Disclaimer
Everything on this site is education, not advice. The articles, checklists and calculators explain how Canadian money rules work in general. They do not know your income, your debts, your health, your family or your goals, and nothing here should be treated as a recommendation to buy, sell, hold or change any financial product.
No advisory relationship
Reading this site, downloading a sheet or using a calculator does not create a client relationship of any kind. A relationship begins only when you book a financial review, speak with a licensed professional, and that professional confirms it in writing.
Before acting on anything you read here, speak to someone who can see your full situation. Depending on the question, that may be a licensed insurance professional, an accountant, a lawyer or a licensed investment representative.
What the calculators are
The calculators are illustrations. They take the figures you type and apply a stated formula. They are useful for understanding the shape of a decision and they are not a projection of what will happen to you.
- Where a tool has to assume something it cannot know, such as a rate of return or a future interest rate, the assumption is stated on screen and the result is labelled illustrative.
- Results are rounded and do not account for tax, fees, inflation, changes in your circumstances, or the specific terms of any product you hold.
- No calculator on this site tells you what to buy. Investment content explains how accounts work. It never gives a verdict on a security, a fund or a product.
Accuracy of figures
Government figures used on this site, such as contribution limits and benefit amounts, are read directly from the relevant government page, dated, and recorded in a single source file. They are correct as at the date shown beside them.
These figures change. Contribution limits are set annually. Old Age Security and the Guaranteed Income Supplement are indexed quarterly. A page that was accurate when published can be out of date within months, which is why any page carrying such a figure states the period it belongs to. Always confirm a current limit with the Canada Revenue Agency or Service Canada, and confirm your own contribution room in CRA My Account, because your room depends on your pension adjustment and any amount carried forward.
Licensing
Financial reviews offered through this site are conducted by a team of licensed life and health insurance professionals. Insurance is regulated province by province in Canada. Each member of the team holds a licence in the province where the client lives, issued by that province's regulator, such as the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario, the Autorité des marchés financiers in Quebec, the Insurance Council of British Columbia, or the Alberta Insurance Council.
If no one on the team is licensed in your province, you will be told so rather than served.
Titles
Several provinces restrict the titles Financial Advisor and Financial Planner to people holding a credential approved by the provincial regulator. Ontario does this under the Financial Professionals Title Protection Act. No one representing this site uses either title, and no page on this site should be read as claiming either credential. The team members are licensed life and health insurance agents.
How the team is paid
A financial review is free and carries no obligation to buy anything.
When a client chooses to place an insurance policy, the insurer pays a commission to the agent, through a managing general agency. Multiple insurance carriers are represented, so the recommendation is not limited to one company's products. This is the standard compensation model for insurance in Canada, and it is disclosed here because you are entitled to know how the person across the table is paid before you take their recommendation.
Any material conflict of interest will be disclosed to you before a recommendation is made. You may ask at any point in a review how a particular recommendation is compensated, and you will get a straight answer.
No guarantees
Nothing on this site guarantees a result. Past performance of any investment or strategy does not predict future performance. Insurance products pay out only according to the terms of the contract issued by the insurer, including its exclusions and waiting periods. Read the policy.
Tax and legal matters
Content touching on tax, wills, powers of attorney, probate, estates or common law status is general information about how the rules work. It is not tax advice and it is not legal advice. Rules differ between provinces and change over time. Speak to an accountant or a lawyer licensed in your province.
Third party links
This site links to government pages and other external resources for verification. Those sites are not controlled by us and we are not responsible for their content, accuracy or privacy practices.
Questions
Questions about anything on this page can be sent to [email protected].