FOR FAMILIES AND BUSINESS OWNERS WHO EARN WELL BUT PLAN IN PIECES
Your income is not the problem.
Your plan is.
Most high-earning families have insurance from one place, investments from another, and a retirement plan they have not looked at in years. We build the structure that connects all of it.
Not sure where to start? That is the whole point of what we built. The tools below walk you through five areas of a structured financial plan so you can see where the gaps are before you talk to anyone.
YOUR JOURNEY
The Five Ridge Path
Five connected areas of focus. Each one builds on the last. Explore each step with our planning tools.
Protection
The Base
Most families have some coverage, but few know whether it actually matches their exposure. We help identify the gaps before they become problems.
Cash Flow & Accumulation
The Ascent
Earning well is only half the equation. Knowing where your money goes, how it grows, and whether you are using the right accounts is what separates progress from drift.
Tax & Debt Strategy
The Summit
Every dollar lost to unnecessary interest or avoidable tax is a dollar that never compounds. We look at what you owe and what you keep, then build a plan to improve both.
Lifetime Income
The Descent
Saving for retirement is one thing. Knowing how to draw from it without running out is another. We help you see whether your current trajectory supports the retirement you want.
Legacy
The Horizon
What you have built should outlast you. Whether that means protecting a business, funding education, or passing wealth to the next generation, it starts with seeing the full picture.
Protection
The Base
Most families have some coverage, but few know whether it actually matches their exposure. We help identify the gaps before they become problems.
Cash Flow & Accumulation
The Ascent
Earning well is only half the equation. Knowing where your money goes, how it grows, and whether you are using the right accounts is what separates progress from drift.
Tax & Debt Strategy
The Summit
Every dollar lost to unnecessary interest or avoidable tax is a dollar that never compounds. We look at what you owe and what you keep, then build a plan to improve both.
Lifetime Income
The Descent
Saving for retirement is one thing. Knowing how to draw from it without running out is another. We help you see whether your current trajectory supports the retirement you want.
Legacy
The Horizon
What you have built should outlast you. Whether that means protecting a business, funding education, or passing wealth to the next generation, it starts with seeing the full picture.
Protection
The Base
Most families have some coverage, but few know whether it actually matches their exposure. We help identify the gaps before they become problems.
Cash Flow & Accumulation
The Ascent
Earning well is only half the equation. Knowing where your money goes, how it grows, and whether you are using the right accounts is what separates progress from drift.
Tax & Debt Strategy
The Summit
Every dollar lost to unnecessary interest or avoidable tax is a dollar that never compounds. We look at what you owe and what you keep, then build a plan to improve both.
Lifetime Income
The Descent
Saving for retirement is one thing. Knowing how to draw from it without running out is another. We help you see whether your current trajectory supports the retirement you want.
Legacy
The Horizon
What you have built should outlast you. Whether that means protecting a business, funding education, or passing wealth to the next generation, it starts with seeing the full picture.
WHAT WE SOLVE
The Problems That Keep You Up at Night
You did not come here looking for a product catalog. Something is unresolved and you want to know whether it should be.
What happens to the mortgage if you cannot work next month?
Protection Planning
Most families carry some coverage. Few know whether it actually matches what they owe, what they earn, or what their family would need to keep going. We close that gap with a structured analysis, not a product pitch.
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A diagnosis should not also be a financial crisis.
Living Benefits & Health Coverage
Provincial health covers the hospital bed. It does not cover the income you lose while you are in it, the prescriptions that follow, or the recovery time your employer will not wait for. We build the layer that sits between you and that exposure.
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Your savings are growing. But are they protected?
Segregated Funds & Growth
Market volatility is not the only risk. Creditor exposure, probate fees, and estate complications can erode what you have built. Segregated funds combine growth potential with guarantees and protections that mutual funds cannot offer.
Learn MoreFOR INCORPORATED PROFESSIONALS
You have spent years building a corporation. Almost nothing inside it is working as hard as you are.
You incorporated because someone told you it would save you money. And it can. But right now, your corporate surplus is sitting in a high-interest savings account or a holding company that your accountant set up three years ago and nobody has revisited since. Your RRSP is maxed. Your TFSA is maxed. And every dollar you pull out of the corporation as personal income gets taxed at the highest marginal rate.
There are structures designed specifically for this problem. Individual Pension Plans, Insured Retirement Plans, Retirement Compensation Arrangements, and Immediate Financing Arrangements are not obscure strategies. They are well-established, CRA-compliant tools that most incorporated professionals have never been shown because most advisors do not work in this space.
