Author: Markdale
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Foreign Currency Cost Base Reporting
Unsurprisingly, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) demands taxes be paid in Canadian dollars. This is simple enough when you earn income in Canada, since you were likely paid in Canadian dollars anyway. Your Canadian based investments are also likely quoted in Canadian dollars, which makes reporting your investment income based in Canada simple as well.…
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Your Wealth Management Process
The wealth management industry has become increasingly sophisticated when selling us financial services. They come up with “holistic solutions” to our financial “problems” and tap into our emotions in an effort convince us to pay them. The truth is, like most important things in life, there is no “quick fix” to managing our finances and…
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Do you need a family office?
Essentially, a family office is like your personal CFO. A family office does all the tasks that your accountant, your investment advisors, your lawyer, and your bankers won’t do. My clients tell me I’m like their Consigliere. A consigliere is a close, trusted advisor and confidant, or a kind of “right hand man”. I jokingly…
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Making Impact Investments
Impact investing seeks to achieve certain social and environmental goals as the primary reason for making an investment. Impact investors oftentimes sacrifice economic profit and liquidity in favour of achieving the investment’s non-economic goals. This post describes what impact investing is and the choices impact investors face. Impact Over Profit? We can think of impact…
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Getting the Best from Your Accountants
Accountants can be valuable members of your financial team, but wealthy investors often get frustrated by their accountants or don’t use them to their full potential. This post offers some ideas about how to work with your accountants so they can become more valuable to your financial life. Accountants are Busy The first thing to…
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5 Threats Wealthy Investors Face and How to Overcome Them
Wealthy investors have many of the same fears as everyone else, the stakes are just higher when you’re rich. This post describes five common threats wealthy investors face and how to combat them. Cybersecurity We live in a world of many passwords and we share information with our professional advisors and bankers through e-mail and…
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Updating your Will & Estate Plans
Everyone should have an up to date will & estate plan. If your estate is simple, its easy to write a basic holograph will or consult with a neighbourhood lawyer. But when you’re wealthy its important to ensure your estate plan considers a complex set of tax rules and supports generational wealth transfer. This post…
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Succession Planning for Family Foundations
This post will describe some key governance and documentation strategies to consider when planning for the succession of your Canadian private charitable foundation.
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Private Foundation Governance
Private foundation governance is an important topic for families with multi-generational wealth. This post describes what a private foundation is and how responsibility can be transitioned to next generation family members. Legal Definitions Private foundations can issue tax receipts for donations, make gifts to other registered charities, and manage an investment portfolio. Private foundations are…
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What a Family Office Does
Your family office is your most trusted advisor and who you rely on the most to provide you and your family with financial peace of mind.