our calls recently and he was talking about you know, if you had $100,000, where would you put it? And he was talking about the S&P. So I don't know a lot about it. So I'm just curious to know what your perspective is on that.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, there's a lot of people that just do like. You know, index trading where it's, the S&P just follows the top companies that are on there and long term, you're always going to make money in those types of investments. The challenge with it is and it's not a challenge because, again, it all depends on your investment objective and what you're looking for it's not actively managed. Okay, so there's actively managed portfolios where you have a fund manager with his or her staff of 150 analysts who go out there and they research. Companies have a certain criteria, sell when they need to sell, buy when they need to buy all that kind of stuff and you pay for that with management fees.

Speaker 2:

Obviously, yeah, but in my experience in 20 some odd years, I've never gone wrong with that. My clients have always done double digit returns, not every year, but long term and um. They are also the. The fund managers are also um have a vested interest in you growing your assets because they get paid based on aum, which is assets under management, whereas the s&p you're pretty much at the mercy of what's happening in the economy at that time right if s&p drops may not be good, if you just want to put it in for a year, for example well, yeah, exactly.

Speaker 2:

Well, I don't think any, I don't. I don't really do any investments for less than three or four years in the markets, and that's when you would do a gic or, uh, maybe a high interest account, but the market's too volatile for short term, I believe. But the, the s&p, just like any index, is going to be subject to what's happening in the, in the economy, whereas if you have someone who's actively managed funds that are on the s&p, so they're going to be effective.

Speaker 2:

But there could be funds in there that you've never heard of. There could be companies in there that are publicly traded, small little mom and pop companies in Utah that grow, I don't know, potatoes or whatever, and they're making a profit right, they're doing well. But you don't know that if you're just with just the index. So there's a balance in both. Again, I can't express more how important it is to make sure anything you do is needs-based. In my industry, and I'm sure even in real estate too, you know you can't just go say, okay, what do you want? I want a 3000 square foot house. Well, what does that mean? Right, like what do you want in that house? What are you looking for? Right, like what?

Speaker 3:

what do you?

Speaker 1:

want in that house. What are you looking for? It's all based on the details.

Speaker 2:

Exactly so. It's hard to say, francesco, what is it? There's no blanket thing Right? You can't say term is great for everybody and whole life sucks for everybody, and you can't do that Right. When you do that, that makes you ignorant. And ignorant doesn't mean you're stupid, it just means you lack information. And ignorant doesn't mean you're stupid, it just means you lack information. You can't and as an advisor, whether it be on real estate, invest investments or insurance you can't be that way.

Speaker 1:

You have to be open. Thank you, yeah, no problem.

Speaker 3:

Jacqueline, you turned on your camera so I thought you might have a question if you want to jump in. No, I was just listening to the difference between what's available in canada versus the us um. I think what you guys were talking about, um is more on our us side would be investing in an iul, yeah, which is like one of my favorite.

Speaker 3:

I wish somebody told me about that like years ago, because it, I mean just fantastic yeah yeah, the way it performs and I made sure, coming into the industry, that that's something that my children have, because I just yeah what they're going to be able to fall back on is just incredible yeah, jacklyn, you're right.

Speaker 2:

And and again, um, jacklyn, are you? You're with us, aren't you in in your experience?

Speaker 3:

Yes, I'm with Jor.

Speaker 2:

And you're in the US.

Speaker 3:

Yes, jacqueline, I know.

Speaker 2:

Jacqueline, it's the same thing. Are you okay? Yes, we just signed your paperwork. Yes, so yes, in the US, Serena and Francesco, are you here in Canada? Yeah, in the US, they have some Toronto Toronto. Yeah, In In the US they have some seriously good products that I wish we could have here.

Speaker 1:

If we had an opportunity to have IUL here in Canada, it would be so beneficial to.

Speaker 2:

And what is that exactly? It's basically a universal life policy, but it's attached to an index which there's guarantees that you're not going to lose your money. It's just so. It's to put in a simple word it's investing in an insurance policy but you're never going to be behind on it and it's you can just give it to your kids. You can just long term. It's one of the best products out there we're trying to experience.

