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About

 Thanks for visiting my web page!  My name is John Jakobs and I live in Sherwood Park, AB.  I obtained my BSc. in Electrical Engineering at the University of Alberta and I am a Professional Engineer with lifetime status in the Province of Alberta.

I am eager to share my passion for finance to deliver exceptional financial plans tailored to you needs and at low cost.  This is especially important in an industry where commissions, quotas, and other conflicts of interest get in the way of you receiving the trustworthy financial advice you deserve. By using the very latest (and best, in my opinion) financial planning software my clients get plans delivered in an engaging and intuitive way where we can collaborate real-time on strategies and what if analysis.

That's really the bottom line here - by working with me, you will get rock-solid financial planning, goal setting, and decision advice that is 100% delivered with your best interests in mind - all at a very fair price.

Planning Certifications

I am working on my financial planning certification and have completed all Certified Financial Planner (CFP) core curriculum courses. I am an avid reader of finance and planning books and publications and keep up to date with the industry by following numerous blogs and podcasts.

I have also helped many clients with their finances and retirement plans already and I use the latest industry leading planning software.  You can read more about this in the Testimonials section of my site.  I can also provide detailed case studies to further illustrate the type and quality of advice I provide.  Contact Me to get a copy of these studies.

Popular posts from this blog

You are probably paying too much in investment fees

Are you paying too much in investment fees?  Probably. That is, and per research from Questrade and as further discussed in this article from Moneysense, Canadians are still paying too much in investment fees . The Questrade survey found that 87% of Canadians either don’t know or underestimate the difference that a 2% or 1% fee has on their portfolios over the long run (of 20-plus years). We've all seen the TV ads too.  You know, those smug and smarmy investors talking about fees with their brother, friend, or parent and how it can mean a 30% difference to your portfolio value in retirement.  The truth is...this is not far off. Let's use an example to illustrate Jim is 40, single, and earns $95,000 per year.  Jim has managed to save $130,000 in his RRSP and $30,000 in his TFSA.  Jim is also disciplined and plans to save $1000 per month to his RRSP and $500 per month to his TFSA until his planned retirement at age 65.  At retirement, Jim hopes to have a $5000 per month spending
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Free Money for Canadians!

Money So they say Is the root of all evil today But if you ask for a rise It's no surprise that they're giving none away  - Pink Floyd, "Money" from the album The Dark Side of the Moon So, are "they" really giving none away?  They are, and Canadians have some excellent sources of free money! Group R egistered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) An excellent source of free money is a group RRSP where  employers match employee contributions up to a certain amount (or percent).    This is one of the easiest ways you can earn free money.   Now some of you might be thinking this is an obvious source of free money, but according to a 2023  SunLife study , 73% is the average participation but with some industries participation rates are as low as 57%.  SunLife also reported little change in participation from their 2021 report. It seems that many employees are not getting the message and so it's worth repeating. With that, let's dive in. A group registered retir
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Where can I get financial advice?

There was a very interesting question posted on our local community Facebook page the other day.  The original poster was looking for a financial advisor recommendation.  Specifically, someone that could help with retirement planning and to help answer big questions like paying down a mortgage versus saving.  In this case, the poster also made it clear they were not looking for commission-based help that would “push products”. The comments section of the post was quite lively and largely civil.  I reviewed all the responses and most of them fell into four main categories: Specific advisor recommendations (i.e. precisely answering what the original poster had asked).  Good job to those posters! Suggestions to use “free” advisors such as big bank or institutional advisors Suggestions that advisors were not needed and that you can just “do-it-yourself”.  This was often accompanied by a suggestion to watch Youtuber “X”, read book “Y”, or consult website “Z” Specific, some good but most bad
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