Ryan Parton

Special to The Record

Patrick Hayton believes people deserve to have more say in the way they manage their finances 鈥� even when working with a financial planner. That鈥檚 why the longtime Valley resident opened TidySum Financial Planning in downtown Courtenay earlier this month.

鈥淭his is the only business in the Comox Valley dedicated to providing 鈥榝ee-only鈥� financial planning under the guidance of an unbiased, independent financial planner,鈥� explains Hayton. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 sell products or get paid commissions to refer people to someone who does. Instead, I offer trustworthy and unbiased financial advice to help people retire, manage their cash flow and eliminate debt.鈥�

Fee-only financial advising is relatively new in Canada. Fee-only advisors are not licensed to sell investments or recommend specific mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or individual stocks. What they can do, however, is review a portfolio and analyze its asset allocation, risk and fees, and then measure its performance against a comparable benchmark or index.

鈥淚鈥檓 completely independent,鈥� says Hayton. 鈥淚 work with each client to create and implement a financial plan based on their specific short- and long-term goals, with as few fees as possible.鈥�

Hayton has been a financial planner since 2000, specializing in comprehensive financial and retirement planning, money coaching, portfolio reviews, budgeting and decision consultation.

After attending post-secondary school and working for a time in the Lower Mainland, he says he was happy to return to Courtenay 鈥� his childhood home 鈥� in 2001. And he鈥檚 thrilled to have made this recent move to start his own business.

鈥淚 want to empower people so that they鈥檙e not intimidated by the bank salespeople when it comes time to renew mortgages or open a discount brokerage account,鈥� he says. 鈥淲hile I鈥檓 always available to check in with clients and make sure they鈥檙e on track, my goal is to teach them to manage their finances so they don鈥檛 have to rely on me going forward.鈥�

For a free consultation, contact Patrick by email at patrick@tidysum.ca, by phone at 250-218-0750 or by visiting www.tidysumlocal.ca.

TidySum Financial Planning is located in The Hub at C-357 Fourth Street in Courtenay.