Put your Educators team to work for you: Contact Centre
As an education member, you have a busy life, and your finances can be complicated. We understand what you have to deal with—your pay grids, pensions, summer cash flow issues, collective bargaining, and more—better than any other financial institution.
You need a wide and diverse range of financial expertise. That’s why Educators Financial Group has a whole team of accredited professionals available to assist you. But do you know which member of your team to call when you have questions? To help, here’s the first of several articles explaining who does what, and how to make the most of the expertise available to you at Educators.
The Contact Centre: financial professionals with a myriad of educator-specific answers.
You want to check your account balance on your lunch hour. You can’t remember your password. You’re wondering about an Educators Mutual Fund that a friend mentioned to you. Who are you going to call? Your Educators team in the Contact Centre. Open 8 ‘til 6 (8 ‘til 7 on Mondays and Tuesdays), the Contact Centre is an easy to access, convenient, and knowledgeable source of financial information and investment advice. They are familiar with the unique needs of education members like yourself, and qualified to help you and your family members with their financial needs. “Sometimes clients are surprised at how quick and easy it can be to do something like make a contribution to their Tax-Free Savings Account, just by calling the Contact Centre”, says Michail Tsirikos, Financial Advisor.
The Financial Advisors and Client Service Representatives are experienced.
The Contact Centre is made up of Financial Advisors and Client Service Representatives (CSRs), with years of experience in the financial field and helping education members like you. (Want to know if your pension will be enough for the retirement you’ve planned? How to maintain your cash flow in the summer? How to save for an Emergency Fund? These experts have the answers.) In addition, they’ve honed their experience and skills with additional education – taking specialized courses from highly respected facilities such as the Canadian Securities Institute.
Financial Advisors assist clients who call, email, or drop into the Contact Centre. They can help you by:
• Scheduling telephone meetings for full reviews of your financial needs;
• Processing financial (e.g. trades) and non-financial documentation (e.g. address changes);
• Setting up online access to your Educators investment account;
• Facilitating trade requests;
• Reviewing your “Know Your Client” investing guidelines to ensure your portfolio reflects your risk tolerance, time horizon, and objectives;
• Reviewing your investments and asset allocation, and providing recommendations and advice;
• Providing information on Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs), Tax-Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs), Registered Education Savings Plan (RESPs), Registered Retirement Income Funds (RRIFs), Locked-In Retirement Accounts (LIRAs), and Life Income Funds (LIFs).
Client Service Representatives provide support for Educators’ mobile Certified Financial Planner professionals and their clients, sending and receiving emails and telephone calls in English and French. They can help with:
• Trades, address changes, and transfers;
• Scheduling and confirming appointments;
• Processing financial and non-financial documentation;
• Respond to questions regarding accounts, and investments such as mutual funds, Guaranteed Investment Certificates (GICs), high interest savings accounts (HISAs), and different account types.
They have received certification from the Canadian Securities Institute, the Investment Funds Institute of Canada (IFIC), and the International Finance Corporation (IFC).
The Educators team at the Contact Centre is your first call, and your key to accessing other professionals at Educators.
With their experience and dedication to the highest standards of training, the professionals at the Contact Centre will be able to answer many of your questions about your accounts or finances. They also assist your Educators Certified Financial Planner professional to schedule appointments to provide you with the more in depth and one-on-one planning you may need.
