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December 2, 2022

NEW: Upcoming RRSP to RRIF Conversions added to My Advisor Dashboard.

This new report in the Inforce Business Opportunities section provides a list of your active RRSP (registered retirement savings plan) and LIRA (locked-in retirement account) clients turning 71 within the current calendar year to allow you to discuss your client's options with them proactively.¹

Please know that the deadline to submit conversions is December 7th.
Use this list to reach out to clients with an upcoming conversion, discuss their needs, and provide them with options for their retirement planning. You can refer them to the "Planning for Retirement" guide. 

To check your Inforce Business Opportunities, log in to My Advisor Dashboard.

¹Excluding Concordia policies. 

Help your clients protect their loved one’s future while they invest in theirs

Your clients work hard to build wealth so they can live comfortably, in the hope of securing their family’s future. But market volatility has many investors concerned about protecting their financial assets. Give them the peace of mind that comes with protection available only with segregated fund guarantees.

Empire Life Guaranteed Investment Funds (GIF) help grow and protect the value of investments. The funds offer an effective estate planning tool for your clients to help protect their loved one’s future while still investing for theirs.

Find resources and information to learn more about how the right solution can help your clients achieve their financial goals.

From the desk of CIO Paul Holba

In 2022, defense was the best offense

2022 continues to be a challenging year—but it’s not all bad news. 

• Specific economic signals appear to be bottoming, although off low levels. 
• Equity valuations are now at more reasonable levels than earlier in the year. 
• Bond yields have become much more attractive. 
• Many markets experienced a strong October rally, trimming the year’s losses to varying degrees. 

Although interest rates are likely to rise further, the Empire Life Investments team believes we are closer to the end of the current hiking cycle than the beginning, particularly in Canada. 

Paul Holba, CIO, discusses how the team’s positioning of their investment strategies reflect their cautious view of the market environment—at a very high level, this is best described as being defensive. Gain deeper insights into where the team is seeing opportunities, how they’re positioning the funds to capitalize on them, and how a cautious strategy is working well so far.

New form available for eSignature:
RRSP to RRIF Conversion for Class & GIF Contracts (INP-130A)

The RRSP to RRIF Conversion for Class & GIF Contracts form is now available as a digital eSignature form to make doing business with your clients as efficient as possible. With this form, you can assist your client in converting their RRSP into an RRIF.  

The eSignature forms section on the My Advisor Dashboard gives you access to online forms and applications that can be signed digitally, giving you a more convenient way to work with your clients.

Now available:

Multi-Strategy Investor Q3 Commentary

Dave Paterson, Portfolio Manager shares insights on market action in the third quarter of 2022, commenting on the July equity market rally, driven by interest rate cut optimism, that dissipated by August, and mixed fixed-income markets. He discusses the strengthening U.S. dollar, high interest rates and the energy crisis that were headwinds to the global economy, and how it’s likely that volatility in both equity markets and fixed income markets will remain high. Dave also provides a review of his management of the Empire Life Multi-Strategy segregated fund portfolios in language that’s suitable for your investors.

Financial Markets at-a-glance infographic now available for Q3

The Financial Markets at a Glance infographic provides a high-level, visual way to explain the past quarter’s market changes to your investors. It presents a brief overview of world events and their impact on global markets. Easily digestible bits of information are broken down by Canadian, U.S., global equities and fixed income using colourful graphics and symbols so you can give your investors a big picture overview of what happened in Q3 2022.

Now available: Participating Account Q3 Summary

Despite continued market volatility, our participating fund posted a strong annualized investment rate of return of 5.61% and a solid 10 year return of 6.58%.

What makes Empire Life's participating life insurance great for many Canadians is the combination of:

• Guaranteed premiums
• Guaranteed life insurance coverage
• Guaranteed cash surrender values and paid-up values
• The potential of receiving dividends each year

Consistent returns with a conservative investment approach have made the Empire Life participating plans very successful over the years. It is also why we have never failed to pay a dividend in the history of offering this type of insurance. Our dividend scales are guaranteed never to fall below zero percent and any dividend, once paid, cannot be taken back.  

Download a copy of the summary below.

Now available on demand:

Why Powers of Attorney, Wills and Trusts are Important

A strong estate plan will often include powers of attorney, wills, trusts, and insurance or insurance products.  As an advisor you may know about insurance planning, but how knowledgeable are you when it comes to powers of attorney, wills and trusts? If you are knowledgeable in these areas, are you speaking with your clients about the importance of having an estate plan? 

This webinar will focus on key components of an estate plan and cover topics including:

• Why clients should have Powers of Attorney, a Will and the consequences of not engaging in both types of planning
• Understanding the differences between Wills and Powers of Attorney and when each document is required
• Understanding Testamentary and Inter Vivos Trusts and how life insurance and insurance products may be used as effective alternatives 
• Why discussing estate planning with your clients is good for business and best practices for having “the estate planning talk”

Advisors will receive information that will educate and position them to be a valuable resource to their clients when it comes to estate planning.

CE credit offer available until February 28, 2023.

This webinar is also available in French

Do you have clients who own a cottage or whose parents own a cottage?

With the substantial increases in the average value of recreational properties, such as cottages, are they aware of the potential capital gains tax liability that may be payable to keep the cottage within their family? 

Now is a great time to talk to your clients about how the Keep the Cottage in the Family strategy can be used to preserve and enhance their estate, helping to ensure that the cottage can be kept in the family and enjoyed for generations to come.

eVision Insurance Illustrator^TM Introduces Save & Share!

With the new Save & Share feature, you can share illustrations with members of your team in a safe and secure manner.

Whether you are a business development consultant, an advisor's personal assistant or an advisor participating in a case with a junior advisor, Save & Share enables the intended recipient to quickly access your illustration from their own logged-in version of eVision seamlessly. 

2023 Advisor Pay Schedule

Pay day is every Friday for advisors (unless there is a statutory or bank holiday during the week). In order for commissions to be reflected on each pay, all outstanding requirements must be in  Head Office and the policy settled.