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Retirement Saving Tips for Self-Employed Canadians

Retirement Saving Tips for Self-Employed Canadians

There are many ways of describing a self-employed individual, including gig worker, freelancer, and contract worker; even if you are working for an employer but own an income-generating side hustle, you still fall within the “self-employed” category.

If you are self-employed in Canada, or are thinking of becoming self-employed, saving for retirement is a do-it-yourself job—here are some retirement saving tips that your future will thank you for.

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Financial Planner vs. Financial Advisor: Know the Difference

writing in a suit

There may come a point in your financial journey when you’d like to seek professional input, advice or counselling to manage your and/or your family’s present and future wealth. The sooner you have a financial plan, the greater the likelihood you will succeed in reaching your long-term financial objectives.

As you search for the financial guidance you need, you will find dozens upon dozens of titles used by finance professionals, including “stock broker,” “registered representative,” “wealth planner,” “tax planner,” “accountant,” “estate planner,” “private banker,” and on and on, all vying for your business.

Many of these titles are very service-specific; however, for some like Financial “Planners” and Financial “Advisors,” the titles are not very helpful in clearly discerning the services provided. In this article we will help you understand the differences.

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What is a Family Office and Should I Consider Using One?

Family offices are by no means a recent phenomenon. The concept of a family office approach to managing wealth can be traced back to monarchs appointing stewards to manage royal wealth.

This type of wealth administration service later filtered down to the upper nobility, creating the enduring concept of engaging highly competent and experienced professionals to manage, preserve and build wealth and expand legacy—akin to today’s family offices.

In this article, we discuss family offices with particular focus on the difference between a family office and a traditional wealth or investment management firm, and outline two considerations that may help you decide whether a family office approach to managing your, your family’s and/or multigenerational wealth is for you.

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Fear of Missing Out: Investment Herd Mentality

In many ways, human beings are herd animals. In judgement and in opinion-forming, we tend to conform to the norm—as defined by the herd around us. But as an individual investor you need to be wary of the dangers of investment herd mentality and not let it influence your investment strategy: what is herd mentality, how can you identify it, and how can you avoid it?

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Wealth Manager or Private Banker—Which Should You Use?

With increasing wealth comes increasing responsibility, whether you want that responsibility or not. You may have accumulated wealth over many years of hard work or inherited much of your wealth. Either way, it is crucial to set a strategy in place to not only preserve that wealth for tomorrow, but to be able to enjoy it today, while leaving some for financial succession if desired.

Private Bankers and Wealth Management firms are both eager to help you with this responsibility, providing a one-stop shop for all your financial needs. However, the choices and execution are substantially different. Which is best for you and which should you use?

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