[Ilan Zor, in his office, facing the camera]
A client called me last Thursday, and I could tell right away she was a bit nervous. She goes, "Ilan, I keep hearing the market is at an all-time high, and I have money I want to invest, but I'm scared. Should I just wait?"
Frankly, I love when clients ask me this because the answer is not what most people expect. So I sent her a chart, one I use all the time. It's called the big picture.
CIBC publishes it every year. It tracks the market all the way back to nineteen thirty-five. That red line at the top is US stocks. Now listen to this, one thousand dollars invested back in nineteen thirty-five, do you know what it's worth today? Twenty-four million eight hundred thousand dollars.
And on that same chart, we've had fifteen recessions, World War Two, the dotcom crash, two 2008, COVID, and many more. Now, yes, the line drops from time to time, sometimes even hard, but every single time it comes back and keeps going. Now, here is the part that gets people.
Look at Canadian stocks, the gray line. Every single ten-year rolling period since nineteen thirty-five, positive, and every single twenty-year rolling period, positive. Not most of the time, every time. Even the worst twenty-year stretch, a hundred dollars became two hundred and thirty-six dollars, and that's through wars, recessions, crashes, all of it. So you see, an all-time high is not a red flag. It never was.
The real risk isn't investing at an all-time high market. The real risk is sitting on the sidelines so long that you miss the whole thing. Now, I want to be clear. That doesn't mean you throw everything into stocks tomorrow because the people who came through the crashes fine versus the ones who didn't, the difference wasn't timing. It was having a portfolio that matched their life, their own timeline.
All right, back to my client's story. So I walked her through the chart. We talked about her goals, her timeline, and what she's actually trying to build. By the end of the call, she wasn't nervous anymore because she had a plan. That's the job. Turn noise into clarity. If you're sitting on money and asking yourself the same question she was, let's talk.
[CIBC]
[CIBC Private Wealth]
[Wood Gundy]
[Ilan Zor, MBA, Wealth Advisor]
[Disclaimers]
[CIBC Private Wealth consists of services provided by CIBC and certain of its subsidiaries through CIBC Private Banking; CIBC Private Investment Counsel, a division of CIBC Asset Management Inc. (“CAM”); CIBC Trust Corporation; and CIBC Wood Gundy, a division of CIBC World Markets Inc. (“WMI”). CIBC Private Banking provides solutions from CIBC Investor Services Inc. (“ISI”), CAM and credit products. CIBC Private Wealth services are available to qualified individuals. Insurance services are only available through CIBC Wood Gundy Financial Services Inc. In Quebec, insurance services are only available through CIBC Wood Gundy Financial Services (Quebec) Inc. The CIBC logo and “CIBC Private Wealth” are trademarks of CIBC, used under license. “Wood Gundy” is a registered trademark of CIBC World Markets Inc.
If you are currently a CIBC Wood Gundy client, please contact your Investment Advisor]
[Ilan Zor, in his office, facing the camera]
The family home is the hardest financial decision in a separation.
And it's where I see the most mistakes.
The question isn't whether keeping it feels right.
It's whether you can actually carry it, mortgage, maintenance, property tax, on one income.
Long term.
Get the numbers clear before you get attached to the outcome.
[CIBC]
[CIBC Private Wealth]
[Wood Gundy]
[Ilan Zor, MBA, Wealth Advisor]
[Disclaimers]
[CIBC Private Wealth consists of services provided by CIBC and certain of its subsidiaries through CIBC Private Banking; CIBC Private Investment Counsel, a division of CIBC Asset Management Inc. (“CAM”); CIBC Trust Corporation; and CIBC Wood Gundy, a division of CIBC World Markets Inc. (“WMI”). CIBC Private Banking provides solutions from CIBC Investor Services Inc. (“ISI”), CAM and credit products. CIBC Private Wealth services are available to qualified individuals. Insurance services are only available through CIBC Wood Gundy Financial Services Inc. In Quebec, insurance services are only available through CIBC Wood Gundy Financial Services (Quebec) Inc. The CIBC logo and “CIBC Private Wealth” are trademarks of CIBC, used under license. “Wood Gundy” is a registered trademark of CIBC World Markets Inc.
If you are currently a CIBC Wood Gundy client, please contact your Investment Advisor]
[Ilan Zor, in his office, facing the camera]
People ask me why I focus on separation and divorce.
I've been through it myself.
I'm a financial professional. I had the training, the tools, the knowledge.
I still found it incredibly hard.
What I didn't have was someone in my corner who understood both sides - the financial complexity and the human weight of what I was going through.
That's exactly what I try to be for my clients.
