Want to retire rich?

21 July 2010 No Comments

Start planning now — and don’t be afraid to ask for guidance

BY: Austin Maxwell

“If you’re investing in order to retire rich, then you probably won’t make it,” says Andray Domise. Or at least, you’re unlikely to make it alone. As an independent life-based?wealth advisor with International Capital Management in Toronto, Domise specializes in retirement planning and business consultation — helping people navigate the tricky world of financial planning to ensure a wealthy future.

Since 2004, he’s helped his clients achieve personal and financial success, as well as peace of mind.?Domise feels that in order to prosper, you need to educate yourself about money management generally and investing in particular. That’s where he comes in.

“Most working-class, middle-income Canadians are fairly well-educated — there’s lots of information and books out there. With black Canadians, however, it’s a very different story. I guess we latch onto the successes of people like Michael Lee-Chin and say, well — ‘we know what we’re doing.’ But, we often get led down the garden path when it comes to investing and that really disappoints me.”

There is no quick fix, says Domise. “Educating ourselves is the key but many of us fail to do so. There are tonnes of websites out there that, if visited regularly, will help us become more knowledgeable about investing.”

This is especially true when it comes to personal finances: “With a business, we take every precaution to protect it, yet, when it comes to our personal life, it’s like we flip the switch to ‘off.’ I’m not sure why, but I really want to try to change it. I do give investment advice, but I really look at how best you can build yourself up and protect what truly matters to you.

“We go into business, mostly, because we love what we do. We may not, however, be good at running a business. An architect told me recently, ‘I’m not a business person who is good at architecture — I’m just an architect who happens to be in business.’ In my practice, though, I’ve found that — for a black person to reach out like that — it’s viewed as a weakness. We’ve got to change this mindset if we’re going to see more success in the black community. I really hate singling out my own community, but I teach retirement planning classes at Sheridan College and the Toronto District School Board. I’ve not had a single black person come to those classes in the three years I’ve been teaching them. I also do business consulting and no black-owned business has ever asked for me to visit them.”

Domise has made it his personal mission to reach out to individuals and businesses within black communities in order to share his wealth-generating knowledge. “I’m reaching out personally to the black community, letting them know there’s no shame in asking for help — in fact, it makes you a smart person. Do what you’re good at and delegate the rest to people you know you can trust. This is how top business people operate and it’s made them very successful, wealthy people.”

Andray Domise’s Top Three Retirement Savings Tips

Contribute to your RRSPs: “I don’t say this to be trite — there are ways of taking the RRSPs out, without paying excessive taxes. Also, open a Tax-Free Savings Account, the new one that just came out. Take advantage of these programs.”

Educate yourself: “Visit websites (like canadiancapitalist.com, morningstar.com) where you can get yourself educated on the investment side and discover which products are good for you.

Be Disciplined: “Put something aside for yourself. Income that you’ve put away should provide you with a supplement.Your pension should look after your needs while your investments pay for your lifestyle.”