Category: Family CFO
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Seven Blind Spots your Private Foundation May Have
Our family office provides management & administrative services to private foundations. Over the years, we’ve realized many private foundations take certain responsibilities for granted. So, when an “unexpected” event occurs (like a CRA audit, death of a board member, change of tax rules) these private foundations scramble to adjust. The result is stress to the…
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5 Challenges Inheritors Face (and how to overcome them)
When working class entrepreneurs become wealthy, they bring a perspective about wealth much different from those who inherit it. Wealthy inheritors face unique challenges that require distinct approaches to wealth management. This post describes 5 challenges wealthy inheritors face and how to overcome them: Financial Awareness Lifestyle Management Stewardship Self Esteem Trust in Relationships Financial…
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Keeping your Holding Company in good standing
Managing a holding company (“holdco”) successfully includes keeping accurate records and performing administrative tasks. Missing some details might mean your holdco fails to comply with tax laws. But also, failure to administer your holdco properly could mean you waste time in the future cleaning up messes or wasting time searching for information. This post describes…
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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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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…