December 2019
Happy New Year! Another year has come and gone. Here at HollisWealth, we are looking forward to a great year ahead!
Each year we call our clients for their Annual Review, an important process to ensure we are current with the times and your information is current, accurate and meeting your Financial Lifestyle needs. Should you not be available when Stephanie or Kristin call to book your Annual Review they will leave a message. We ask that you return the phone call as soon as possible so that we can arrange a convenient time for your Annual Review. Preparing your review involves a detailed process that not only has us look back on the past year but also look at the upcoming year for potential needs that might arise and ensuring client files are up to date and accurate. Let us know if there is anything that you would like to discuss with Roman so we may prepare ahead of time. Please remember to bring in all of your financial statements, Notice of Assessment, Insurance policies and all other important documents. This allows Roman to properly address and be aware of your current situation and ensure that you are reaching your Financial Lifestyle goals and needs.
Please note: For clients that require an evening appointment, Roman has set aside Monday and Tuesday evenings during the next few months. Please be advised that due to the demand for evening appointments, we are booking a month in advance.
Reminders:
This year, 2020, is a leap year! This means that all RRSP Contributions “The First 60 Days” deposits must be in by February 29, 2020.
For any online deposits that you make throughout the year, please update your Online Banking company name from “HollisWealth Advisory Services Inc.” to “Investia Financial Services Inc” or “Investia Services Financiers”. This will ensure that your deposits/payments are received in a timely manner to your account.
During the hours of 9:30 am to 10:30 am: if you call during this period please leave us a message on our voicemail as we conduct our daily office meeting during this time and phones will not be answered. This time allows us to organize our day’s tasks, review the previous day’s work, discuss and complete client reviews and enquiries, as well as, review current rates, markets and updates on the latest news.
Around the Office:
With the beginning of 2020 we start off the New Year processing Annual RRIF payments. Stephanie has spent the past month preparing and organizing the paperwork to ensure we have a smooth process for January. Our goal is to have the majority of payments processed by the end of the January. Should you need any assistance or have any questions please contact her. Stephanie is in the office Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. 
Kristin has been productively coordinating things around the office. She has also been working steadily on preparing client portfolio reviews. Throughout this process, Kristin is ensuring that all client information is up to date, and is making certain any updates are taken care of during Annual Reviews. Near January’s end, she will begin preparing your Capital Gains reports in time for tax season. Kristin will also begin studying for her Life Insurance License so that she can assist Roman with Insurance inquiries and applications.
Education
Kristin & Stephanie met with our Head Office Insurance Business Development Manager. It was a very productive meeting where they learned more about the insurance side of our business and how it can be important and relevant to our clients in many ways. If you are interested in learning more about different insurance products that Roman can offer you, please contact our office.
Upcoming Changes and Advancements:
Roman has been hard at work staying on top of the many changes coming in 2020, one of which is our company name. Please note that as of January 1st 2020 the Hollis Insurance name will no longer exist. Any Insurance products such as Life, Disability, Critical Illness, Out of Province, etc. will be provided through RomAnna Management, Roman’s corporation. As to the use of the HollisWealth name, a Trade name, we have been advised that for 2020 the name HollisWealth can continue to be used as a Trade name and as such this brand will be continued to be used until such time as we are advised of the new name to be used. Here at the office we understand that ‘change’ is a regular occurrence, we embrace this as an opportunity - a new challenge - with great things to come. Everyone at this office continues to better themselves, learn new products and services and continue furthering their education. If we continue to learn and better ourselves, we will continue to progress. That said, stay tuned for our next newsletter of new products, services and opportunities. Staff continues to challenge themselves and learn in order to better understand and be of service to our clients.
A Note About TFSA Accounts for People Born after 1991:
There has been some confusion in the industry surrounding TFSA accounts. Starting in 2009, a set contribution amount per year has been established, with the ability to top-up any contribution room that wasn’t used. At the end of 2019, the total contribution amount to a TFSA was $63,500.00.
However, for anyone born in 1992 and onward, this amount must be recalculated based on the year he or she turns 18 years old.
To calculate your maximum contribution room, start from the year you turned 18, and add up the yearly set contribution amounts.
Example: for someone born in 1995 (turned 18 in 2013) the total contribution room at the end of 2019 was only $43,500.00. And for someone who turned 18 in 2019, the total contribution room is $6,000.00.
