Strategies for Incorporated Professionals and Business Owners
With the legislative changes implemented in 2018, there are fewer opportunities for business owners to plan for strategic success in retirement.
"If you are the smartest person in the room... You are in the wrong room.'' Confucius
To ensure no stone is left unturned when looking into strategies for corporations, we work alongside several industry veterans. One of which is a CPA-CA that has extensive knowledge - amassed over 30 years - in corporate finance and financial planning strategy. Most companies obtain piecemeal advice, from multiple advisors, that rarely integrates properly to achieve their goals. We’ve come across several instances where a business owner was sold a strategy that was just that… A sale. Very little future planning or in-depth analysis went into the suggestion.
What is the most tax efficient way for you to extract cash from your company?
Is your current plan optimized for the Lifetime Capital Gains Exemption?
Are Individual Pension Plans right for your company?
Is your corporation creditor protected?
Do you have a health spending account set up?
When is the optimal time for a corporate estate freeze or what does that even mean?!
We have solutions for all of these questions.
Tax efficiency
The right corporate structure needs to be in place to protect you and your business. We do not implement, but do understand, corporate structure and work with your other professionals (Lawyer, tax accountant) to ensure everything is going in the same direction. We look at using several different strategies, to protect your family and the business, if something were to happen to you prematurely. These strategies can provide tax-sheltered growth, a tax-free benefit to your heirs, accessibility to funds to expand your company and a tax efficient retirement. These are not ‘one fits all’ solutions we customize several different strategies specific to the business owner. Please feel free to contact us.
Buy-Sell Agreements
A very successful local business went into a tumultuous time when one of the three partners was killed in an accident. The remaining partners needed to purchase the shares of the deceased partner. Liquidating assets to do so presented a huge challenge. This could have been covered in the Buy-Sell Agreement with a corporately held life insurance policy.
If you or your business partner(s) died on the way home from work today, what would need to be arranged for the business to carry on? Would you be okay with having their spouse as your newest partner? If one of you were off sick for an extended length of time, how long could your business perform at capacity without that key talent? How would you adapt while they focussed on recovery?
Insurance policies are not just to protect in case of death or catastrophic circumstances. They can also be powerful when utilized in retirement and succession strategies. It's only optimal to invest in an insurance policy when it makes sense for you and your business. If you think this may be an applicable for your business please contact us.
Health Spending accounts
They cost nothing to set up, no annual fees, and plan members can spend the full amount on a wide range of eligible expenses. Sound too good to be true? They are one of the most effective ways to cover medical expenses and use money within your corporation in a tax preferred manner. The company does not need to pre-fund the account so there is no need to have capital tied up. With that said the company would need to have funds available when a claim is submitted. The process, for business owners and employees, has been heavily automated, built into mobile phone apps and become extremely time efficient to utilize. If you would like to have a more in-depth conversation around how this works please contact us. For more information or to sign up please visit HERE
A great article from CBC here on HSA's.
DISCRETIONARY PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT
We have partnered with some of the best in the business to meet varied investment goals. From public markets to private equity we help assure proper diversification through our asset allocation model. Technology has become more commonplace thus we have embraced a very effective way of dealing with client needs. Transparency has long been an issue in the investment industry. What are you really paying for your advice regarding your investments? What are you really paying for the management of your funds by the portfolio manager? Where are all the fees going? How much are those fees? With this platform everything is 100% transparent. Your monthly statement shows these fees deducted in a dollar amount so you KNOW what you are paying for the value you are receiving. For further benefits and explanation of this type of management click here.