Meet The Team

Kern K. Watts B.Sc.BA, CFP®

Financial Planner – Manulife Wealth Inc.
Life Insurance Advisor - 123Retire

Kern has more than 14 years of diverse experience in the financial services industry, during which he has acquired many industry designations. 

More importantly, Kern prides himself on living by his motto, “there is no better time than the present to be better.”   Thus, he is always exploring new concepts, tactics, and strategies to help people be more effective with how they use each dollar.

“I firmly believe that educating clients provides them with the skills to make better decisions, not only for their current situation, but also for their future.”

Kern’s principles enable him to help his clients achieve their goals and, in turn, to live better lives.  He says the numbers paint the picture, so discovering the disconnect between what is possible and what is probable is key to helping people create meaningful futures for themselves.

Kern is not just a numbers man.  He’s always been an avid baseball player, playing for Team Canada, going to the College World Series, playing semi-professionally and most recently representing Alberta at the Men’s National Championship in 2018 and again this year, 2023.   Not only does he enjoy this aspect of his life, but he also says it has given him a real appreciation for what can be accomplished when people work together.

Married, and a father of three, Kern is generous in the community and in his church.   When Kern isn’t at work you can find him working out, studying, playing baseball, coaching baseball, or enjoying family time. 

If achieving your desired goals without conceding is your objective, you are going to enjoy working with Kern.

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Melanie Locke | Mutual Fund Advisor Assistant | 123 Retire

Melanie Locke BA

Mutual Fund Advisor Assistant – Manulife Wealth Inc.
Executive Assistant - 123Retire

Melanie owns the friendly voice you hear when you call our office. She has become instrumental to our team’s success.

Apart from a great attitude, Melanie keeps this organization operational on a day-to-day basis. Since joining the firm, she's proven to be able to fix most problems, both internal and external, in a timely and professional manner. As you can appreciate, over the years, her knowledge has become extensive.

Prior to joining 123Retire, Melanie worked in tech support for 5 years. That experience makes her especially good at handling questions posed by Robert and, of course, his clients. Incidentally, she's also bilingual (English and French).

Melanie is mutual funds licensed; however, under the terms of her licence, she is not allowed to solicit trades. Nevertheless, she has proven more than capable of helping clients with their issues and processing their trade requests.

Once we learned that Melanie always wanted to join the RCMP, albeit as a K9 officer, we quickly appointed her to be our Compliance Officer. We can confirm that she's taken this appointment to heart.

Now that her children are no longer involved in sports, Melanie has rediscovered that she does have a life. When she gets some downtime, she likes to read; she's also confessed to watching reality TV.

No one is indispensable, but in our office, Melanie comes close. Robert says that's because she specializes in making him look good.

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Do you have enough money?  Create a Financial Plan for a life worth living.

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