Maxim Advisory Group is a fee-only financial planning firm based in Calgary, serving clients virtually across Canada and the US. We work with business owners, professionals, and families whose finances have outgrown a single advisor.
Most people who call us have built something worth protecting. Now the decisions are bigger, the pieces don’t fit together neatly, and the next mistake might be the expensive kind.
Our work only pays off when the fit is right. So we’ll tell you upfront who we serve well, and who we don’t.
What clients tell us before they call
“I’ve built significant wealth, but my financial life has become complicated and I’m worried I’m missing something.”
“I’m about to make a major financial or life decision and I don’t want to make a costly mistake.”
“I have an accountant, investment advisor and lawyer, but no one is looking at the whole picture or coordinating them.”
“I’m leaving Canada or moving to Canada and I don’t understand what I need to do, when I need to do it, or what the tax consequences will be.”
“I’ve done well financially, but I don’t actually have a clear plan for how all of the pieces fit together.”
“I can Google the issues myself. I need someone experienced to tell me what I actually need to do.”
“I’m approaching retirement, a business sale, or another major transition and I want to know if I’m making the right decisions before I pull the trigger.”
Different situations. Same underlying worry: an expensive mistake, sometimes irreversible, and nobody watching the whole picture.
Cross-Border Professionals and Globally Mobile Families.
Your life spans more than one country. Leaving Canada, coming back, or splitting the year between two tax systems, with investments, pensions, or a business on each side of the border. The question is what gets taxed where, and when. It gets sharper when a spouse or kids live in a different country than you do. The costliest mistakes start out as reasonable assumptions.
Entrepreneurs and Incorporated Professionals.
Your personal and corporate finances are tangled together. An operating company, maybe a holding company, and a decision coming: grow it, restructure it, hand it down, or move. We plan the business and the personal side in one picture. A choice that works for the company can cost you at home. Add a border and the stakes multiply.
High-Net-Worth Families and Retirees.
You’ve built the assets. Now the questions are about keeping them working: pensions, portfolios, real estate, sometimes spread across more than one country. Retirement, an estate plan, wealth moving to the next generation. At this stage, tax and structure matter as much as the returns.
Clients Facing Major Transitions.
Retirement. A move. Selling the business. An inheritance, a divorce, a death in the family. The decisions that follow are big, and most can’t be undone. Our job in those moments is to slow you down. We model the options and put the trade-offs in front of you. Then you decide on your timeline.
Maxim works best if…
- Your financial life has outgrown what any one professional can manage alone.
- You’re facing a big transition. Leaving Canada. Selling a business. Retiring. Restructuring a corporation. Planning your legacy.
- You want strategic advice before the decision, not after.
- You have trusted advisors already but nobody coordinating the overall strategy.
- You value independent, fiduciary advice. You don’t mind being challenged when it leads to a better outcome.
- You see planning as an investment and want a long-term relationship with your advisory team.
You may be better served elsewhere if…
- You want the lowest fee or a quick free answer. Our work is built around long relationships.
- You’ve already decided and want a professional to confirm it without proper analysis.
- You want one isolated answer when your situation needs broader planning.
- You’re unwilling or unable to share the whole picture our work requires.
- You expect guarantees where professional judgment and trade-offs are required.
- You’re not ready to collaborate with a team and take action.
Why we tell you this upfront
We’re trying to be the right firm for people who get the most out of an advisory relationship. Plenty of people don’t need what we do, and saying so costs us some bookings. We’re fine with that. If we’re not the right firm for you, this page is a cheaper place to find out than three meetings in.
Not sure which side you’re on?
If any of that sounded like you, start with an advisory consultation. It’s a paid working session. We go through your situation, answer what’s in front of you, and give you a straight read on whether you need more than that.