Insights

Complex decisions, explained clearly

Timing, structure, trade-offs — longer reads on the decisions cross-border families actually face, written to be thought through rather than skimmed.

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2026-10-12cross-border fundsproperty saleforeign exchangeemigrant transfer

Whether sale proceeds can be remitted in one transfer depends not only on the amount, but on who owns the property, when it was acquired and what the funds are for. This article sets out what to confirm before applying, the documents involved, and the Canadian tax points.

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2026-09-02

A cross-border decision can involve tax, legal and investment considerations. Alongside specialist advice, it helps to confirm that everyone is working from the same facts, timeline and family goals—and that responsibility for related tasks is clear.

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2026-07-28

Long-term spending estimates are sensitive to the inflation assumption. This article looks at how to check the inflation assumptions in a plan against the way a household actually spends.

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2026-07-17

On the day you stop being a Canadian tax resident, the law treats most of what you own as sold at market value — even though not a dollar has changed hands. How big the departure tax runs, which assets escape it, and which moves only work in advance.

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2026-07-09

Someone has offered you a product — an LP, a structured note, an offshore fund. The materials are thick and everything sounds good. Before you sign, it's worth having someone with nothing to sell you read them in full. Here is the checklist.

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2026-07-09Business OwnersRetirement Planning

Profits sit inside the company, and the RRSP takes barely thirty-odd thousand a year — a limit out of all proportion to an owner's income. The IPP was designed for exactly this position: the older you are, the more it holds. It also has real costs and boundaries.

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2026-07-08Estate PlanningTax

"Canada has no estate tax" — true, and incomplete. What matters is not the name of the tax but its timing: decades of gains settle on one final return, while the family's most valuable assets are often the hardest to sell at that moment. This article covers the mechanics, an illustrative example, and which steps need lead time.

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2026-07-02Product AnalysisPrivate Banking

Structured notes, seg funds, permanent insurance, private equity and credit, liquid alts — five products with different structures, fees and risks. This article explains each and lists the points worth assessing before buying.

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2026-06-24Product AnalysisStructured Notes

An autocallable note's headline coupon is not its expected return: the autocall, the barrier's observation method, and tax together decide the long-run outcome. A walk through the structure, using a verifiable real term sheet.

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2026-06-09Fund FeesInvesting Costs

Fund fees are written in the purchase documents, but they never leave your account as a line item — you can't feel them, yet they happen every year. Starting in 2026, that changes: your annual statement will show a dollar figure for the first time.

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2026-05-19Cross-Border TaxReal Estate

The transfer itself isn't taxed. What decides the outcome is two tax dates — the day you became a Canadian tax resident, and the day the property sells — plus a funds-compliance stage. Each has steps worth arranging in advance.

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2026-04-29Real EstateCanadian Housing

Metro Vancouver's composite benchmark is down about 12% from peak, the Greater Toronto Area about 26%, and "time to buy" is getting louder. Before answering, a more basic question deserves an answer first — is this a price returning to its average, or a valuation being reset?

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