Financial Planning Archives

Invest tax-efficiently with flow-through shares

Tax Planning

An important part of my job is to help investors invest tax-efficiently. If tax-efficient investing is of interest to you, you may want to consider an investment in "flow-through shares."

Flow-through shares are issued by exploration or mining companies specifically to finance exploration activities such as ground sampling, geophysics and drilling. Often such companies have little or no current income from which to deduct such expenses, and little tax payable from which to deduct associated tax credits. However, the Income Tax Act permits them to "flow" these deductions and credits through to investors. Usually, the entire investment is deductible in the year of investment, resulting in a zero adjusted cost base. Taxpayers can use these to reduce tax liabilities, however, they are most effective for taxpayers in the highest marginal tax bracket.

Often investors invest in flow-through shares through "flow-through limited partnerships." These provide a certain degree of diversification, as the limited partners pool their capital to invest in a portfolio of various flow-through issues. They also provide the expertise of an experienced general partner, who selects and manages the portfolio. The deductions and tax credits flowed through to the partnership are subsequently allocated among the partners.

Even if a security is flow-through, it is not necessarily a suitable investment. Many flow-through investment opportunities are on the market today. Contact a professional investment advisor, who is experienced in flow-through investments, to help you select an appropriate investment for your portfolio.

Daniel Saikaley, CA CFP EPC
Investment Advisor
CIBC Wood Gundy
E-mail: daniel.saikaley@cibc.ca.
Website: www.danielsaikaley.com.

Tax & Estate Planning: Strategies

Estate planning is the process of developing and maintaining a plan that will preserve your accumulated wealth and ensure an effective and beneficial distribution of your assets to your heirs. Whether your goals are to ensure your dependents are financially secure or to implement effective tax-planning strategies, every estate plan is unique. Throughout the process of developing an estate plan, you should be working with a team of professional advisors, specialized in the areas specific to your needs.

When it comes to estate planning, strategies to achieve your goals range from simple to complex. Overall, estate planning objectives may be grouped under four key headings: financial objectives; provision for family; plans for disposition of an estate; and philanthropy.

Before you begin, you need to decide what you wish to accomplish. Some strategies that you may wish to consider include: designating beneficiaries; registering property jointly, and establishing trusts. While estate planning is a significant commitment, you can rest assured that you have a plan in place. A professional Investment Advisor can assist you in developing strategies that will properly reflect your situation.

Determine Your Objectives
Depending on where you are in your life cycle, the estate planning process will mean something different to each of you. You may be at the stage when planning your retirement is your most important financial objective, or you may want to focus on providing for the needs of your family. Generally, estate planning objectives can be defined in many different ways.

Let's review the four key objective categories, as follows:

Financial objectives
Many times, the financial obligations of your estate are overlooked. If you want to ensure that your estate is distributed according to your wishes you'll need to ensure you've made adequate provisions in your planning. Have you taken steps to ensure that your plans include tax-effective strategies? Further, do you have enough liquid assets to cover your potential tax liability?

Provision for your family
Providing for your spouse and dependents is often the motivation for undertaking estate planning. Not only do you need to consider provisions for joint death in your planning, you also need to appoint a guardian for your children. Do your plans ensure that your family will be able to maintain their current lifestyle should something happen to you?

Plans for disposition of your estate
Considering how to bequeath your assets is also an important part of establishing your estate plan. Trusts are quickly gaining popularity as a way to ensure family members are provided for. Have you listed your family heirlooms and personal property for giving to specific individuals?

Philanthropy
Charitable giving plays an important part in many estate plans. Canadians give generously to charitable organizations. The recent changes by the Canada Revenue Agency are making charitable giving easier for many Canadians. Would you like to make provisions to support your favourite charity?

You need to decide what you wish to accomplish: minimize and defer taxes; provide adequate liquidity in your estate to provide for taxes; bequeath your property and holdings either intact or in cash. The estate planning objectives and subsequent strategies available to meet your goals vary from the simple to the complex. A professional Investment Advisor can assist you in developing a plan to best suit your personal situation.

Daniel Saikaley, CA CFP EPC
Investment Advisor
CIBC Wood Gundy
E-mail: daniel.saikaley@cibc.ca.
Website: www.danielsaikaley.com.

RRSP Checklist

Financial Planning: Your RRSP Checklist

The following is a handy last-minute checklist of things to remember during RRSP season.

Find Out How Much Contribution Room You Have
One quick way to find out is to look at your Notice of Assessment received from the Canada Revenue Agency last year. Pay particular attention to any RRSP contribution room you may have from previous years. Obviously, you'll want to tackle unused contribution room now if you can; with an estimated $176-billion in unused contribution room outstanding, I expect many of us have unused contribution room.

Explore Your Contribution Options
There are many different ways to structure your contribution. When making your contribution this year, think about how you're making it. Whatever you decide, the trick is to think about how you'll be making your contribution ahead of time so as not to make it an undue strain on your February finances.

Take Advantage of Foreign Content
Every RRSP investor should review the foreign content in his or her RRSP portfolio. If you haven't yet brought your foreign content up to the maximum limit, you may want to consider an increase. Other considerations include incorporating the 100 percent RRSP eligible foreign mutual funds into your RRSP, which allow investors to go beyond the foreign content restriction imposed by Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). If you are unfamiliar with these funds, I would be happy to speak to you about these opportunities for your registered plans.

Don't "Park" Your Money
Speaking of last-minute contributions, waiting until late February to contribute can often mean waiting even longer to decide where to put that contribution. While late is better than never, once you've made the deadline, don't let your money sit around. If you don't have a specific investment in mind when you contribute, don't worry – there are plenty of short-term investments available. But, make a commitment to find a place for your money as soon as you can. In real life, there is no such thing as “Free Parking”. The growth you stand to lose by keeping your contribution in cash can be quite significant.

Think About Withdrawals
If you're nearing retirement, you'll want to think about how to time your RRSP withdrawals. For those turning 69 this year, you need to choose a maturity option for your RRSP before December 31. In most cases this will be a RRIF. For those planning on withdrawing money before age 69, think about when to withdraw it. RRSP withdrawals must be included on the current year's taxable income. When you take money out can make a big difference to the overall tax you pay.

Have a Plan for Your Refund
When your refund comes in May or June, incorporate it into your financial plan. That may mean contributing to your RRSP, subject to your overall limit, but it doesn't have to. Refunds are great for paying down credit card debt, lump-sum mortgage payments, making other investments, or accomplishing some other financial goal.

Get Some Help!
The most important tip I can give. Your RRSP is one of the fundamental pillars of your overall financial plan; as such, it deserves professional attention. Your Investment Advisor is someone you should trust, and preferably one skilled in constructing retirement plans. Consult with him or her when making your contribution. When it comes to retirement a little professional help can go a long way.

For a complimentary copy of our Retirement Savings Guide, contact my office.

Daniel Saikaley, CA CFP EPC
Investment Advisor
CIBC Wood Gundy
E-mail: daniel.saikaley@cibc.ca.
Visit my website at www.danielsaikaley.com.