Financial Needs Analysis (FNA)

The Financial Needs Analysis (FNA) is central to our ability to help people . As a new AMA, your qualified field trainer (QFT) will be doing your FNA with you as part of the Fast Start Process. Until you obtain a license, your QFT will be doing all FNA's for your prospects/potential clients. As your learning progresses, you'll start doing some of work related to the FNA on your own. There is separate training later on that will show you how to do the FNA. For now though, here is an introduction to the process.

Everything we do relating to an FNA is confidential.

The FNA is a process that lets us help families in 6 primary areas:

  • Cashflow - earn additional income, manage expenses

  • Debt Management - consolidating debt, eliminating debt

  • Emergency Fund - save 3-6 months of income to prepare for unexpected expenses

  • Proper Protection - protect against income loss, protect family assets

  • Building Wealth - strive to outpace inflation, determine the Financial Independence Number (FIN)

  • Preserving Wealth - reduce taxation, build a family legacy

Think of the FNA like this: If you call a doctor for a physical health checkup, what do they do?

  • They send you for some blood tests and other tests

  • They get the results back and analyse them.

  • They present you with a report and some suggestions to address any health issues you have.

  • You then implement the suggestions the doctor has given you.

Similarly, when we do an FNA for a family we do a Financial Health checkup by taking these steps:

  • We do a "data collect" to get financial information.

  • We analyze the data using a tool called "FNA Canada" from the mywfg.com website (accessed after licensed)

  • We present the family with a report and suggestions to improve their financial health.

  • The family implements the suggestions we have provided.

The Data Collect

The data we collect for a family can be simple, or complex, or a range in between; depending on the family's financial picture. For example a young family, or single person, might not have a lot of insurance products, investments, or assets to consider, maybe just some student or credit card debt; where an older family or retiree may have dependents, multiple debts, multiple sources of income, a business, multiple investments or multiple assets to consider.

For the simple FNA, data may be collected "on the spot" , right after a drop-by. Most family's with less complex cases can give you "best estimates" of the data items we need to collect. Whenever possible this is the preferred time, as it starts the process of helping the family right away, and the situation where the family is "lost" is lowered.

For a more complex FNA, it may take some time for a family to gather the data we need. They need some time (not a lot) to dig up information about existing insurance policies, mortgage, and more complex items. They need a bit of time to gather the data, more than time allows during the drop by visit. Because it is collected later, you'll need to set up another appointment with them. The challenge here though is that many procrastinate, and despite your best efforts, may put it off. You "lose" them.

While you are doing the drop-by, you should be asking the family -twice during the presentation if they'd like to have an FNA done; the first on the "6 Step Strategy" slide, the second at the end of the presentation. It is a judgement call on whether to collect it on the spot, or delay for a day or two.

If you have a guest at the BPM, at the end of the presentation you will ask "What piqued your interest?" Whatever they answer you will invite them to have a free FNA done if they haven't already. If you can, schedule a day/time right then, ASAP. Minimize the opportunity for your potential client to procrastinate and be lost.

The location of the FNA data collect is usually at the family's home. It is more of a personal and comfortable setting for the family. The FNA can also be collected at the WFG office, a more formal setting. Many family homes are "hectic", kids, drop in's, other interruptions. When collecting data you want your client to be relaxed and able to concentrate. Pick the location with the family.

The data collected includes the following:

  • Household Information - names, address, phone numbers, dates of birth, smoking status, etc.

  • Information about dependents.

  • Information about income - employment income, commissions, rental income, interest/dividends, child support, pension income (current or future), CPP, last years tax refund, etc.

  • Information about expenses - transportation, health expenses, household expenses, housing expenses, utilities, food, and other similar expenses.

  • Information about debts - Mortgage, auto loan, student loan, credit card, personal loan, etc.

  • Information about assets - RRSP's, TFSA's, RESP's, non registered assets (primary residence, mutual funds, etc), Savings and chequing accounts.

  • Information about Existing Life Insurance policies

  • Questions about building wealth, preserving wealth, investor ratings, and

  • Questions relating to Goals and Dreams.

Data should be collected on the "official" WFG form - WFGCA10075 - Financial Needs Analysis Intake Form, downloaded from the marketing material area on the www.mywfg.com (must be licensed to access this site).
Once you have collected this data, the form becomes a protected document and you should be following all compliance requirements. The document should not be accessible to anyone but you and your upline, it should be locked away, when you have completed action it should be brought to the office and stored properly. Electronic copies should also be stored on the office "Synology Drive".

The Data Analysis

Once you have collected the data from a family, it needs to be analyzed. The analysis is an automated process, done through the MyWFG.com website. The section is called "FNA Canada". It is a straightforward process. There are some settings you can modify, these need to be understood and we have classes to explain how these impact outcomes . Once entered it is a simple click of a button and the report gets generated. The report is in a .pdf format and can be presented to the client from there. Note: The report could be printed in colour - it looks more professional that way.

In addition to the FNA Canada report, in some cases we can use an in house spreadsheet to provide additional information to present to the family, that includes some savings strategy by using some insurance and fund plans. These items are tailored to meet the goals they provided during the data collect. This process is more in depth and you will learn more in future training. The strategy is developed by your SMD or experienced MD as they are aware of the various products, or referral services that can be used. As time progresses and you do more, you will learn them and gain knowledge from "product partner training".

The Carry Back

The final step in the FNA process is the "carry back". This is where we report the findings of the FNA to the family, and they are presented with the strategies from the analysis. This presentation is always done with your SMD, or experienced MD.

As with the initial data collect, it can be done in the family home, or at the office. At this point you are very close to having a client, and/or a partner. The family may or may not implement the strategies and products that have been suggested to them.


In some cases the financial picture you present is one where the family is on solid financial ground, there may be some "tweaks" that can be done, but for the most part they are doing the right things. In most cases though that is not the situation, most FNA's boil down to the fact that families need more income. The option that we present to them is to come onboard, learn to be an entrepreneur and take advantage of our business opportunity to improve income.

Implementation of strategies in many cases requires further training of the family. They might be asked to look at the Heloc strategy, Investing 101, RRSP meltdown and others we have available. In the past these presentations were offered free, but it was determined that many took the strategy, didn't understand, and possibly ended up in a worse situation. They lacked fiscal discipline. We are now changing our method and asking family's to sign an MA and improve their knowledge and discipline, and of course use the business opportunity to improve their financial heath.