[CIBC]
[CIBC Private Wealth]
[Wood Gundy]
[Ilan Zor, MBA, Wealth Advisor]
[Disclaimers]
[CIBC Private Wealth consists of services provided by CIBC and certain of its subsidiaries through CIBC Private Banking; CIBC Private Investment Counsel, a division of CIBC Asset Management Inc. (“CAM”); CIBC Trust Corporation; and CIBC Wood Gundy, a division of CIBC World Markets Inc. (“WMI”). CIBC Private Banking provides solutions from CIBC Investor Services Inc. (“ISI”), CAM and credit products. CIBC Private Wealth services are available to qualified individuals. Insurance services are only available through CIBC Wood Gundy Financial Services Inc. In Quebec, insurance services are only available through CIBC Wood Gundy Financial Services (Quebec) Inc. The CIBC logo and “CIBC Private Wealth” are trademarks of CIBC, used under license. “Wood Gundy” is a registered trademark of CIBC World Markets Inc.
If you are currently a CIBC Wood Gundy client, please contact your Investment Advisor]
[Ilan Zor, in his office, facing the camera]
A lot of people hesitate before reaching out to an advisor when they're going through a divorce.
I understand that completely.
So let me tell you exactly what happens when we talk for the first time.
You talk. I listen. I ask questions.
No forms. No financial statements. No commitment.
You leave with a clearer picture of where you stand and what your options are.
That's it.
Whenever you're ready - I'm easy to find.
[CIBC]
[CIBC Private Wealth]
[Wood Gundy]
[Ilan Zor, MBA, Wealth Advisor]
[Disclaimers]
[CIBC Private Wealth consists of services provided by CIBC and certain of its subsidiaries through CIBC Private Banking; CIBC Private Investment Counsel, a division of CIBC Asset Management Inc. (“CAM”); CIBC Trust Corporation; and CIBC Wood Gundy, a division of CIBC World Markets Inc. (“WMI”). CIBC Private Banking provides solutions from CIBC Investor Services Inc. (“ISI”), CAM and credit products. CIBC Private Wealth services are available to qualified individuals. Insurance services are only available through CIBC Wood Gundy Financial Services Inc. In Quebec, insurance services are only available through CIBC Wood Gundy Financial Services (Quebec) Inc. The CIBC logo and “CIBC Private Wealth” are trademarks of CIBC, used under license. “Wood Gundy” is a registered trademark of CIBC World Markets Inc.
If you are currently a CIBC Wood Gundy client, please contact your Investment Advisor]
[Ilan Zor, in his office, facing the camera]
I've been a financial professional for over 20 years.
But the experience that shaped me most wasn't a course or a credential.
I went through a separation myself.
I had the knowledge. I still found it hard.
That experience changed how I work with people.
I don't just look at the numbers - I look at the whole picture. Where you are, where you want to go, and what actually matters to you.
That's what I show up to do every single day.
[CIBC]
[CIBC Private Wealth]
[Wood Gundy]
[Ilan Zor, MBA, Wealth Advisor]
[Disclaimers]
[CIBC Private Wealth consists of services provided by CIBC and certain of its subsidiaries through CIBC Private Banking; CIBC Private Investment Counsel, a division of CIBC Asset Management Inc. (“CAM”); CIBC Trust Corporation; and CIBC Wood Gundy, a division of CIBC World Markets Inc. (“WMI”). CIBC Private Banking provides solutions from CIBC Investor Services Inc. (“ISI”), CAM and credit products. CIBC Private Wealth services are available to qualified individuals. Insurance services are only available through CIBC Wood Gundy Financial Services Inc. In Quebec, insurance services are only available through CIBC Wood Gundy Financial Services (Quebec) Inc. The CIBC logo and “CIBC Private Wealth” are trademarks of CIBC, used under license. “Wood Gundy” is a registered trademark of CIBC World Markets Inc.
If you are currently a CIBC Wood Gundy client, please contact your Investment Advisor]
[Ilan Zor is sitting in his office, facing the camera]
[Ilan Zor, MBA]
[Wealth Advisor]
[CIBC Private Wealth]
Ilan Zor:
The biggest financial mistakes after separation happen in the first 90 days.
Not because people aren't capable.
Because decisions get rushed before the picture is clear.
The house. The investments. The settlement.
Most of those decisions? They can wait.
Get clear first. Decide second.
That one shift changes everything.
[End Slide]
[CIBC Private Wealth Wood Gundy]
[Ilan Zor, MBA, Wealth Advisor]
[Disclaimers]
[CIBC Private Wealth consists of services provided by CIBC and certain of its subsidiaries through CIBC Private Banking; CIBC Private Investment Counsel, a division of CIBC Asset Management Inc. (“CAM”); CIBC Trust Corporation; and CIBC Wood Gundy, a division of CIBC World Markets Inc. (“WMI”). CIBC Private Banking provides solutions from CIBC Investor Services Inc. (“ISI”), CAM and credit products. CIBC Private Wealth services are available to qualified individuals. Insurance services are only available through CIBC Wood Gundy Financial Services Inc. In Quebec, insurance services are only available through CIBC Wood Gundy Financial Services (Quebec) Inc. The CIBC logo and “CIBC Private Wealth” are trademarks of CIBC, used under license. “Wood Gundy” is a registered trademark of CIBC World Markets Inc. If you are currently a CIBC Wood Gundy client, please contact your Investment Advisor.]