Speaker 1:

Let's say you're happy for it, one of the best products out there we're trying to Xperia is yeah, we're trying.

Speaker 2:

We're trying to get a product through Manulife that will be exclusive for us, that acts like an IUL, but again the regulators and stuff there's a lot of moving parts to it. I don't know if it's ever going to come to fruition, but we understand that there is other options out there for the consumer that is very beneficial to them.

Speaker 4:

But as a.

Speaker 2:

Canadian. I think you can buy an IUL. Jacqueline, I think I'm going to give you a call and maybe buy something from you.

Speaker 1:

Go ahead. Okay, that's interesting to know.

Speaker 2:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

Awesome. Thank you. Anybody else, andrea? I'm sure there's a few other people here. If you want to jump on and ask any questions you may have.

Speaker 3:

No, I'm good. It's been a pleasure listening to this.

Speaker 1:

It's awesome Okay awesome.

Speaker 2:

Hey, serena, just to let you know, andrea is the. I'm the godfather of Xperia. Andrea is the godmother of Xperia. Mother, at least she's. Uh, she's been in the industry a while, but uh, she's. She's really changed our business and created our legacy program, which allows us um to be able to give our business to our children and grandchildren yeah, that's significant which is which is huge, and that wouldn't have happened without andrea, and God bless Andrea.

Speaker 2:

She's living the life of a queen. She lives part-time, full-time in Jamaica and also here in Montreal. Where else do you go, andrea? In Edmonton no.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, I have a grandbaby in Edmonton as well.

Speaker 2:

And now.

Speaker 1:

I have another grandbaby in Copenhagen.

Speaker 3:

Oh wow.

Speaker 2:

Look at that. So she doesn't get, and she's been in the industry for as long as I have and she's just a great addition and an incredible partner to have with Xperia Amazing.

Speaker 1:

Well. I guess, when it comes to things like abundance, prosperity and wealth. Since we're coming up to the hour, is there any closing thoughts that you wanted to leave with anyone, or any pearls of wisdom that you want to pass along?

Speaker 2:

yeah, well, that wisdom most people who know me, uh, wouldn't say it's wisdom. It's just, it's just having an attitude of caring about others. Um, and you know what some people say. You know, especially if you're an a type personality, you don't hear what I'm saying. But when I look at someone, I look at them, at where they're coming from, not who they are, what they have and what they're doing. Yeah, there's, because I believe everybody wants greatness, everyone wants success in life, everybody wants to be someone, everyone wants to be recognized, everybody wants all that kind of stuff. But something's stopping them from doing it, and it could be whether it be their, their upbringing. Something a coach said, a teacher said abuse, because everybody's got something.

Speaker 2:

So I try to, uh, in life, look at people in a way where it's like there's a reason why she said that, there's a reason why he acted that way. And I'm not saying lay down and take it, you gotta. You gotta be strong and fight for, for what's right, but also help people in their journey in life. And that my success at experience in life in general is become is because I look at people and and value them as who they are and not what they can give me. Because the minute you look at people as something that they can give you, it's just going to be an ugly experience. And that's where I was before. You don't recruit people or train people just because you can override them and make money from them. You, you want to find out what makes them tick, why, why they want to succeed in life and and help them in that journey. And if you can't help them in that journey, move out of the way and let them figure it out and and assist them in that way.

Speaker 2:

But, um, yeah, I've never been that type of person who says I know the answers to everything. I I probably don't know less than most, but I know people and I think anything in life, especially in our industry, serena. Our business is people, and if you only looking at dollar signs, you're going to get it, probably, but it's not going to have any value. Yeah, that's my advice. Not going to have any value. That's my advice. Look at people for who they are and what they want to be, not for where they're at and what you think they are in their current state.

Speaker 1:

Awesome. I think that's something great. To close it off, obviously, thank you for taking time out of your busy day to be with us and for anyone else that has jumped on this call. We have live streamed it to YouTube, so it'll be up there if anyone wants to watch it afterwards. Of course, just remember, when you invest in yourself, the sky's the limit.

Speaker 4:

Thanks again thank you take care thank you guys take care enjoy the.