Building Trust with Expert Knowledge. Q and A with Robert Trasolini of Safe Pacific
As the Co-Founder of Safe Pacific, Robert Trasolini brings extensive experience working with high net worth clients on the estate planning side. He launched Safe PAcific Financial with Laurent Munier when he realized that he could offer great value to a much wider segment of the public. His expertise is what is helping drive the firm to assist clients from a wide range of backgrounds achieve their financial goals and safeguard their legacies.
Q. What was the spark for taking your practice to this level?
“I was doing a lot of the training on how to structure insurance in the most tax-efficient way for my clients,” Trasolini says. “The majority of advisors don't know how to structure it properly, or even that it even exists. I gained this experience working on the corporate side, dealing with business professionals. I’m a personable guy who has always had a real interest in helping people”
Q. How does your offering differ from other firms offering financial services consultations?
It comes down to our process. We're not shoving one product down a client's throat. We spend time understanding a client's situation. There’s no one-size fits all solution, so the majority of time is spent just getting to know our clients, so we can get them a solution that matches their particular needs.
A lot of advisors don't have a systematic process -- they have their own agenda, instead of discovering the client's goals. In contrast, we want to build trust – and that comes from understanding.
Q. Every client is unique, but tell me about some of the common pain points you’ve seen that they are looking to resolve.
We often work with business owners that are incorporated and making significant revenue, needing to look out for their firms, themselves and their family. A common challenge with them is to just find the safest way to grow their money in an efficient way. Until now, they may not have gotten the best advice, or insurance.
A common pain point starts from where their accountant tells them to pay themselves a salary, but leave the money in your company at the end of the year to lower your tax threshold. That’s fine – but what do they do with those retained earnings? How do they access it without paying that 43% in taxes?
We can show them ways to pull that money out, personally, tax free. People always focus on what kind of return they can get on their money, so they’re looking at how to get that extra 5% or 8% on an investment. But the thing they need to be worried about is 43% in taxes getting taken out of their pocket. Looking at it from that perspective, the ‘rate of return’ pales by comparison.
Q. What do you do when you’re not providing clients with valuable financial services advice?
Anything athletic! I played rugby at the University of Victoria and have always been into sports: beach volleyball, soccer, snowboarding, skiing and a lot of team sports as well. On the weekends, I’m going to the Whitecaps game or just living life.
Contact Us
At Safe Pacific Financial, we specialize in helping Canadian business owners, incorporated professionals, and investors structure life insurance for maximum wealth protection, tax savings, and business growth.
If you would like to discuss whole life insurance or investments, we’re happy to chat and see if we can be a good fit to work with you. Fill out our contact form and we will get back to you within 24 hours on business days.
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