A local business consultancy is on a mission to become a one-stop wealth-management shop for Ottawa business owners.
As the firm evolves from a practice to a full enterprise, it’s adopting a new brand – OPES Family Advisory – and bringing outside services including investment management (offered through IPC Securities Corporation), accounting and tax advice, legal, bookkeeping, lending and real estate under one roof.
With experts from various sectors working in-house, OPES clients will receive an unparalleled overview of their business to help them dream, plan and prosper, says Dean Trudeau, CFP, founder of OPES Family Advisory.
“Our team recognized that there was a huge gap in the industry when it comes to companies operating with an integrated approach,” he says. “By bringing all of these services in-house, we’ll be able to work more efficiently for our clients by having daily discussions about how to get the best outcome for them.”
Elevated service offering
Focusing primarily on small and medium-sized enterprises, OPES helps business owners and busy executives formulate and execute strategic financial and professional goals.
Trudeau and his team – which includes legal, financial and business planners – take a coordinated and in-depth look at their clients’ companies to ensure they are properly structured, identifying any potential gaps or areas of concern within the business.
“As a lawyer, I feel clients benefit from the combined expertise and co-ordinated efforts of the professionals at OPES Family Advisory,” says Jeffrey McAvoy, a veteran legal advisor who is part of OPES’ network of business experts. “It is great to be part of a practice that alleviates the complexities in business and life while providing a service level befitting the most discerning families.”
How can OPES help you?
Paul Howard, owner of Ottawa Compressor Services Inc. saw first-hand what an integrated approach to business planning could do for his company.
Feeling the pressure that comes with running a successful business, Howard turned to the team at OPES to manage his company’s legal, accounting and wealth management needs.
“Reorganizing Ottawa Compressor, as well as our family wealth and estate planning has allowed me to focus on growing the business,” says Howard, crediting the OPES team for successfully managing his company’s day-to-day assets.
A quarterback approach
OPES understands that many business owners already have relationships with trusted advisors. In these cases, the firm operates as their client’s quarterback – deftly coordinating individual experts, progressing towards the goal line.
Commonly overseeing exit strategies, estate plans and financial management cases, Trudeau and his team seamlessly integrate OPES’s in-house expertise with a client’s own accountant, lawyer or financial consultant.
As one of the only enterprise advisory firms in the region, OPES’s coordinated approach to business planning has helped several business owners transform their company structure, saving them both time and money, says Youcef Lekadir, CPA, principal at GMSPC and director of tax at OPES Family Advisory
“OPES Family Advisory fills a gap for business owners,” adds Lekadir. “We are one professional firm able to coordinate all the assets successful executives and business owners need.”
For Rima Aristocrat, OPES’s expertise was particularly valuable during her transition from owner of Willis College to chair of the school.
Relinquishing control was a major step in her career – a move that seemed daunting before enlisting the help of OPES Family Advisory.
“They were able to reorganize my personal and corporate structure as well as manage my wealth so I could focus on what was most important to me,” she says. “I not only saved a considerable amount of tax dollars, but feel more positive than ever about my future.”