2020 TFSA Contribution limit has been announced - $6,000.00.Maximum Pensionable Earnings for 2020 has been Announced:
The Canada Revenue Agency has announced that the maximum pensionable earnings under the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) for 2020 will be $58,700.00, up from $57,400.00 in 2019.
Contributors who earn more than $58,700.00 in 2020 are not required or allowed to make additional contributions to the CPP.
Employee and employer CPP contributions rates for 2020 will be 5.25% (a maximum of $2,898.00 each), up from 5.1% (a maximum of $2,748.90 each) in 2019.
RRSP Limits for 2020:
Your deduction limit is 18% of your earned income, to a maximum value for the year. For 2020, your contribution will be limited to 18% of your 2019 earned income, to a maximum of $27,230 plus any carry-forward contribution room that you may have.
OHIP Changes for 2020:
Ontarians will no longer have healthcare coverage from OHIP while they are travelling. Starting January 1st 2020, OHIP will be making cuts to travel insurance coverage. What this means is if you are travelling outside of Ontario think about Out Of Province Insurance, which you can apply for on our website www.RomanGroch.ca .
Strategic Asset Allocation
Strategic Asset Allocation is a portfolio strategy that involves setting target allocations for various asset classes and then periodically rebalancing back to the targets. Our specific asset classes involve the following: Cash (Savings Accounts & GIC’s which will mature within 1 year), Income (longer term GIC’s as well as Fixed Income / Bond Investments), Equity (Stock Market diversified related investments) Aggressive (Stock Market “specific” sector investments such as Precious Metals or Emerging Markets). The portfolio is rebalanced to the original allocations when they deviate or move away significantly from their original settings. Target allocations depend on several client factors such as “Risk Tolerance” and “Time Horizon” and obviously will change over time as these parameters change. “Strategic” Asset Allocation is compatible with a “buy-and-hold” strategy as opposed to “Tactical” Asset Allocation which is more suited to an “Active Trading” approach. Both approaches emphasize diversification in order to reduce risk and improve portfolio returns. As a basic example of strategic asset allocation, we could illustrate the following: Mr. Jones has a portfolio consisting of 60% in equities (such as Stocks) and 40% in Fixed Income (such as Bonds or GIC’s). If the equity markets perform well and the returns are decent Mr. Jones may end the year with his Portfolio balance consisting of 68% Equities and 32% Fixed Income. In this case Mr. Jones would, as part of his annual review, have some rebalancing trades in order to switch 8% from his Equity portion to his Fixed Income portion in order to reposition back to his original target of 60% / 40%. On the flip side, if the Equity markets underperform, returns are weaker and Fixed Income grows to become a larger weighting in the portfolio, a rebalancing trade or trades from Fixed Income to Equities can be executed.
Within each portion there can be further diversification such as geographical allocations whereby part of the Equities or Fixed Income is invested in global markets, part in the United States markets and part in the Canadian markets. Even further diversification can be achieved by investing in smaller companies (small capitalization or “Small Cap”) and larger companies (large capitalization or “Large Cap”) within each Geographic location. Within Fixed Income there is the possibility of investing in Government Bonds both Domestic and International as well as Corporate Bonds and GIC’s to add diversification. Maintaining the target allocations with annual rebalancing is the underlying key and as you can see there can be many moving parts underneath the surface.
Snow Shoveling and Heart Attacks
According to Harvard Health, reviews conducted in both Canada and the USA show a correlation between snow falls and death by and/or hospital admissions for heart attacks. For snow falls greater than 8”, studies cited between 16%-34% increase in hospital admissions compared to no snow days! This link was observed even for men with no reported history of heart disease or high blood pressure. Interestingly enough – no link between snowfall and heart attacks for women was observed.
It just might be prudent to hire a neighbourhood fit female teenager to shovel that driveway this winter!
Compassion
"A kind gesture can reach a wound that only compassion can heal.”
Steve Maraboli
“This article is reproduced with permission from Age-Friendly Business, no reproduction in part or in whole is permitted without consent.”
“This newsletter was prepared by Roman A. Groch who is a registered representative of Investia Financial Services Inc. (a member of the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada and the MFDA Investor Protection Corporation). This newsletter is not a publication of Investia Financial Services Inc. and the views and opinions, including any recommendations, expressed in this newsletter are those of Roman A. Groch alone and not those of Investia Financial Services Inc.
Investia Financial Services Inc. does not provide income tax preparation services nor does it supervise or review other persons who may provide such services.