We do. And we start by showing you exactly how much you are leaving on the table.
WHERE TO START
Ten Minutes. Three Steps. A Complete Picture.
Most people know something is off with their financial plan but cannot point to exactly what. This process walks you through a structured review of your protection, savings, and coverage so you can see the gaps clearly before making any decisions.
Financial Needs Assessment
Eight questions across protection, savings, tax, and retirement. You get a scored breakdown showing where you stand in each area.
Financial Snapshot
A closer look at your income, debts, existing coverage, and savings. This builds the full picture that most planning conversations skip.
Coverage Analysis
A personalized breakdown of your protection gap with layered coverage recommendations and estimated costs you can review on your own terms.
We built Five Ridge Financial for a specific kind of client. You earn well. You have some coverage, some savings, maybe a corporation. But nobody has ever sat down with you and connected all of it into a single structure. Your insurance came from one conversation, your investments from another, and your tax strategy is whatever your accountant mentioned in passing last April.
When you work with us, the first meeting is not a sales pitch. It is a structured review of where you actually stand across five areas: protection, cash flow, tax efficiency, retirement income, and legacy. We ask the questions most advisors skip because the answers take longer than a single appointment. We document everything. We show you the gaps in plain language. And we do not recommend a single product until you understand why it belongs in your plan.
We are full life licensed in Alberta, contracted with multiple carriers, and accountable to provincial insurance regulations at every step. Every engagement starts with proper KYC documentation and a signed client engagement letter. That is not a selling point. That is the minimum standard, and we are surprised how often it gets skipped elsewhere.
What planning actually looks like
These are anonymized composite scenarios based on common planning patterns. They show the kind of gaps we find and what we do about them.
Dual-income family, two kids under 10
Situation
Combined household income above $180,000. Mortgage of $520,000. Group life insurance through both employers covering roughly 2x salary each. No individual life or critical illness coverage. RRSP contributions happening but no coordinated retirement projection.
The Gap
Group coverage would replace income for about 18 months. With a mortgage, childcare, and two car payments, the household needed roughly 8 to 10 years of income replacement to get the youngest through high school. The gap between what they had and what they needed was over $1 million.
What We Addressed
We mapped the full coverage gap, layered term insurance to match the declining obligation timeline, and added critical illness coverage for the higher earner. Ran a retirement projection that showed their current savings rate would leave them short by roughly $400,000 in today's dollars. Adjusted the RRSP and TFSA allocation to close the gap over 20 years.
Incorporated physician, age 48
Situation
Professional corporation with T4 salary above $200,000. RRSP maxed. TFSA maxed. Corporate surplus accumulating in a holding company invested in GICs and a balanced mutual fund. No corporate insurance strategy. Accountant managing tax filings but no integrated financial plan.
The Gap
The corporate surplus was growing at roughly 3% after tax, with passive income taxed at over 50%. Every dollar pulled out personally was taxed at the top marginal rate. The RRSP contribution room had been maxed for years, leaving no additional registered shelter. At the current trajectory, roughly 40% of the surplus would go to tax before it reached the owner personally.
What We Addressed
We modelled an Individual Pension Plan that would shelter an additional $40,000 to $60,000 per year above the RRSP limit, all as a corporate tax deduction. Explored an Insured Retirement Plan to build tax-sheltered cash value inside a permanent policy. Coordinated with the accountant to restructure the holding company investment mix to reduce passive income tax drag.
These scenarios are anonymized composites for illustrative purposes only. They do not represent specific clients or guarantee specific outcomes. Every financial situation is unique. The strategies described may not be appropriate for all individuals. Past planning approaches are not indicative of future results. Consult with a licensed professional, accountant, and legal counsel before making financial decisions.
WHO WE ARE
Five Ridge Financial
Five Ridge Financial was built on a simple idea: families deserve a planning process that starts with their full picture, not a product pitch. We work with Alberta families and business owners to build structured plans across protection, cash flow, tax efficiency, retirement income, and legacy. Every recommendation we make is grounded in proper licensing, regulatory accountability, and a genuine commitment to doing this the right way.
READY TO START
Two Ways Forward
If you want to see where you stand on your own terms, take the Financial Snapshot. If you already know what you need and want to talk through it, book a session.
Take the Financial Snapshot
A structured 10-minute review across protection, cash flow, tax strategy, retirement, and legacy. See where the gaps are before you talk to anyone.
Start nowBook a Planning Session
If you already have a sense of what you need and want to talk through it with someone who will listen before recommending anything, start here.
Book a session