Business

Winnipeg’s Two Entrepreneurial Brothers Who Have Invested Millions Before Their Mid-Twenties

Published

4 years ago

February 8, 2021

Winnipeg’s real estate market has been steadily increasing over the last few months, which is a surprise to many, considering the pandemic’s recent results. It’s a great time to take advantage of things and purchase or sell a property, especially for those starting out in real estate. Thanks to current low-interest rates, there’s no better time to try one’s hand in the industry, and that’s exactly what brothers Jordan and Luke Lintz have done.

Co-founders of HighKey Holdings Inc. and the companies under it, the duo have recently launched their real estate brand. Though less than a year old, HighKey Real Estate has already bought up two apartment buildings, totaling over $5 million. These aren’t small numbers, especially for the city of Winnipeg, but the brothers aren’t stopping there.

Over the next few years, they have plans of renovating their apartment buildings, with over $1 million-worth of work going into each one. One of HighKey’s goals is to bring value back to the area by fixing things up, but also adding to the neighborhoods; they’re preserving the charm of Winnipeg. Though it will take a couple of years to see the grand reveal of each building, it will be exciting to see what Jordan and Luke come up with when the time comes.

The two brothers haven’t been in this by themselves, though. Their real estate brand has been collaborative work with a local real estate coaching company named BlackCard University. BlackCardU is the lasting legacy of the late Stefan Aarnio, a self-made millionaire, and entrepreneur as well as a former business partner of Jordan and Luke.

Before his passing in May of 2020, Stefan was a well-known real estate investor and coach in North America. He began his own company named BlackCardU, a coaching program for real estate investors and trainers to grow their skills surrounding the industry. Based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, the company has already helped hundreds of people in finding new careers for themselves.

Jordan and Luke quickly realized how beneficial it would be to team up with BlackCardU as they scaled HighKey Real Estate. The team of professionals at the company, especially Canadian real estate experts Damon Woodward and James Dmytriw, were a massive help in getting things in order and securing deals. Their vast knowledge of the industry played a big part in making sure everything was up to HighKey’s elite standards.

For the future, the brothers are hoping to expand their portfolio of the company’s with luxury developments and apartment buildings and offer more to their clients. This will happen in the form of investment options through HighKey Real Estate, which will be available to clients and friends.

It’s clear the brothers aren’t taking things slowly as they scale their business, and we’re interested to see what their future holds. To keep up with the HighKey brand yourself, you can find them on their Instagrams, @HighKeyCo, @HighKeyClout, @HighKeyAgency, and @HighKeyRealEstate.

Business

Retire Smart, Save More: How MDRN’s Virtual Planning Model Can Slash Retirement Costs

Published

3 days ago

October 8, 2024

Rosario Farell

The media is calling it a “retirement crisis.” Millions of Americans are arriving at retirement age woefully unprepared.

Some studies suggest that 45 percent of the Baby Boomers have no retirement savings, while 28 percent of those who have started saving have less than $100,000 put away. Consequently, many Americans now living in retirement or approaching that season are looking for ways to cut back on their expenses.

Aaron Cirksena, founder and CEO of MDRN Capital, has a solution for those looking to retire smart and save more. His firm’s completely virtual model increases retirees’ spending power by decreasing the fees associated with retirement planning.

“Our unique approach to providing retirement planning services allows our clients to experience significant savings when compared with the traditional model of investment management and retirement planning,” Cirksena shares. “When we did away with the overhead expenses that stem from operating a brick-and-mortar office, we were able to create a fee solution for our clients that is lower than the typical advisor. On average, our fees on the entire client portfolio tend to run 30 to 40 percent lower than the typical advisor operating under a conventional model. Additionally, we can provide services like estate planning, tax planning, and tax preparation at no additional cost.”

MDRN Capital is revolutionizing retirement planning by offering a comprehensive range of services, including income planning, investment management, tax planning, healthcare, and estate planning, in a setting that exceeds the efficiency and effectiveness traditional providers are able to offer. Unlike traditional firms, MDRN Capital leverages the power of digital tools to deliver comprehensive services without the need for in-person meetings, allowing clients to enjoy their retirement while their financial needs are expertly managed.

“My goal with MDRN Capital was creating a completely virtual firm that could more efficiently provide the convenience clients wanted while also meeting their ongoing investment needs,” Cirksena shares. “MDRN Capital’s virtual model empowers an environment in which we could serve our clients with less costs to the firm and pass the savings on to them.”

Financial planning for the new normal

MDRN Capital’s innovative approach to retirement advising emerged as a result of Cirksena’s experience during the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to social distancing, advising during the pandemic shifted to virtual appointments. When social distancing was no longer necessary, Cirksena expected his clients would resume their pre-pandemic patterns. He was wrong.

“My clients let me know they preferred the comfort and convenience of virtual meetings to the hassles associated with having in-office meetings,” Cirksena says. “They didn’t miss sitting in traffic and searching for parking spaces, and I couldn’t blame them. Even the clients who lived only a few minutes away decided they would rather meet via Zoom than have a face-to-face meeting in our nice Class-A office space.”

MDRN Capital was designed to meet the client expectations that emerged during Covid. By leveraging technology to take his services to his clients rather than expecting them to come to him, Cirksena made advising more convenient and more cost-effective at the same time.

Financial savings for struggling retirees

Recent studies show the high inflation the US has been experiencing has a larger than average impact on many retirees. In response, many are looking to tighten their belts by cutting back on spending, but reducing the fees associated with retirement accounts is something few consider.

“For retirees, lower gas and grocery costs are certainly helpful,” Cirksena says. “However, cutting their investment management costs in half puts dramatically more money in their pocket over time than lower prices on goods ever could.”

To understand the impact MDRN Capital’s approach can have on retirees, consider that $250,000 earning seven percent over 20 years will grow to $967,421.12. Factor in a 1 percent fee, and growth is limited to $801,783.87, but raising the fee to 2 percent causes earnings to fall to $721,034.70.

Cirksena points to his industry’s failure to embrace modern technology as one reason why investment fees remain high.

“Unlike many industries that have used and adopted technology for decades to help lower costs and make services more efficient, the financial services sector has lagged behind,” he explains. “Many firms continue to incur unnecessary overhead and expenses, which their clients pay for in the form of elevated fees.”

The virtual investment environment Cirksena has created moves retirement planning into the future. It provides a financial service experience that is convenient, comfortable, and efficient while also ensuring that none of its clients’ investment potential is wasted on unnece