Serving those who served

Joshua Kalyta knew he would spend his career in service. The child and grandchild of Canadian forces servicemembers, Kalyta graduated from the Royal Military College in Kingston, On. and had been named a naval warfare officer. Right before his deployment to B.C., however, he was diagnosed with a rare metabolic disease that ended his military career right at the outset. A longstanding saver and passionate investor, Kalyta decided to pursue a career in financial advice, building his business around service to veterans.

Kalyta, now Financial Planner at Sun Life and President of Kalyta Financial Solutions Inc., approached his career in advice with the discipline and confidence he learned in military service. That means diligent research and preparation for meetings, building a deep knowledge base that he can leverage to serve clients. He explained how the challenges he faced leaving the armed forces prompted him to specialize in service to veterans, helping them manage a deeply complex process. He shared how he has turned that niche into a successful business and what other advisors can learn to deliver the right kind of service to veteran clients.

“I got the diagnosis when I was in the military and they told me it was about eight months that I'd have until I had to make a decision about what I was going to do in my post‑military career. I started doing my CFP at the same times as I was going through that medical release process of the military,” Kalyta says. “I learned just how complex it is from a financial perspective, and even other planners I asked didn’t have a full grasp of the process. All those shortcomings told me that there was an opportunity to specialize in something that others hadn’t done and weren’t currently doing.”

Kalyta explains that the industry still has a lot of knowledge gaps around veterans. Former servicemembers are entitled to a significant array of benefits through Veterans Affairs Canada, but those benefits come with a highly complex array of tax considerations. He notes the example of the income replacement benefit, which can be clawed back based on a very specific array of income sources that are often different from a typical insurance disability benefit.

There will also be a transition period for those veterans released from the military on medical grounds. Their benefits will come through Manulife for two years before being switched over to Veterans Affairs. Each organization offers slightly different benefits and forms of administration that veterans will have to navigate. Veterans Affairs will also offer a range of other benefits, including pain and suffering compensation, there are certain benefits that can only be applied for while an individual is still in uniform and others that have to come when someone leaves the service. Benefits may come from Veterans Affairs or the Canadian Armed Forces and navigating even just those two sources can be a challenge.

In working with veteran clients, Kalyta will encourage them to ask certain questions and make key requests of their case managers. His role is as much advocate and educator as it is financial planner. He does that work because, fundamentally, he wants to help a community that he believes has given great value to Canada and that he believes has not been served as well as they could be by the industry.

“I thought I'd have a 20 or 30 year career in the military and I would serve. And that's very important to me. It's very important to my family. And I couldn't. So this was still in some respects my way of giving back,” Kalyta says. “Although we have AUM requirements for clients, we don't for military members and first responders.”

At the same time, Kalyta acknowledges that he is running a business and must bring in revenue for his work. While military members may not be perceived as the highest income or wealthiest cohort in the country, he notes that from a pure AUM perspective there is an opportunity set. Between the various pension assets, benefits, and savings that most veterans are entitled to, they tend to meet at least the threshold for a mass affluent client. Certain entitlements like pain and suffering compensation can be as high as $450,000 tax-free. Not only does Kalyta believe the industry can better serve investors because it’s the right thing to do, he thinks there is real business opportunity in providing value to this client set.

For advisors who want to serve veteran clients better, Kalyta notes that one of the first steps is to make contact with active servicemembers. Many of the benefits and entitlements they could receive can only be applied for or adequately optimized while they are in active service. From there, he believes advisors need to adequately grasp the benefits available via Veterans Affairs Canada so they can help serve clients who need benefits from a challenging situation.

“Research into Veterans Affairs Canada has to be a big component of this. Veterans Affairs offers some financial support, you can call into their lines to get financial information,” Kalyta says. “It's available to advisors at their fingertips if they need it.”