I recently read Tashia Batstone’s insightful piece, “Improving access to financial planning.” While I could not agree more with the underlying premise that improving access must be a priority, I fundamentally disagree on the proposed solution: policymakers are not the answer.

Nothing in this research should come as a surprise to anyone in the wealth management space. We have known for years that access to financial advice adds value, helping people become more prepared and resilient.

The Cost of “Comprehensive” Planning

Over my career as a financial professional, I have watched us turn what used to be a simple, one-hour conversation into a multi-week ordeal, optimizing every dollar while pretending we could predict an unpredictable future. We branded this “comprehensive financial planning,” and in doing so, we built an invisible paywall that has left most everyday Canadians to navigate their financial lives alone.

The reason for this is simple: being a financial professional is a business, and businesses must be profitable. The article highlights that financial vulnerability has increased among middle-income families with children under 18, while middle-income households without children and single-parent families have seen little progress. This isn’t a failure of awareness; it is purely economics. The people in these demographics simply cannot afford the traditional cost of hiring a financial professional, nor do they possess the “minimum investable assets” required by many Canadian firms today.

Why Government Intervention Won’t Work

The idea that policymakers can fix this is wishful thinking. What can they realistically do? Force financial institutions and professionals to provide a mandatory number of pro bono hours each year? A better solution might be to treat financial advice like dental care, creating a national program where the government pays a professional to meet with low and middle-income families to “clean their budgets” or fill a “cavity in their savings”? Having the government foot the bill is a wonderful concept, but it is never going to happen.

Furthermore, the suggestion that our profession’s first step is simply to “raise awareness” ignores reality. We have been talking about this as an industry for many years.

Nothing has changed because serving this market segment under the traditional model is not profitable. It is no different than low-income housing, wind and solar power, or AI data centres: we all agree they have immense societal benefits, but we often treat them with a “not in my neighbourhood” mentality.

The DIY Solution

The answer is not in government policy. The answer is in providing individuals, the very people the current system is not built for, with the tools and access to education they need to do it themselves.

This is exactly why we decided to build a free financial planning application that anyone can use to create a financial plan, get foundational advice, and take that first step toward a better financial future. PlanDIY exists because every Canadian deserves the tools to clearly visualize their future and the confidence to become their own best financial advocate.

Take control of your financial future today: PlanDIY.ca