Beyond Investment Returns

Tax Minimization - Whether it’s savings for education and retirement, strategically taking income from various sources, legacy and estate planning, or corporate tax planning, doing the right things to limit your tax burden can add tremendous value beyond investment selection.  Simply distributing your investments strategically across account types in a tax-effective manner can have significant net impact on long-term wealth creation.  

Risk Mitigation - We can help you understand and manage non-investment risks, such as the financial impact of significant or catastrophic events (i.e. death, illness, disability).  We`ll help you identify risk in the context of your financial plan, and find potential solutions to mitigate these risks with appropriate balance against cost. 

Consolidation- By combining your assets from multiple investment firms into a single platform, we can often reduce your overall cost, simplify your finances, and potentially open up new investment opportunities.  

Keeping You on Track- We encourage clients to save with calculated ongoing contributions, and we help to keep them disciplined.  This will limit the chance of making one of the worst and most common investment mistakes – trading based on your emotions

While disability insurance should be in place to provide for loss of income, and life insurance should be in place in case the condition proves fatal, there is a gap which Critical Illness is designed to fill.

Often, the onset of a “critical illness” leads to added expenses, especially medical expenses. While we are blessed with a great social health care plan, it often turns out that wait times for treatments, or the availability of alternative treatments outside of Canada, lead one to seek medical care in the U.S. or abroad. This can be expensive and often the cost is prohibitive. Critical Illness coverage can provide the cash needed to pursue those options outside of OHIP and could make a life-saving difference.

Most employers (but not all) provide some level of coverage. Unfortunately, most people aren’t aware of the levels of coverage they own, or the terms and conditions that are part of that coverage. For most Canadians, especially those with incomes above the average, the level of coverage provided by employers is far from adequate to maintain a similar standard of living during a period of prolonged disability. Of course, if your employer does not offer disability insurance, or you are self-employed, this is a matter you must take into your own hands.

Our service in this area begins by developing a thorough understanding of the existing coverage you have (if any), and then finding you the most appropriate coverage for you unique situation, whether that be topping up existing insurance, or providing base level coverage from the first dollar. We work with top providers of disability insurance in Canada to ensure that you get the best plans at the best price.

The disability insurance area can be complex with many benefits and features to choose from and different types of plans offering more or less in the way of benefits and exclusions. We have a deep background in disability insurance and can provide you with a high degree of understanding in the different products and features available to you, and help you decide what’s truly best for you.

PROTECTING LOVED ONES

If you are a breadwinner in a family, the need for life insurance becomes apparent. In the event that a breadwinner dies, often the ongoing cost of living for the surviving family members is not sustainable. Life insurance proceeds can solve this problem, providing cash to pay down mortgage and other debts, educate children and supplement income needs during the “dependent” years. In most cases, term insurance is the appropriate solution with low costs and terms that are typically either 10 years or 20 years to allow for the best coverage of the years in which the risk will exist. 

LEAVING A LEGACY

Increasing wealth to create a lasting legacy is usually an idea that becomes important in the years following the raising of a family and accumulating assets for a comfortable retirement. When it becomes apparent that your assets will outlive you, most begin to wonder how tax planning can ensure that a larger estate is created, and look for other ideas to create a legacy for children, grandchildren, and the causes they hold most dear. Once again, life insurance can play a valuable role here, this time in the form of permanent insurance, which is designed to remain in force for the duration of one’s life at premiums that are predictable and sustainable. Permanent insurance creates an instant estate, and most importantly receives preferential tax treatment in Canada, making it an extremely attractive investment strategy when it comes to legacy creation. 

PLANNING BASED SOLUTIONS 

In the context of your financial plan, we will examine all of the ways that insurance can and should be used in your unique situation, and ensure that you are presented with the best solutions at each stage of your life, and more importantly, that consideration is given to integrating these solutions to seamlessly move from one stage to the next without the need to revisit (and requalify for) the appropriate life insurance solution at multiple times.

If you would like to find out more about how life insurance might play a role in your financial future, please contact us for a no obligation appointment at your convenience.

Through Manulife we are able to offer travel insurance to cover off any need:

• Travelling out of province
• A visitor to Canada
• A student studying abroad or out of province
• An international student studying in Canada

      Manulife Financial Travel Insurance