August 2025 Poll

A public consultation on whether the CDIC’s deposit insurance limit should be raised to $150,000 per deposit category is underway.  Do you agree?

After three years of engaging in online meetings, it remains surprisingly common to witness certain advisors who demonstrate a lack of familiarity with virtual settings. In order to avoid appearing unprofessional, it is essential to steer clear of certain faux pas that can easily be avoided.

In May we asked tax and financial professionals to weigh in on the following question: “Do you think that the government should subsidize tax return filing fees so people can get more accurate results and benefits for free?” The verdict is in and 60% of tax and financial advisors who participated answered “no”.  They share why in their insightful comments and offer alternative solutions that recognize it’s a system that requires reformation to help more low-income and vulnerable Canadians access their benefits.

The 2023 Distinguished Advisor Conference (DAC Acuity) takes place November 12 to 14 at the beautiful Banff Springs Hotel. It is going to be an outstanding industry event for several reasons: the incredible education from Canada’s top thought leaders in the tax, accounting and financial services, as well as our 20th Anniversary celebrations!  We invite you to experience all that this year’s event has to offer by visiting the new interactive agenda where you can enrol there for events, travel, hotel and sign up by June 30 for early bird tuition reductions.  Hurry - reserve the incredibly low hotel rates (rooms will sell out fast):

As we all enjoy family weddings and graduations, nurturing beautiful flowers and sharing long evenings admiring Canada’s summer splendor, there are important tax filing and planning milestones to observe, despite these compelling distractions.  Make sure the Knowledge Bureau’s Summer Time Financial Checklist below is covered off before hitting the beach, or your favorite links, over the next 8 weeks.  Plus check out the KB Glossary of Tax Terms and Acronyms to discuss with newcomers and new clients to increase their tax and financial literacy:

The last thing that may be on the minds of prospective First Home Savings Account holders is a withdrawal, considering how new the plan is.  Available since April 1, 2023, many advisors and clients are just now gearing up to engage clients in the significant opportunity for first home savings.   However, it’s important to look at every investment holistically, and that means understanding the tax consequences going in and coming out of the FHSA.

Pension plans, RRSPs, estate plans and IPPs are one side of retirement.  These are common, but what about a retiree’s quality of life? Research shows over 80 per cent of today’s boomers do not have any sort of retirement coach or mentor and many are looking to their advisor to provide leadership in that area.  As a coach, an advisor has the power to help clients be as successful as possible in life after work.