Snowbirds paying $15,000 a year in investment fees worry about growing their nest egg

financialpost.com:

Married couple David* and Felicia are 64 and 54, respectively, newly retired and seem at first glance to have enough to maintain their desired lifestyle, but they have concerns about growing their nest egg, saving on taxes and getting a different perspective.

Felicia is a dual Canadian-United States citizen and David has U.S. status. The couple are also business partners and have lived and worked in the U.S. Today, Ontario is home for about seven months of the year and they spend the remaining five months in the southern U.S., something they’ve been doing for about 10 years and would like to continue to do for as long as possible.

The couple invests with brokerages in Canada and the U.S., as well as on their own via self-directed accounts, and has built a portfolio worth about $3.14 million. At this point, they are both newly retired and want to make sure they are doing all the right things to maintain their lifestyle long term.

“Having worked with the same advisers for more than 20 years, we also want a different perspective,” David said.

A neuromuscular disease forced David to wind down the couple’s renovation business two years ago, which was earlier than expected but necessary. They are still adjusting to life in retirement and trying to get a handle on their income.

“Last year was my first full year of not working,” he said. “I now have multiple sources of income from pensions and investments, and it’s hard to know what my income will be going forward.”

In 2023, their combined annual income before tax was approximately $130,000. This includes $62,090 in dividends, $4,980 in Canada Pension Plan (CPP) payments, $29,027 in Social Security benefits and a former employer pension, $10,000 in interest income and $3,000 in