Who We Are
Peter Bennett, CFP, CLU, CH.F.C.
After graduating from York University’s Glendon College, Peter spent three years in retail banking before joining London Life in 1981. He obtained his Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) designation in 1988, his Chartered Financial Consultant (CH.F.C.) in 1990, and his Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation in 1996. In 2000 he was invited to join the Wealth & Estate Planning Group, a division of Freedom 55 Financial. In 2004, Peter co-founded Blueprint Wealth & Estate Planning Inc., and became the principal in 2008. Peter specializes in wealth accumulation, income, and transfer for individuals. Part of the transfer process includes charitable gift planning.
Peter has been active in charitable gift planning for almost 15 years. He has been a fundraiser for his school for 30 years, chaired a capital campaign at his parish church, and has at various times raised money for his children’s daycare, baseball league, and drama group. In 1995, he received his initial planned giving training at Kanuga Conference Centre, North Carolina. In 1996 he was invited to join the Diocese of Toronto Planned Giving Sub Committee, and later the Stewardship Committee. The result (Faithworks) is the largest coordinated Anglican annual appeal in North America. Peter has spoken or led planned giving workshops and presentations to over 25 groups with audiences ranging from 6 to 600. Peter currently is a member of his parish Stewardship Committee responsible for planned giving, and in 2007 co-chaired the planning group for a proposed capital campaign. In 2010, the first phase of the campaign was successful, and the larger phase is planned for 2012.
Peter joined the Canadian Association of Gift Planners (CAGP) in 2003 and graduated from the first Advanced Gift Planning Course in Banff in 2007. He was a speaker at the 2008 Annual Conference in Vancouver, and at the 2010 meeting in Edmonton. He also spoke on the subject at London Life’s national education Summit in St John’s NL in October 2009.
Peter has been a Legacy Wealth Coach since 2001 and employs a proprietary planning process called Wealth Optimization. His Discovery Blueprint helps clients bring clarity to three questions:
- What does it mean to be financially independent?
- What is an appropriate legacy for my family?
- What is an appropriate social capital legacy?
This process has led to successful facilitation of close to $10 million of planned gifts by clients. Peter’s clients have placed the largest individual donation to three foundations, two 'donor advised' and one ‘non-profit’.
Peter is a member of the Social Investment Organization (SIO), The Episcopal Network for Stewardship (TENS), Estate Planning Council of Toronto, Advocis, and the Canadian MDRT Charitable Foundation.
Peter provides both commission and fee planning in Ontario, Alberta, and BC.
Peter is married to Heather and they have two adult children. In his free time, Peter volunteers as a Level 3 baseball umpire, loves a good game of squash, and performs in musical theatre.
Veronica Hughes
Veronica Hughes is Peter’s Marketing Assistant. She is responsible for file preparation, scheduling appointments, and liaison with the administration areas at fund and life companies with whom our clients do business. Veronica comes to Blueprint after working at the North York and downtown Toronto offices of Freedom 55 Financial. She grew up in the Greater Toronto Area, and has returned after working and traveling in Asia. She graduated from Wilfrid Laurier University with an Honours BA in History & Political Science. She has adapted quickly to the financial services industry and is interested in enrolling in some financial courses to build her knowledge in the Investment and Insurance sectors. Veronica enjoys helping clients with the process of protecting their assets. In her spare time she likes to travel.
Strategic Partners:
Nicholas Short: Nick joined Freedom 55 Financial as an advisor 13 years ago. He moved to the Toronto Resource Centre of Great West Life as a life insurance product specialist. He now heads the Life products management team in Toronto and Mississauga. He consults with a select group of advisors on designing appropriate insurance solutions for their business and individual insurance clientele.
Kevin Jones: Kevin Jones joined Private Wealth and Estate services in 2007. Prior to joining PWES, Kevin held a variety of increasingly responsible positions in the investment industry since 1995. He has worked as a Financial Consultant, a Regional Manager for an Investment boutique firm, and most recently worked on the institutional investment side for a Schedule A bank.
In 2002, Kevin obtained the Chartered Financial Analyst designation, which is widely recognized as the top international financial analyst designation. Kevin is also a Certified Financial Planner, and has completed various industry specific licenses.
Kevin has been active in many aspects of his profession. He is currently a professor of Finance for a local college and has also appeared as a guest speaker at numerous conferences and seminars across Canada.
As a Private Wealth Counselor with Private Wealth and Estate Services, Kevin provides assistance to financial security advisors in delivering value-added services to a select group of clients.
Monique Masch: Monique is a Senior Advanced Sales Manager with the Resource Centre of Great West Life. She is a graduate of University of Western Ontario in Sociology. She started in the Financial Services industry in 2000, and joined Great West Life’s Head Office in a marketing role in 2001. She entered Field management in Kitchener in 2005, later becoming a Regional Manager. In 2008, she gave up the management function to focus her attention on individual producers, providing specialized support in both the personal and business market. She provides advanced case consultation and support to a select group of advisors in the GTA.