Build an investment plan around your goals, time horizon, tax accounts and comfort with risk — then choose investment solutions that fit the plan.
Someone saving for a home in three years shouldn't necessarily invest the same way as someone building retirement wealth over the next 25 years.
The goal, timeline, tax structure and amount of market volatility you can realistically tolerate should shape the investment plan.
The investment product comes after that.
Investment planning is the process of connecting your money to specific financial goals and then deciding which accounts, contribution strategy and investment solutions may help support them.
It can include decisions around TFSA, RRSP, FHSA, RESP, retirement income, non-registered savings and investments held by an incorporated business.
One family may be saving for retirement, a first home and a child's education at the same time. Those dollars do not necessarily belong in the same place.
Build long-term wealth and coordinate how TFSA, RRSP and other savings can eventually create income.
Coordinate FHSA and other savings while respecting a shorter and more important withdrawal date.
Use an RESP to combine family contributions, available government incentives and a suitable investment timeline.
Build accessible wealth for goals that may change long before retirement arrives.
A TFSA, RRSP, FHSA and RESP can all hold investments, but they were created for different planning purposes and have different contribution and tax rules.
The right account depends on your income, financial goal, timeline and when you may need access to the money.
Start with what the account is designed to help you accomplish.
Contributions are not deductible, but qualifying income and withdrawals are generally tax-free.
Deductible contributions can reduce taxable income, while withdrawals are generally taxable.
Designed for eligible first-time home buyers, combining deductible contributions with qualifying tax-free withdrawals.
Designed for post-secondary education and can provide access to eligible government education incentives.
Investment risk isn't only a questionnaire score. It also depends on your timeline, financial capacity to absorb losses and how you are likely to react during volatility.
Someone decades from retirement may have more time to recover from volatility than someone buying a home next year.
Emergency savings, income stability and other assets affect how much investment risk your financial plan can carry.
A portfolio that causes you to abandon the plan during every market correction may contain more risk than you can comfortably live with.
Segregated funds are investment contracts issued by life insurance companies.
Like other market-based investments, their value can rise or fall. What makes them different is that the insurance contract may include features such as maturity guarantees, death-benefit guarantees and beneficiary designations.
Those features can make segregated funds useful for certain clients — but they are not automatically the right investment simply because guarantees are available.
An RESP can help families save for post-secondary education and may qualify for government education incentives.
But the investment strategy should change as the beneficiary gets closer to needing the money.
The objective at age two may be growth. The objective at age seventeen may be protecting money that will soon pay tuition.
Building retirement wealth is only the first half of retirement planning.
Eventually TFSA, RRSP, RRIF and other assets need to work together to support spending while managing taxes and investment risk.
An incorporated business may eventually accumulate capital beyond what it needs for payroll, taxes, debt and near-term opportunities.
Long-term surplus may then become part of a broader corporate investment plan.
Corporate taxation can be more complex than personal investing, so investment decisions should be coordinated with the client's accountant and other appropriate professionals.
Separate the money the business may need from the capital that genuinely has a longer time horizon.
Career changes, children, home purchases, businesses and retirement can all change what your money needs to do.
Give each financial goal a timeline and purpose.
Choose appropriate account types and investment solutions.
Build a contribution strategy your cash flow can sustain.
Revisit the plan when your goals, timeline or circumstances change.
We start by understanding what you're trying to accomplish, when you'll need the money and how the investment fits alongside the rest of your financial life.
From there, we can help you understand appropriate account structures and insurance-based investment solutions available within the scope of the services we provide.
Where tax, legal or other specialized professional advice is required, we believe the better plan is one that works alongside those professionals rather than pretending one advisor should do everything.
The account, investment product and financial goal are related — but they aren't the same decision.
Investments involve risk and values can fluctuate. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investment products, fees, guarantees, taxation and availability vary by product and provider. Any investment recommendation should consider the individual's objectives, time horizon, financial circumstances and risk tolerance. Segregated funds are individual variable insurance contracts issued by life insurance companies and are subject to the terms, guarantees, fees and conditions of the applicable contract. Tax information on this page is general in nature and should not be considered tax or legal advice.
Tell us what you're saving for, how long you have and what accounts you already use. We'll help you organize the investment planning decisions around your goals.
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