Category Archives: Blog

Permanent life insurance, such as Whole Life or Universal Life, has long been accepted as a tax efficient way of accumulating cash for future needs. Soon the amount of funds that can be tax sheltered within a life insurance policy will be reduced by new tax rules which take effect January 1, 2017. These changes […]

The majority of Canadians work hard to accumulate a retirement fund and many are averse to exposing savings to unnecessary market risk after they retire. In today’s prolonged low interest rate environment, immediate annuities are often dismissed or overlooked as a viable vehicle for providing retirement income. Perhaps they shouldn’t be. An annuity is an […]

The Cascading Life Insurance Strategy If you are a grandparent wishing to provide an asset for your grandchildren without compromising your own financial security you may want to consider an estate planning application known as cascading life insurance. How does the Cascading Life Insurance Strategy work? • The grandparent would purchase an insurance policy on […]

Transferring a Life Insurance Policy to a Corporation (“UPDATE” This Strategy was good until it has been banned by CRA in the 2016 budget) The Corporate Extraction Strategy involves transferring a personally owned life insurance policy to a corporation for its fair market value (FMV). When handled properly, it could result in withdrawing capital from […]

A will ensures your heirs get exactly what you want them to, but a trust can simplify the process of transferring these assets to your heirs. The main difference between the two is that a trust lets you transfer assets to beneficiaries while you’re still alive, and a will transfers your assets when you die. […]

How do you motivate people? What’s the biggest motivator? Progress. Via The Progress Principle: Using Small Wins to Ignite Joy, Engagement, and Creativity at Work: Of all the positive events that influence inner work life, the single most powerful is progress in meaningful work; of all the negative events, the single most powerful is the […]

If you are a dual citizen looking to give up your US passport, the tax implications of being an expatriate are a complicated minefield to navigate. The reality is not all US expatriates need to worry, only those considered to be “Covered Expatriates”, under the Internal Revenue Code rules. These people must take careful consideration […]

The marginal tax rate in Quebec will edge up for those earning $100,000 or more a year. The highest marginal rate in Quebec for 2012 was 48.22 per cent and now the highest marginal rate in Quebec as of Jan. 1 is going to increase to 49.97 per cent. Higher-income earners will be hit even […]

I am just back from the MDRT Million Dollar Round Table annual meeting taking place this year in the Anaheim California convention center, where I had the chance to meet with the top people in the financial industry from all over the world and I am thrilled to share with you some of the highlights […]