Sustainable Intergenerational Community Wealth Building With Real Wealth Management™

Kristin Ramlal, B. Comm (Hons.), PFP, CIM, FCSI, RWM, MFA-P

As we honour National Indigenous Peoples Day on June 21, we celebrate the cultural strength and resilience of Indigenous communities—and recognize the transformative economic moment that is before us – to shift focus from individual to community-wide wealth strategies that support our Indigenous people in building sustainable, intergenerational community wealth.  With settlement payments now flowing, Indigenous Nations have a powerful opportunity to transform these funds into lasting community wellbeing. Financial professionals can meet this moment by adopting the Real Wealth Management™ (RWM) model—not just for individuals, but for entire communities.

Real Wealth Management™ goes beyond traditional investing. It’s a holistic process that builds sustainable intergenerational wealth—after taxes, fees, and inflation—through coordinated planning with all personal and professional stakeholders. At the community level, it becomes a powerful tool for Indigenous-led economic transformation and community wellbeing.

A Practical RWM™ Framework for Indigenous Focused Financial Professionals. Financial professionals can support Indigenous Nations by delivering community-focused Real Wealth Management RWM™ strategies that include:

• Collaborative Planning: Unite tax, legal, investment managers, advisors, trustees, leaders, and community members in one integrated financial plan.
• Specialized Knowledge of Indigenous Tax and Benefit Programs: Advisors should understand or collaborate with a financial professional who understands, the unique tax rules, exemptions, and benefits available to those who qualify under the Indian Act. This expertise helps optimize after-tax income and benefits, key to delivering tailored Real Wealth Management™ solutions.
• Supporting Chief and Council Decision-Making: Provide conscious unbiased community centric financial advice and governance support to free up leaders’ time and capacity. This enables them to focus on advancing economic development and community goals with continuity, even through changes in leadership.
• Smart, sustainable, and tax-efficient savings plans: Set up group savings vehicles like non-registered accounts, TFSAs, and RESP, alongside elder pension or retirement income programs and fair retirement compensation arrangements for leadership. These ensure financial stability, leadership succession, and long-term community impact—all while honoring tax efficiency and cultural priorities.
• Financial Empowerment and Literacy: Implement financial literacy programs that build strong foundations and address past and intergenerational money traumas. Empowering communities with practical skills and healing around money fosters confident, sustainable wealth stewardship.
• Minimum Legacy Balance: Support communities in establishing a minimum legacy balance for long-term investment savings, preserving and growing wealth across generations under the Real Wealth Management™ model.

Why should communities work with a Real Wealth Manager RWM™? Today, with many Indigenous Nations receiving long-overdue claim settlement payments, a Real Wealth Management™ approach that is values-based, tax-efficient, and built to last for generations can help.

Through genuine partnership, culturally competent Real Wealth Managers RWM™ can help Indigenous communities build sustainable community wealth that reflects their values, supports holistic wellbeing, and endures for generations. As Elder Dr. Pamela Palmater reminds us, “Sustainable wealth comes from caring for our families, our communities, and the land, so all may thrive now and in the future.”

Real Wealth Management offers a path aligned with Indigenous values—empowering communities to create sustainable intergenerational wealth opportunities and helping close the Indigenous wealth gap.

Why should individuals work with a Real Wealth Manager RWM™? Indigenous clients—especially those recognized under the Indian Act—face unique legal and tax considerations. A culturally competent Real Wealth Manager RWM™ professional can:

• Understand tax-exempt income considerations and ensure it’s invested appropriately
• Avoid unnecessary taxation or benefit clawback
• Accumulate and grow assets in the appropriate savings vehicles
• Build sustainable intergenerational wealth rooted in family, community, and cultural priorities

The Path Forward. This moment is about more than reconciliation—it’s a turning point for economic transformation and sustainable community wealth building.

By partnering with trusted Real Wealth Manager (RWM™) and using strategies that reflect the true, after-tax value of capital, Indigenous communities can achieve:

• Prosperous futures for youth
• Financial dignity for Elders
• Strong, stable leadership
• Self-determined, intergenerational wealth

Settlement dollars are not the end—they are the beginning of a brighter, empowered future. Now is the time to move from restitution to reinvestment.

With the right guidance, every dollar can serve a purpose—today, tomorrow, and for generations to come.