About The Financial Education Institute of Canada

The Institute's Facilitators

The Institute draws from a deep pool of highly skilled and accredited facilitators trained by lead facilitator Graydon Watters to present a cohesive, entertaining, motivational, and comprehensive workshop for all employees.

Practice Leader – Graydon G. Watters, B. Comm., FCSI, CFP

Graydon Watters is the founder and President of The Financial Education Institute of Canada. Graydon is the best-selling author of several books including: Financial Pursuit, Financial Survival for the 21st Century, How to Choose a Financial Advisor and From Work to Eternity. Watters has been featured on radio and television and has been quoted in many newspapers and financial publications. Watters has devoted thirty years to the financial services industry, including two decades as an investment advisor, and over a decade as an educator. During this time he has assisted thousands of individuals with their investment decisions.

Watters has three active adult children. He has numerous hobbies and interests including a voracious appetite for reading business, financial, philosophy, and psychology books. Watters is an active sports participant in cycling, tennis, swimming, and he is passionate about downhill skiing. Testimonials refer to his enthusiasm, commitment, dynamism, and innovative educational programs and systems. His seminars and workshops are tailored to suit the specific audience and he has lectured to corporate, professional, and public audiences throughout North America. He is available for a limited number of financial planning and retirement education seminars and keynote addresses each year.

Russell Todd, RFP, CFP. BA – Economics – Vice President and Lead Western Canada Facilitator

Todd has facilitated numerous retirement and financial education workshops for the Institute in Western Canada since 1993. His entertaining and educational workshops and seminars enable employees to achieve personal financial security, a balanced retirement lifestyle and a secure, rewarding retirement. Participants learn financial self-management skills; lifestyle and estate planning, investment and tax reduction strategies needed to achieve a fulfilling financially secure future in times of economic uncertainty and career transition.

He has used his educational skills to teach CIFP courses for Mt. Royal College and has appeared several times on CBC Radio and television (Business Network) in segments on retirement planning in 2003/2004. This teaching avocation helped Russell to get involved in delivering workshops when he opened his planning firm 15 years ago.

Todd is also President and owner of Todd & Associates Financial Knowledge Inc. where he is a fee-only financial planner specializes in developing retirement income security plans and wealth management strategies for clients approaching the best time of their lives... retirement. The firm name – is meant to reflect that they use knowledge to help employees achieve their goals, without any bias or investment product affiliation.

As with other lifestyle planners, he also struggles to get a work/play balance in his own world, and is active in wine-making, skiing, golf, and keeping up with his two married daughters in Canada and Australia, where he is encouraging grandchildren to enrich their lives.

Christopher Cartwright

Chris has over 30 years of experience in the group savings and retirement industry. He has specialized in developing and marketing financial and communications products designed for the specific needs of employer-sponsored pension plans and group savings arrangements. He has demonstrated particular expertise in communications, turning complex concepts into easy to understand ideas. In 2006, he headed the team that implemented an industry-first interactive ”R-meter“ to enable members of group retirement plans to visually understand and interactively manage their total portfolio risk.

His articles have been published in Benefits Canada, the Benefits and Pensions Monitor, and the DC Monitor. Chris was a member of the Industry Stakeholders Task Force on Capital Accumulation Plans of the Joint Forum of Financial Market Regulators. This was the group that drafted the CAP Guidelines released in May 2004. He was a member of the Joint Forum's Stakeholders' Task Force on Harmonizing Investment Rules.

Since 1985 he has been a member of the Canadian Pension & Benefits Institute and has spoken at their meetings across Canada. He is Past Chair of the Committee on Group Retirement Plans of the Canadian Life amp; Health Insurance Association. Chris is Vice President of The Financial Education Institute of Canada and one of our leading facilitators.

Marilyn Lurz, F.L.M.I., Senior Pension Consultant

Lurz is a senior professional in the pension industry with over 25 years of business experience. Her current role as owner/operator of Lynmar Associates Limited includes freelance pension consulting, financial and retirement counselling, facilitating for the Institute workshops, and teaching pension courses across the country for Humber College, and consulting on many projects for the Institute.

In various consulting roles, she has dealt with a variety of clients on all issues related to pension plans, RRSPs and executive/supplementary pension arrangements. Her skill set includes staff management, pension plan design (including wind-ups and conversions), pension administration, legislative and financial analysis, documentation, pension governance, communications, and knowledge of benefits and compensation. Lurz is a frequent speaker and educator, having presented seminars across the country for various clients, as well as for CCH Canadian Limited and other industry seminars/conferences.

In addition to having spent most of her career in consulting, Lurz has served as a vice-president at two of the largest public sector pension plans in Canada (one as VP of Policy and Communications and the other as VP of Client Services).

Her post secondary education includes achieving her Fellowship in the Life Management Institute (F.L.M.I.), specializing in Pension Planning. She is currently a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the magazine Benefits and Pensions Monitor, and she is co-author of a book – Pensions and Retirement Income Planning (1990 and 1993 versions – published by CCH.)

Other professional activities include:

• Past member of the Ontario Regional Council of the Canadian Pension and Benefits Institute (CPBI) – Chairperson 1993/1994
• Past member of the Ontario Regional Council of the Association of Canadian Pension Management (ACPM) – 1997 to 2001
• Member, Ontario Provincial Judges Pension Board (by Order-in-Council Oct. 1995 to Dec. 2000)
• Member, Canada Revenue Agency Pension Advisory Committee (appointed March 2005)