The top Advisor to Client trends of 2015

In 2015, Advisor to Client continued to grow to meet your needs and help you serve your clients.

We published a number of themed packages, full of action steps, conversation starters, presentations and other tools to use with your clients. The tools readers used the most were in the Wedded bliss starts with financial candor, Bonds are not boring, and Give new parents direction packages.

Without question, the big Advisor to Client news this year is many articles are now in three of the most-spoken languages in Canada – Hindi, Punjabi and Chinese. The need for a sound financial foundation and the desire to prosper is universal. By reaching your clients in their native languages, you’ll forge stronger client relationships faster. You can now give your clients 11 strategies to save tax in three new languages. You can shape their expectations of your role as an advisor with 10 things your advisor will ask you. You can explain economics and interest rates with Understanding why interest rates are so low. And you can help them plan across multiple generations with How to raise financially savvy kids, Start a family conversation about elder care and 3 estate planning mistakes.

Cross-border concerns and snowbirds

We’ve been listening to your feedback, and we understand the topics you’re most interested in talking to your clients about. One of the biggest is cross-border tax. We tackle how to own U.S. rental property, handle inheriting overseas property, and what currency risk can do to your client’s foreign real estate investment. If some of your clients are cross-border couples, we’ve got you covered with How to minimize tax for an American spouse.

And of course, snowbirds have unique financial concerns. We’ve looked at what snowbirds need to know about U.S. tax, medical insurance and popular destinations and buying U.S. vacation property. We’ve also got presentations and plenty of other tools for you to use in this snowbirds special package.

Retiring well

Before your clients can be snowbirds, they need to plan well. To that end, we answer some essential RRSP questions, we also explain what to do in case clients accidentally overcontribute to their RRSPs. As clients get closer to retirement, they should understand how to maximize their OAS and GIS income by preventing clawbacks. They should also consider using pension splitting, but not without understanding its pitfalls. On your part, you may want to use a bond ladder to safely draw down their portfolios. For more, visit our special retirement package, which includes conversations starters and checklists for you to use with clients.

Building tax savvy

This year we’ve also been helping you ensure clients are using the most efficient tax strategies for their circumstances. We have tax-saving strategies for them, how couples or landlords should file taxes, and a run-down of family tax benefits for 2015.

Be ready for major life events

Whether your clients are getting married or getting divorced, we have planning advice. Major life changes can mean a greater need for insurance. When it’s time to set up a client’s first policy, turn to these tools to help them understand how it works. For clients with longstanding policies, outline the effects of taxes on life insurance and the changes in store.

Smart estate planning

If interest in our estate planning articles are any indication, you’re preoccupied by your clients’ estate needs. If your clients are deferring writing a will, remind them that no will means many obstacles. Once you’ve made that clear, you should explain what new probate rules mean to your Ontario clients. Next, we have five tips to set up an accurate trust account. And before you set plans in stone, explain how to minimize executor liability and how to remove an executor.

Though your clients may already be sophisticated trust users, they plan ahead to defer tax before a family trust turns 21. You should also fill them in about the impact of new trust rules.

Leaving money to grandchildren is likely a priority for many clients, so you should help them understand how to save for school. If their grandchildren are a bit older, you can help teach young people how to plan.

Be ready to explain how you’re paid

This year, advisors are looking for ways to explain compensation, to lay the groundwork for CRM 2 reforms. It can be an awkward conversation, but we help you through it with our primer on pay, complete with client letters, conversation starters and cost breakdowns. Need something simple to start with? Well, What is an MER? is one of the most popular articles on our site.

Since you’re talking to your clients every day about these issues, use these articles to make those conversations easier. Share these stories with clients online or in person — and show you’re in-tune with the subjects that matter most to them.