Media Coverage

In a recent article published in The Globe and Mail, Maili was asked for her insights on developing a financial plan for parents with disabled children.

Click here to find out what Maili had to say on the topic:

Maili Wong , senior wealth advisor and senior portfolio manager with The Wong Group at Wellington-Altus Private Wealth Inc. in Vancouver, says parents sometimes delay consulting an advisor following a child’s diagnosis – perhaps because they want to keep it private, don’t want to acknowledge it, or don’t want to label the child. When they are ready to talk, she focuses on presenting opportunities.

“We try to help clients find a balance between what they’re feeling under the most difficult circumstances and the hope that comes with understanding that there are various programs and tax credits that can ease the financial strain,” Ms. Wong says.

Government supports include the disability tax credit, which opens the door to other disability support programs including the child disability benefit and registered disability savings plan (RDSP). An accumulated income payment from a registered education savings plan (RESP) can generally be transferred into an RDSP for the same child, with RESP contributions returned to the subscriber tax-free, and grants and bonds repaid to the government. On a parent’s or grandparent’s death, registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) and registered retirement income fund (RRIF) savings can also be transferred into the RDSP of a financially dependent child or grandchild up to the RDSP lifetime contribution limit of $200,000.

Many costs associated with caring for children with disabilities are tax-deductible, Ms. Wong adds, including renovations to make a home more accessible, as well as caregiver, tutoring and medical expenses. There’s also the disability support deduction for costs that make it possible for a person with disabilities to attend school, including attendant care, note-taking services and electronic speech synthesizer expenses.

That said, while it may be tempting to jump right into a conversation about tax minimization strategies, Ms. Wong says advisors should take a step back and ask questions to get a complete picture of a family’s circumstances.

“Advisors can add the most value by seeking to understand what the situation looks like from an emotional, physical, psychological and financial perspective; then, secondarily, coming up with credible options to help provide the right solutions, tax credits, accounts and opportunities.”

Hot off the Press: Maili was interviewed for The Globe and Mail newspaper to share her insights on how Ottawa’s hike to capital gains inclusion rate affects trusts – article by Brenda Bouw, The Globe Advisor for The Globe and Mail.

Click here to find out what Maili had to say on the topic:

Canadians using trusts for financial, estate and tax planning purposes are reviewing their structures and effectiveness in light of the pending hike to the capital gains inclusion rate. Ottawa announced in its latest budget that trusts, alongside corporations, will see their capital gains inclusion rate increase to 66.67 per cent from 50 per cent annually starting June 25. The increase applies to capital gains earned within a trust. Individuals, including those who receive money from trusts (known as beneficiaries), will also see the same 33-per-cent increase but only on capital gains of more than $250,000 annually.

Maili Wong, senior wealth advisor and senior portfolio manager with The Wong Group at Wellington-Altus Private Wealth Inc. in Vancouver, says trusts can also use life insurance to offset higher taxes and help preserve an estate.

She notes that assets moved into a life insurance policy, including policies owned by trusts, may be tax-sheltered when the trust is the owner, payor and beneficiary.

“It creates a tax-free lump sum of money that will be paid upon the passing of the lives insured [who can be the business owners], and it’s liquid, so it can help pay the higher amount of taxes owed,” Ms. Wong says.

She adds that the 21-year deemed distribution rule for assets held within a trust doesn’t apply to life insurance policies held by a trust in Canada.

In a recent article from the Globe and Mail, Maili Wong was asked how financial advisors are handling an increase in clients seeking guidance on supporting their aging parents.

Click here to find out what Maili had to say on the topic:

Maili says her practice has started to have more of these conversations with clients, particularly those whose parents are now in their 70s and 80s and may require home care or admission to a long-term care facility.

“Exacerbating that is the pandemic,” Maili notes. “That took a toll on the mental, physical and emotional well-being of folks. I do see the need for advice for clients who are taking care of their parents financially and emotionally as well.”

Maili points to life insurance, which she says can be a useful tool to give the client financial flexibility to support their parents and be replenished later with a tax-free lump sum after both parents have passed. Life insurance can also act as an equalization strategy between siblings who can’t contribute at the same level, she adds.

Maili also often helps the parents of clients invest the proceeds of the sale of their home into a diversified portfolio that pays out a monthly cash flow geared toward their needs – whether that’s to help pay for renovations on their child’s home, or to cover the cost of a retirement home or assisted living facility.

In this week’s Globe and Mail article, our very own Maili Wong explains how fostering a collaborative culture in a wealth management firm can lead to better results for clients.

Click here to find out what Maili had to say on the topic:

Defying the financial industry’s ‘dog-eat-dog’ reputation, some wealth management firms are embracing a collaborative culture.  This can lead to better results for clients.

“Working for an independent, you’re not having to think about doing what’s best for the shareholders of the firm. I just have to focus on what’s best for the clients,” says Maili Wong, senior wealth advisor and senior portfolio manager with The Wong Group at Wellington-Altus Private Wealth Inc. in Vancouver.

In that firm’s corporate structure, advisors like Ms. Wong are partners as opposed to employees. She says the culture is also markedly different from her previous employers, which for many years included a bank-owned firm.

