You’ve made your money and now you want to protect it. But, more than that, you want to have some capital available for when those lucrative investment opportunities present themselves.
This is where Canada’s most misunderstood asset class can help, explains Chris Karram, Founder and Managing Partner of Safebridge Private Wealth.
“An asset class like life insurance can be an extremely effective part of your portfolio,” says Chris. “Taking any preconceived notions of life insurance out of the picture, it offers tremendous benefits to our clients.”
When looking at life insurance as part of your portfolio, you must consider that the product has a track record of consistency: it has been paying dividends for 147 years in Canada. It can also earn five to seven percent in interest, tax-free.
Chris says its more important than ever to have funds available for future use as the economy recovers from Covid. Having capital tied up in investments that are not easily accessible will prevent you from acting when opportunities to earn more arise.
“The whole premise of protecting your wealth is protecting capital,” says Chris, who has two decades experience in the finance sector. “Making sure that your capital doesn’t get attacked by market volatility or tax loss. Also making sure that capital is still liquid, so when opportunities do present themselves, you can take advantage of them.”
Knowledge is key
Chris explains that many people put their extra funds in a Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA). However, while TFSAs are good options – and we all understand them because the government has done a great job of explaining them – he says there are drawbacks.
“A life insurance policy has been compared to providing the same benefits as a TFSA, but without the annual contribution limits,” he says. “Your money can grow tax free, be accessed tax free, but is not limited to the $6,000 annual contribution limit. A well-designed policy can even be funded using personal or corporate tax dollars – or both.”
Which is why those who are establishing, or have already established, their wealth need experts like Safebridge Private Wealth to find better options. And one of the ways is by designing and implementing the right strategies, such as making life insurance a financial vehicle to help grow and protect your wealth.
This is a singular example of SafeBridge Private Wealth’s “build, protect, multiply” approach, which considers all aspects of acquiring and maintaining family wealth.
“We do that in a number of ways,” says Chris. “Including through well-planned life insurance strategies and through our private investment council relationships. Our mandate is to preserve capital to minimize the downside, but still maximize the upside at every turn.”
TEXT CHRIS OCCHIUZZI | PHOTOS ANDREW FEARMAN