Ryan Gennaro, CIM

Do you ever find yourself asking questions like, how can I manage my family's higher tax burden and lower our taxes? How can I reduce the financial risks facing my family? How can I maximize my after-tax retirement income? How can I leave a greater legacy to my family and charity? If you're asking questions like these, you may have reached a stage in life where your financial affairs have become more complex.

That's where wealth management can help. So, what is wealth management? Wealth management is a term often used synonymously with investment management. But it's actually much more than that. Wealth management goes beyond investment management to look at your overall financial situation. It brings together the different areas of expertise and solutions you need in a single overall wealth plan.

This includes investing, financial planning, tax minimization strategies, retirement planning, business succession planning, wealth protection strategies, and estate planning. Essentially, wealth management looks at everything you need to address your various financial concerns at each stage of your life, from building your wealth for future goals like retirement to converting your wealth into a tax-efficient retirement income to transferring your wealth to the next generation.

One of the most important benefits of wealth management is that it's a coordinated approach. That means that you have one key advisor who links in experts from other areas. For example, RBC wealth advisors each specialize in different areas, such as investment management, financial planning, or private banking. But they work together to make sure their clients have the benefits of all of these different areas of expertise.

And at RBC, each of our wealth advisors also has the support of the RBC wealth management services team. The RBC wealth management services team has over 200 tax, legal, and financial experts all focused on helping RBC advisors manage their clients' wealth.

So what is wealth management? Ultimately, wealth management is really all about helping you make sense of the greater financial complexity you face and giving you greater confidence in your financial future. If you would like to learn more about how you can benefit from wealth management, I invite you to contact your RBC wealth management advisor.

These days it can seem like there's a tax on everything and with Canada's progressive tax system the more income you earn the higher your tax rate.

If you face a high tax burden, you'll be interested in how you can reduce it or at least manage it.

One way is with insurance.

Most people think of insurance for their home, their Auto and life.

But did you know that life insurance can help cover the taxes due when your estate is settled?

What's more there are Insurance based investment strategies that can provide tax free income during your retirement and tax-free benefits to the beneficiaries of your Estate.

Another way is with family income splitting.

Family income splitting involves transferring investment income that would otherwise be taxed at your higher tax rate to family members who are taxed at lower rates.

Here are two additional ways to split income with your family.

One, a family trust which enables you to provide funds for your children or grandchildren’s needs while reducing taxes.

Two, a spousal loan strategy which enables your lower income spouse to earn investment income at their lower tax rate.

Here's some other ways to reduce tax.

If you have an RRSP contribute as much as you can to maximize the tax deferred growth over time.

Also take advantage of the tax free savings account if you haven't done so already to earn tax-free investment income.

Next look at your non-registered savings and how the different types of investments are taxed.

Capital gains and dividends from Canadian corporations received preferential tax treatment while interest income from GICs or bonds is fully taxable at your marginal rate.

Here's a tip - put more of your interest-bearing investments in your registered accounts like your RRSP where they are sheltered from taxes, then put more of your taxed advantage dividend-paying investments into your non registered accounts.

And here's one more tip.

Always make sure you speak with a qualified professional tax advisor to get the right tax advice for you.