Astrolabe Financial Group Inc. - Ottawa, Ontario

C U.

I am happy to recommend Alex and Astrolabe for their financial services. I had a segregated insurance fund which represented two thirds of my portfolio. I had an increasing number of questions about staying in the fund. I didn't have the financial skills to feel confident in my analysis and I wasn't comfortable with the degree of information I was getting from my fund-based advisor. In meetings with Alex I was very impressed with how he listened to what I was trying to understand with the particular fund and with my long-term goals. In his report and recommendations he had conducted a thorough analysis of the fund, provided clear models for all the scenarios we discussed and helpful guidance for future investing. I greatly appreciated the additional help he also gave me with follow-up questions. The process allowed me to make my decision with confidence and give me peace of mind for the future. When I have further questions, I will definitely be working with Alex again.

Norm R.

My wife and I were considering retiring and we decided to choose a fee-for-service professional to evaluate and create a portfolio for our situation. Ryan advised us on the feasability and formulated a very in-depth study, in writing, that detailed not only our current situation, but provided a precise plan for the next couple of years. It involved rearranging some investments and getting away from unnecessary fees at other institutions. The result was a large savings in expenses that immediately was greater than the fees charged for the review. We came out ahead and have a steady path for our future now.

I think the greatest take-away from our experience with Astrolabe is the confidence they instilled in us that we were safe to retire without any cloud hanging over us. Finally, it is reassuring that they are always there for a quick question or two as our financial situation had a small change.

The service is very professional and personal. We'd recommend anyone take their complimentary introduction meeting so you can make your own decision to hire their services.

Mark L.

I am happy to highly recommend Stevan and Astrolabe financial. I am very happy with the portfolio and retirement planning advice I have received. Stevan made seamless adjustments in portfolio suggestions as my risk tolerance evolved. He walked me through and provided additional information above and beyond to help raise my comfort level with unfamiliar asset classes.
All in all I would say they provide excellent value for quality fee for service financial advice.

Brian K.

I received exceptional results and an immediately executable financial action plan from Ryan Kerr at Astrolabe. My wife and I can now move into our pre-retirement phase with confidence and ease of mind. We will be able to optimize our financial situation while avoiding paying high management fees on the investments in them. I highly recommend Ryan and Astrolabe for anyone who wants to take control of their finances.

C S.

I worked with Alex to help me feel confident that my husband and I could retire now. Alex took great effort to be sure he understood our retirement goals. He analyzed my corporate investments as well as my husband’s company pension, our RRSPs and TFSAs. Alex provided a strategy that will save us thousands of dollars a year, as well as secure reliable growth. We now know when to draw our CPP, OAS and RRSP and how to balance them with our pension and corporate dividend income. The attention, knowledge and resulting documentation exceeded my expectations. I recommend Alex and Astrolabe. I will be working with them more in the future to make sure we stay to our financial plan.

Peter L.

Wow!
We dealt with Alex Hadjisophocleous.
The information sharing process was thorough and completed via email.
When we had gathered all our financial data, we met with Alex at the Astrolabe office and reviewed our goals and retirement dreams. He was very attentive and recorded notes during our conversation. Alex is personable, relaxed and friendly, not to mention very knowledgeable.
With all our information in hand and our goals in mind, Alex formulated several scenarios for our retirement future within a month or so. We were provided with a quote, and signed an agreement.
When our plan was ready, we met with Alex and he went over it with us in fine detail, explaining the different scenarios and how he came to those conclusions. Going in, we really didn’t have a clue what our retirement would look like, but after seeing all the data it became clear that we had choice and were in good shape. The different scenarios presented to us gave us options we didn’t consider.
Alex put together an investment mix for us that maximized our returns over the years and reduced the taxes we would pay in retirement while using conservative estimates to mitigate risk.
All in all, we were blown away. We have a clear plan for the future and implementing it will assure us of a comfortable retirement.
Our bill was presented to us as quoted, with some minor follow up no charge as a courtesy.
In my opinion this is the best money i’ve ever spent when it comes to investing.
Honest, unbiased knowledgeable financial advice, bar-none!

Thank-you Alex

Peter Lindell &
Marsha Cameron

Dan H.

Nearing retirement and after a painful separation, I wanted to see where I was going financially. Also wanting to have more control over my investments and avoid unnecessary costs, I researched and found Astrolabe on the web. Alex is a very well spoken young man who knows what he is talking about and can answer most questions. And if he doesn’t know the answer, he will research it and get back to you very quickly. I really appreciated the realism of the information, which provides me with a manageable plan.

B N.

Stevan has been our advisor for the last five years. He helped us shift our investments out of a model where we were paying a percentage of our portfolio to an advisor, into independence.

We now pay a nominal fee, compared, for Stevan's professional advice and see the huge percentage increase reflected in our investments. More people need to understand this difference - Stevan can explain!

On a personal level Stevan is patient, always ready to explain to help make things clear. He held our hands as we transitioned and learned how to do our own trades online, using his expert advice on what to buy. He is always available to ask questions and further advice throughout the year as things come up.

Stevan has demonstrated an exemplary professional standard in all regards. I would not hesitate to recommend his services.

Our only regret is that we didn't make this change sooner. If you are just starting out, or thinking of making a change, you could not be in better hands. Don't hesitate.