Wealth can result from a passive action such as a lottery ticket, an inheritance, a discovery or a gift; but for the vast majority of people it is the result of a journey. Christopher Columbus said that: "You can never cross the ocean unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore”. The … [Read more...]
Tuesday Talks with Brian Etherington: Risk Management-Ancient Origins & Modern Application
The transference or distribution of risk had its origins from Chinese and Babylonian sea traders in the 3rd Millennia BC who would redistribute their cargo across many vessels to mitigate loss from the sinking of any one vessel. 1,000 years later the merchants of Rhodes created the principle of … [Read more...]
Estate Planning: How to keep the cottage in the family
Corporate shares; bond certificates; investment accounts and gold bars are representative of some of the assets created by a lifetime of work; but none carry the collective emotive of the Family cottage. The joyous memories perhaps across multi generations almost always result in … [Read more...]
Philanthropic Giving in Canada Part 5
Example: The Gift that Keeps on Giving Assume you are considering making a charitable gift of $1 million. If you made that gift today, you would receive an income tax credit for this amount and receive a refund of $500,000, leaving a net cost of $500,000. You could also just make a gift today of … [Read more...]
Philanthropic Giving in Canada Part 4
Tax Assistance for Charitable Donation Example: Tax Assistance for Gift of Cash vs. Publicly Traded Securities Cash Publicly Traded Securities Fair Market Value of Donation $1,000,000 $1,000,000 Top Marginal Tax … [Read more...]
Philanthropic Giving in Canada Part 3: How & Choice
To gain any tax benefits, gifts must be directed to one of the 85,000 charitable organizations authorized by CRA to provide tax receipts for donations. Gifts made during the donor's lifetime (inter vivos) are eligible for a tax credit up to 75% of the donor's net income. Any unused excess can be … [Read more...]
Philanthropic Giving in Canada Part 2: What? Immediate or Deferred
If financial planning is the art of wealth accumulation then estate planning is the science of its successful distribution. Planned Giving is where the donor's legacy thinking and objectives meet the tax efficiencies supported by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). CRA's definition of a … [Read more...]
You Can’t Necessarily Protect Yourself from Illness – But You Can Protect Your Finances
We are often asked why our firm is such a proponent of critical illness insurance? And to answer it - we almost always go back to the founder of the product (Dr. Marius Barnard) who had come to the conclusion that advances in science and medicine were enabling people to survive serious illnesses … [Read more...]
A brief history and encouragement
We have all marvelled at the magnificence of baronial manor houses; majestic castles and grand property holdings as we have travelled throughout various parts of the old world. Generally speaking these were all built for the few extraordinarily wealthy on the backs of inexpensive labour by the many … [Read more...]
Trigger Points
As a successful young Canadian professional buying life insurance is never at the top of your "To Do" list. You are busy and focused on moving up that corporate ladder; networking; running your social life and growing your assets. However, there are certain common life events for the young … [Read more...]