He is new to town, but not new to the financial world. Sean Morin has set up shop at the Valley First Credit Union in his own office on the insurance side of the building and is ready to help the confused, the astute and everyone in between with their financial needs, problems and questions.
Morin lives in Penticton with his wife Gina and their youngest daughter Kyla. Gina is the site operation manager for B.C. Lotteries at the Lakeside Casino," said Morrin and Kyla will be going into Grade 12 next year. Their other two kids are university students. "Jasmine is studying to be an art historian at UBC," stated Morin "and our son Alex is studying to be a doctor."
Deciding to commute was something Morin felt was right for his family for the time being. He is commuting five days a week to Princeton to be open for business from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is hoping people will come see him. Morin was born and raised in Quesnel and has lived in Penticton for ten years. "I was Investors Group," said Morin and I have been with Valley First just over a month."
"Valley First is a great place to work from an employee standpoint," Morin continued. "I am able to deal with investment funds, life insurance and disability insurance. With Valley First, I have the opportunity to retain all my licences."
"Coming from a smaller town," Morin added, "it is son nice to be back in a small community again. I like Princeton and am looking forward to getting to know the people in this community."
"In my previous life, I worked with industrial paints from pretty much every angle," Morin stated. Then, I worked for TD for a year and a half as a teller and decided I wanted to be the guy in the office." Morin took courses and upgraded his financial education and made the move to Investors Group where he stayed for three and a half years. "I am still doing the same basic role as I did there, except in a different spot."
Morin's main role to the public is to look over interested party's financial portfolios and figure out what they want and need. "I review their tax situation, their financial desires and their present financial situation to get an overall view of a person's financial being first," he stated "and then we go from there." Morin reviews each individuals retirement plan, all their investments and how they are presently being taxed. "If someone has an investment that make nothing but interest, then, anything that's made on that is fully taxable," Morin said. "I help my clients look at the short and long term tax implications and suitability of investments."
In his free time, Morin can sometimes be found performing with his band Okus Pocus. He is their drummer and recently beat his way through an Army, Navy, Airforce Saturday night dance with his band. Morin is Vice President of the Metis Society of the Okanagan and Similkameen l and keeps himself busy with these interests and family life when he is not working."
On the job Morin tackles each client as an individual with unique needs. "The first visit is a fact finding session. I need to get to know my client and what their objectives are. Then, we review their objectives, the risks they are willing to take and the time frame they want to reach their goals in. By reviewing all that is collected, I can do an assessment to deal with my client's objectives. Sometimes that includes rebalancing their portfolio.
For those new to the investment world, Morin's advice is different. "First get into a savings program and get started. After that we can work on the rest. I like to look at the financial situation from all angles and think about the future. Everyone needs to have some security and I can help with that."
Even youth, are caught in Morin's radar. "I visit schools and have assisted with a Junior Achievement Program for Grade 6 students. I will go into classes and teach kids the importance of starting their own business, the economics of staying in school and saving for the future. I hope I can bring this to Princeton." Helping students from Grade 6-9, is just one part of Morin's overall goal. "I want to help people make their future better with a little planning. It gives me satisfaction at the end of the day."