Caring for Clients Newsletters 

Caring for Clients produces and posts a quarterly newsletter to keep our clients and potential clients informed about current market conditions, tax tips, recent news and other money related matters.

January 2009

Fourth Quarter, 2008

Happy New Year! We hope that you all enjoyed the holiday season.

We are introducing this newsletter with an overview of the state of the markets. As you know, the past few months have been very difficult for investors. Global equity markets have declined sharply, following wave after wave of negative business and economic news. We would like to provide you with our market commentary, which includes some reasons to stay optimistic during this financial downturn.

Although the year has just begun, many people are already planning their winter getaways to seek out the sun. Before setting off, it may be wise to consider your travel insurance options. If you are a frequent traveler, you may be interested in the Manulife Travel80 Term Travel Insurance*. This product has some very attractive features including a one time application, guaranteed renewable coverage until age 80 even if your health changes, receiving 50% return of premiums if you are claim free for 10 consecutive years and more…

Saving has become a popular theme during this economic downturn and it is always helpful to receive some tax insights when seeking additional savings. For those of you who have children, friends or relatives pursuing a university education our Back-to-School Tax Tips provide you with student-specific tax reduction strategies.

While focusing on savings, it is also important to be aware of how the purchasing power of these savings changes from year to year. In order to get a realistic view of the effects of inflation, check out this Inflation Calculator provided by the Bank of Canada.

We recently received some exciting news regarding Registered Retirement Income Funds (RRIFs). The federal government is allowing Canadians to take advantage of a proposal to reduce the 2008 minimum withdrawal amount from RRIF accounts by 25%. This 25% can now be reinvested in the RRIF account and claimed as an income tax deduction for 2008. More details on this opportunity are provided in the article entitled, Ottawa to proceed with cuts to RRIF withdrawals. We have contacted all clients for whom this applies, but you may know someone who would like to take advantage of this opportunity and we would be happy to speak with them about an appropriate strategy. The deadline for reinvestments is March 1, 2008.

Lastly, we would like to congratulate our client Michael Stern for being selected as the TRIEC 2008 Mentor of the Year. We interviewed Michael to learn more about his accomplishments as well as the mentoring program itself. Please share your accomplishments with us, we promise not to brag to the world unless you let us!

We hope you are all getting off to a great start to the New Year and if you have any questions or if you would like to arrange a meeting, please feel free to contact us at any time.

Best regards,

Rona, Clifford & Emily