Life insurance industry growth is similar to patterns seen in the telephone business 20 years ago — everyone has a phone, profits are relatively flat and companies are scrambling to find new business. Like the telephone industry’s foray into new services and features like call waiting, call display and voicemail — all made possible by […]
Top of the Table and Million Dollar Round Table insurance advisors are not general practitioners, and specialists don’t necessarily know more about the industry than others — they are simply more focused and professional. That’s according to Empire Financial Group’s Peter Wouters, who spoke earlier this week at the IFB Spring Summit in Toronto. During […]
If you had difficulty getting through tax season this year, more so than usual, you’re not alone. And some experts say extending the filing deadline could be the answer. Evelyn Jacks, author and president of the Knowledge Bureau, says given the proliferation of trust structures in the investment universe, the federal government should consider extending […]
Three-and-a-half years after it was closed to new investors, Franklin Templeton Investments has announced it will re-open its flagship Bissett Income Fund, effective immediately. First introduced in June 1996, the fund was capped in November 2002. However, since then, the income trust market has matured and broadened out significantly; investments have longer and more reliable […]
The group of voices calling on Canadian investors to diversify their assets is getting louder and more insistent. Good planners already know the value of diversification and have more than likely recognized the risks of continuing to ride the Canadian performance wave, but some clients might need a good argument or two to shake the […]
Although not as strong as last year, April was another solid month for the fund industry, with net sales coming in at $537 million, according to IFIC. Overall, Canadian investors and their advisors cashed in their money market funds, opting instead to invest in the top-selling Canadian income balanced and Canadian dividend fund categories. The […]
Labour-sponsored funds are certainly not the most attractive investments these days, with languishing returns and the removal of their preferential tax treatment in Ontario, but industry watchers say there are better days ahead for the asset class. At times in the past, labour funds were the rage among investors for their attractive tax benefits, designed […]
The debate over the rules that govern bank involvement in life insurance sales got a fresh infusion of rhetoric on Tuesday from Ray Protti, president of the Canadian Bankers Association. Although Protti covered little new ground in his speech to the National Press Club of Canada and the Economic Club in Ottawa, his comments and […]
Charities and tax experts alike are excited by the new opportunities made available by changes announced in the federal budget. The move to completely eliminate capital gains tax on donations of publicly listed securities to charity — an area where many advisors still fear to tread with their clients — has launched charitable giving directly […]
The most recent group to release an alternative federal budget for consideration in the run up to the real thing next Tuesday is unlikely to garner much support from the business and advisor communities. As well as arguing against expected tax cuts from Ottawa, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives says some past tax-related benefits, […]