Jim Otar completed his B.A.Sc. (Bachelor of Applied Sciences) degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Toronto in 1975 and subsequently received his M.Eng. (Master of Engineering) degree at the same university.

After spending several years in engineering and investing for his own account, he started his financial planning career in 1995. He is the author of three books; the most recent one is called “Unveiling the Retirement Myth – Advanced Retirement Planning based on Market History”. Before that, he wrote “High Expectations & False Dreams – One Hundred Years of Stock Market History Applied to Retirement Planning”. His first book was about Canadian dividend reinvestment plans. He contributed a chapter to “Retirement Income Redesigned – Master Plans for Distribution”, a book by Bloomberg Press, published in 2006. He also contributed content for Canadian Securities Institute courses on distribution planning. He has written numerous articles and portfolio reviews for various magazines internationally. He is quoted in the news media on retirement and financial planning issues.

Jim’s expertise stems from applying his engineering and technical analysis background to retirement planning. His article series in Retirement Planning won him the prestigious CFP-Board Award for 2001. He won this award a second time in 2002 on the same subject.

Jim is an independent financial advisor. He gives workshops on advanced retirement planning across the country. He is the founder of retirementoptimizer.com