Kent Pickett, CFP, MBA (FIN), Investment Advisor For individuals and families, managing wealth is about far more than selecting investments. Retirement decisions, taxes, insurance, estate planning, changing life circumstances, and long-term family goals are interconnected pieces of the same financial picture. Without a clear plan that brings these elements together, even sound individual financial decisions can work against one another.
At Peak Wealth Management, the starting point is understanding the client as a whole. Led by Kent Pickett, CFP, MBA (FIN), Investment Advisor, and Diana Franklin-Harrison, the firm takes a holistic approach to financial planning, first looking at what each client is trying to accomplish, the timeframe involved, their risk tolerance, and their short-, medium-, and long-term goals. Only then does it determine how investments and other financial strategies can support that broader picture.
This approach positions the financial plan as a roadmap rather than simply an investment portfolio. The plan establishes where clients are, where they want to go, and the path for getting there, while individual investments serve as the vehicles that travel along that path. As circumstances change, the firm revisits the entire roadmap rather than treating each financial decision in isolation, helping ensure that the strategy continues to reflect the client's evolving life, priorities, and objectives.
Building a Plan before Choosing Investments
At Peak Wealth Management, the investment process starts with conversation. Before recommending solutions, the firm spends time learning about clients through a detailed discovery meeting. This includes exploring their financial goals, family considerations, future expectations, and the outcomes they hope to achieve.
The firm believes that every client needs a financial plan, whether simple or complex, because without a clear direction it becomes difficult to measure progress. The plan serves as a guide, helping clients make decisions during periods of uncertainty and avoid emotional reactions to market changes.
“Investing is only one piece of the puzzle. The real work is to understanding where clients are today, where they want to go, and creating a strategy that connects those two points in a way that makes sense for their lives,” says Pickett.
Once the plan is developed, Peak Wealth Management works with clients to refine it and ensure it accurately represents their goals. Regular meetings are then structured around each client’s needs, providing opportunities to review progress and make adjustments as circumstances change.
Connecting the Full Wealth Picture
Retirement planning is one area where the firm’s personalized, holistic approach becomes especially important. Peak Wealth Management recognizes that retirement decisions are rarely one-size-fits-all. Income needs, available assets, health considerations, family circumstances, and timing can all influence how clients approach retirement income and withdrawals.
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Investing is only one piece of the puzzle. The real work is to understanding where clients are today, where they want to go, and creating a strategy that connects those two points in a way that makes sense for their lives.
Pickett’s 20-year background as the owner of an accounting practice also brings a strong tax perspective to the planning process. Rather than focusing solely on investment growth, Peak Wealth Management considers how clients can preserve more of their wealth through informed tax, cash-flow, and account-withdrawal strategies.
The firm also incorporates estate and legacy planning into the broader financial conversation. Whether clients want to use their assets during their lifetime or transfer wealth to children and grandchildren, understanding those priorities from the outset helps ensure the financial plan reflects their goals and values.
Importantly, the plan remains flexible as circumstances change. Peak Wealth Management regularly reassesses whether a client’s strategy continues to align with their evolving situation and, when necessary, adjusts the broader roadmap rather than treating individual decisions in isolation.
The firm also follows a virtual home office model, collaborating with accountants, lawyers, and insurance specialists when appropriate to provide coordinated support while remaining focused on financial planning and investment management. Recently, Peak Wealth Management moved to Designed Securities, a transition Pickett says is more aligned with how the firm wants to operate and serve its clients. As financial circumstances and the broader financial environment continue to evolve, the firm remains focused on staying informed and helping clients navigate the changes that affect their lives, taxes, and investments.
Investment Advisor Selection Starts with the Financial Plan
An investor can accumulate enough assets to retire yet misjudge how much income those holdings will provide after tax. Withdrawals from tax-deferred accounts differ from those from tax-free savings accounts, while benefit timing changes cash flow. Such decisions expose the limits of comparing investment advisors solely by portfolio performance. An advisor should explain how investment recommendations follow from the client's financial plan.
Discovery conversations should establish more than a risk score. A senior executive approaching retirement may need a portfolio that funds near-term withdrawals without forced sales after a market decline. A business owner reinvesting income has a different cash-flow pattern. Advisors should examine the time available to reach each objective and distinguish willingness to accept losses from the financial ability to absorb them. The resulting allocation should be traceable to those decisions. Otherwise, a diversified portfolio can still be poorly matched to when its owner will need the money.
Tax planning complicates the comparison. Account selection affects annual liabilities during working years, but withdrawal order can become more consequential once employment income stops. Registered retirement savings plans, registered retirement income funds, tax-free savings accounts and nonregistered holdings cannot be treated as interchangeable cash reserves. Projections should show how various withdrawal sequences affect spendable income over time. Clients also need a clear rationale for Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security timing rather than a standard age-based answer. Those calculations involve assumptions that should be visible, especially when household circumstances change.
Estate planning brings a different kind of exposure. Clients who plan to leave substantial assets may require different withdrawal targets from those intending to use most of their savings during retirement. Beneficiary designations and account ownership must agree with those intentions. An advisor need not personally provide legal advice to contribute here, but should know when to involve a lawyer or accountant. The same boundary applies to insurance. Loss of earnings through death or disability can make an investment projection irrelevant unless protective coverage has been considered. Prospective clients should establish who will recommend coverage and how those specialists will work with the investment advisor.
“Peak Wealth Management draws on its advisor's accounting background to examine how retirement withdrawal sequences and registered accounts affect a client's tax exposure.”
Even a carefully constructed plan loses utility when reviews amount to performance updates. A change in family income or an unexpected inheritance may call for revisions to spending assumptions before portfolio holdings change. Prospective clients should establish how recommendations are explained and when the full plan will be revisited. Meeting frequency alone says little about that discipline. Advice must remain connected to the choices documented at the outset, with someone accountable for coordinating adjustments across outside professionals.
Peak Wealth Management builds investment recommendations from a discovery meeting that covers roughly 50 to 60 questions about client circumstances and goals. An initial financial plan is presented without charge, with revisions discussed before either side makes a commitment. Peak Wealth Management draws on its advisor's accounting background to examine how retirement withdrawal sequences and registered accounts affect a client's tax exposure. Its review schedule reflects individual preferences, while its broader planning work involves coordination with legal and accounting professionals. Insurance questions are directed to specialists rather than handled in-house. Those services address executives and business owners who must coordinate portfolio decisions with retirement withdrawals and estate arrangements.
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