November Update
The Markets welcome a New Liberal Canada – Canadians woke up on October 20th to a Liberal majority government after a decade of Conservative minority and majority governments. Leaving ideology and partisanship aside, Cardinal must consider what impact this might have on the investing environment and on our companies in particular.
For individual investors, decisions about TFSAs and pensions will have some impact, but for the overall economy, the election results lave us generally optimistic.
Click here to read more: Cardinal Update – November 2015
Changes to the Taxation of Estates
Estate, trust and tax planners have long favoured testamentary trusts as vehicles to pass along assets to beneficiaries or heirs. A testamentary trust is generally a trust or estate that is created the day a person dies. Commonly, these trusts are established in a testator’s will.
A significant benefit to testamentary trusts had been that income earned and retained in the trust received the same graduated rate of income tax as an individual tax payer. Unfortunately, under the terms of Bill C-43, after January 1, 2016, all income retained in the trust will now be taxed at the highest rate of tax applicable in the province in which the trust is resident.
There will be two exceptions to this new rule – The Graduated Rate Estate (GRE) and a Qualified Disability Trust (QDT). Read more 
Fall into Autumn Savings
By Carla Hindman, Director of Financial Education, Visa Canada
Fall is officially here. With the new season comes new reasons to spend money, including increased utility bills, winter wardrobes and upcoming holiday purchases. Here are some tips to help you fall into savings this season.
Winter proof your home: A little TLC during the fall season can go a long way towards saving on winter utility bills. Improve your home’s insulation factor by caulking or using weather-stripping on windows and doors, and consider cleaning out your gutters to help with drainage. Cleaning or changing your furnace filter and checking into any needed roof repairs are two frugal, essential habits to help prepare for the winter months. Looking for other cost-effective alternatives? Switch to energy efficient lightbulbs. They may cost more initially, but they’ll save you money in the long run. Read more
DM Monthly Report
Should we care about what is happening in China?
Though DM’s investment process is rooted in individual company analysis rather than macro economic forecasting, we do still keep an eye on major global developments, especially as they might impact the relative outlook for different industry groups. Prominent among current macro issues is the state of China’s economy, and in particular the sharp slowdown it is now experiencing.
Click here to read more: DM-Monthly-Report-Nov-15
