With the unpredictability south of the border, many clients are nervous about making big financial decisions such as retiring or buying a home.fizkes/iStockPhoto / Getty Images
On Mon., Feb. 10, the phones at Christopher Dewdney’s office were blowing up. U.S. President Donald Trump had just told a group of reporters aboard Air Force One about his plans to impose a 25-per-cent tariff on all steel and aluminum imports to the U.S., and the resulting economic turbulence was swift.
Mr. Dewdney, certified financial planner (CFP) and principal at Dewdney & Co. in Toronto, listened as clients fretted. Should they be worried about their savings? How about big financial decisions such as retirement, buying or selling a house, expanding business operations or going back to school?
“It’s fair to say everyone’s on edge,” Mr. Dewdney says, adding the most anxious clients are those approaching their golden years. “The uncertainty of going into retirement under this current administration and not knowing what’s going to present itself, it’s just adding additional angst.”
Matt Stiller, CFP at Stiller Financial in London, Ont., has also been busy calming nervous clients.
“Who thought the election of one president would give everyone in the world such uncertainty?” he says. “It feels close to home all of a sudden. The gun is pointed at us versus someone else.”
Even the Bank of Canada recently admitted that constant tariff threats were clouding its economic forecasts. Between tariffs, a sinking Canadian dollar, a potential recession and the inching toward an upended world order, it’s little wonder many Canadians are feeling jittery about making big financial decisions.
Buy that long-coveted condo in Palm Springs or wait four years? Purchase a new vehicle now in hopes of avoiding high prices later? Maybe the best approach is to wait and see?
Not necessarily, says Mr. Stiller, who’s been doing more handholding with clients in 2025. Much of that time has been spent reminding them to zoom out and focus on the big picture
“Real estate and stocks are not bad things if you hold onto them long enough,” he notes.
For major short-term financial decisions, however, it may be about tweaking plans rather than putting them on hold. That California condo, now overpriced due to the weak Canadian dollar, could be swapped for a cozy cottage in Tofino, B.C.
“There are ways to modify these plans without blowing them up,” he says.
Sara Zollo, senior wealth advisor at Assante Capital Management Ltd. in Aurora, Ont., often reminds her clients that the only constant is change – especially when it comes to macro factors such as economic trends, interest rates, political policies and world events.
She points to Sept. 11, 2001, the COVID-19 pandemic and other world-changing events that caused temporary market volatility before stocks rebounded. To illustrate this, she pulls out a visual tracking major global events from the past 30 years, from wars to political crises, highlighting a clear trend: markets generally recover within 12 to 24 months.
“There’s always going to be something,” Ms. Zollo says. “That’s why, as an advisor, we try to create context and bring it back to the fundamentals. How much of this noise is relative to your own personal situation? Make decisions based on that perspective – not fear.”
She walks clients through their financial plans, reinforcing goals and strategies while reminding them they can only “control the controllables.” In other words, there’s rarely a perfect time to make big decisions and pivotal moves, but clients have a well-structured, stress-tested financial plan for economic ups and downs – at least as much as possible.
Selling your house in a weak real estate market? You might not get top dollar, but you’ll be buying within the same market. Waiting for the “right” time to purchase a new car? If your current one is a hazardous, old beater, it’s better to replace it now than risk an accident.
“There’s so much in finance and life that’s really beyond our control,” she says. “That feeling of, ‘I don’t know what to do’ is what leads to analysis paralysis.”
Meanwhile, Mr. Dewdney takes a patriotic stance when advising people on big-ticket travel decisions. This winter, he says clients should skip Florida in favour of destinations such as Cuba, Mexico, Jamaica or Turks and Caicos.
“You still get the sun, but your dollar goes further and you’re not spending your money helping a nation that has essentially entered into a trade war with us,” he says.
One thing he advises never to delay? Insurance. Risk protection is critical regardless of what’s going on in the world. As for timing the market for other major financial decisions, with the first month of President Trump’s second term behind us, the future is anyone’s guess.
“Right now we’re living The Apprentice,” says Ms. Dewdney, referring to the President’s former reality television show. “Tune in next week to see what happens next.”