“Here, we don’t compete for clients,” she says. “In fact, we often cross-refer clients we think would be a good fit for a different partner at the firm.”

Non-bank-owned wealth management firms such as Wellington-Altus have found a sweet spot in the marketplace. That’s helped by less rigid corporate cultures in which veteran advisors are encouraged to mentor younger ones and help each other build their practices.

“The result is our teams are happier, and that leads to our clients getting better service,” Ms. Wong says.

She adds that this environment can also lead to increased referrals from existing clients, boosting growth in the process. “It’s a virtuous circle.”

The Globe and Mail recently published an article featuring Maili’s insights on building a ‘dream team’ and how this benefits our clients here at The Wong Group.

Click here to read how she uses a holistic approach, as well as technology, to provide a high level of care for our clients. Here’s a preview of what Maili had to say:

“In the past, you could get away with being a generalist,” says Maili Wong, senior wealth advisor and senior portfolio manager with The Wong Group at Wellington-Altus Private Wealth Inc. in Vancouver. “But less so today. The stakes are way higher.”

Enter the dream teams of today – carefully curated offices staffed with experts boasting a variety of specializations and lengthy credentials. These teams include chartered financial analysts, certified financial planners, and insurance and tax experts. These advisory team members work together to ensure they’re addressing client needs holistically, whether that’s by holding joint meetings or employing software that manages each client’s suite of products.

The model is decidedly like that of a family office – a private wealth management firm that works with ultra-high-net-worth families to deliver a high level of service. At the same time, advisors recognize that augmenting their offerings with outside experts, each steeped in their area of specialty, is still necessary – and good for business.

At Ms. Wong’s office, having a wide breadth of expertise can prompt conversations with clients about topics beyond a review of their investment portfolios.

“Even if clients aren’t outwardly requesting it, they may want to know more about starting an education fund for their kids. Or the tax implications of their retirement planning,” she says.

Holistic-minded advisors have the capability to handle these types of topics as well as provide what she calls a high level of “care factor.”

Our senior wealth advisor and senior portfolio manager, Maili Wong, once again contributed to a recent Globe and Mail article by addressing cognitive and emotional biases that can lead investors astray.

Read the whole article here. Here’s a preview of what Maili had to say:

From individuals who want to follow hot investment tips to those who fear making the wrong decision, different investor personality types are part of human nature. Yet, acting on some of these traits can have the potential to increase risk and affect long-term financial goals.

For advisors, helping clients become aware of these behaviour patterns or biases early on and working with them to gain perspective and provide education around factors such as diversification, risk, and the benefits of a disciplined approach to investing are key to ensuring they stay on the path to success.

Maili Wong, senior wealth advisor and senior portfolio manager with The Wong Group at Wellington-Altus Private Wealth Inc. in Vancouver, says she often sees both cognitive and emotional investment biases in action – from overconfident investors to those who overvalue holdings for sentimental reasons.

Beyond setting up the investment plan, Ms. Wong says helping individuals understand how their emotional makeup affects their decision-making is a vital part of her role. That includes educating clients on factors in and out of their control and helping them gain perspective on their biases, the way they think and their emotional drivers.

“I often see [investor biases], usually in the beginning of the relationship, and that’s where we try to do a good job of helping clients have awareness of them first – because sometimes they aren’t even aware they have these biases,” she says.

In one situation, Ms. Wong started working with an individual with an overly conservative approach to investing who was seeking better results. She built a balanced portfolio from which he experienced better rates of return within his risk tolerance.

However, a few years into the client’s success, he began demonstrating herding bias as he sought to participate in cryptocurrency investing with his neighbour.

Ms. Wong was able to help the client understand how different this investment was relative to his overall risk tolerance and minimize the amount he invested in it to something he was willing to lose in the casino.

“When he thought about it that way, he changed the amount he was willing to put into it,” she says. “A year later, his friend had lost everything.”

It can be a very strong draw to do what everybody else is doing and not feel left out, she adds.

“We come across that often and try to help our clients understand that their own financial situation may be very different from their friends and that they’ll only hear about the good things,” she says.

After a summer of lavish spending, how can Canadians get back on track for the Fall? That’s just one of the questions being asked in this new article from the Globe and Mail.

Our very own Maili Wong weighs in on this important topic in the latest from Canada’s most trusted financial paper.

Read the whole article here. Here’s a preview of what Maili had to say:

The massive jump in interest rates during the past year has surprised many investors – and had some negative impacts on portfolios.

Fixed-income investments lost value, as did heavily leveraged sectors such as real estate. Dividend-paying stocks – including banks, utilities and real estate investment trusts – took a hit, as the payouts in fixed income became an attractive alternative. To make matters worse, rising interest rates mean higher costs for individuals, particularly for those holding debt such as a mortgage or line of credit.

However, rising interest rates have also presented an opportunity for advisors and clients. Specifically, there are now short-term investments with payout rates greater than longer-term fixed-income vehicles – and with more predictable returns than equities.

The Globe and Mail asked our very own Maili Wong to weigh in on this important topic.

Read the whole article here. Here’s a preview of what Maili had to say: