Oltre Financial launches Optiml software, offering Canadians an ‘optimal plan to retirement’
Monday, September 16, 2024
In just a few years and on the heels of participating in the Invest Nova Scotia Accelerate program, Oltre Financial has quickly grown from an idea in a basement to an exporting company with five employees, customers across Canada, and a flagship product: Optiml.
Redefining financial planning with proprietary software, Optiml offers a precise, math-driven approach that customizes an optimal plan for the individual customer. By running hundreds of thousands of simulations, Optiml identifies the most tax-efficient strategies for deposits, withdrawals, and Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Old Age Security (OAS) timing, ensuring the best possible financial outcomes—all in just minutes.
"The best thing about Optiml is the confidence and peace of mind it brings as I plan my financial future.”
– Gail Lethbridge, Optiml Customer
“People right now are getting generic, one-size-fits-all retirement planning advice from what's available on the market. But not everyone has the same estate goal,” explains Oltre Financial co-founder Zac Davies. “That’s where the motivation for Optiml came from – we saw the need to allow people to not only customize their own plans, but to do it themselves online. Optiml can provide you with your own plan within 15 minutes, including the ability to try different scenarios. And the entire process is self-serve — no financial planner required.”
Co-founder Donald Jessome echoes the sentiment. "I had been using my own self-built solution for years, often telling my son Max and nephew Zac that I wasn’t the only one facing this challenge. At the time, Zac was still in Australia, and Max was studying at Queen’s University. When the timing was right, they, along with Alex Ingham, approached me with the confidence to turn my idea into a business. I never imagined Optiml would grow into what it is today. Their dedication transformed a common challenge for Canadians into an innovative solution now adopted nationwide."
From left to right: Alex Ingham, Co-founder. Zac Davies, Co-founder. Max Jessome, Co-founder
Davies is quick to credit the Nova Scotia business community for helping get Optiml to market so quickly. Having recently raised $700,000 in equity and non-dilutive financing in a friends-and-family funding round and with support from the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP), Optiml also participated in Invest Nova Scotia Accelerate and Productivity and Innovation Voucher (PIVP) programs.
“As part of PIVP, we’re partnering with Saint Mary’s University. They are evaluating the tax tables we're using and our results. This is big for us. It's essentially them giving their stamp of approval. We've done our own vigorous testing, we've worked with accountants, and we've worked with lawyers. But a partnership with a university can go a long way. It's helping us build credibility.”
Looking ahead as they grow Optiml across Canada targeting individuals actively saving for retirement and organizations prioritizing corporate financial wellness programs, Oltre Financial was recently invited to participate in the Volta Zero-2-X program and Creative Destruction Lab.
“We are full steam ahead. The timeframe is to build traction in Canada over the next 12 months, then expand into the US and eventually Europe. We built the optimization algorithm to scale in different markets. It doesn't matter if it's a TFSA or a 401(k) – we can just plug it in, and it can optimize it.”
“It’s exciting to see a product realized and growing from an original discussion in a basement talking about the potential to optimize taxes,” says Davies. “I think we can all get caught up on all the bells and whistles of what the software does in terms of functionality. But when we ran a pilot, a lot of the feedback was about the empowerment people felt to understand and run the planning themselves.”
“We set out to help people save taxes and ended up delivering peace of mind.”
As a firm supporter of the Canadian Financial Literacy Strategy, Optiml is committed to empowering Canadians to make informed, thoughtful, and beneficial financial decisions that align with their values.
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