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Key market events of 2022 and 2023 Outlook

¹  Empire Life analysis based on AUM as at Nov.30, 2022 and Morningstar Research Inc. preliminary 2022 performance ranking report as at January 2, 2023.

The Empire Life GIF Growth Commission Bonus program has been extended for 2023!

Until December 29, 2023, earn a commission bonus for actively
promoting the value of Empire Life Guaranteed Investment Funds
(GIF) to new and existing clients.

Policyholder tax reporting for 2022 and RRSP season 2023

Deposits to a registered plan received within the first sixty (60) days of 2023 are eligible as a tax deduction for the 2022 or 2023 taxation year. A tax receipt will be issued stating that this deposit was made in the first 60 days of the year. This year, the deadline for a 2022 tax receipt is Wednesday, March 1, 2023.

Read information circular 2023-2 for important 2021 tax reporting and RRSP season 2022 cut off dates for all Empire Life investment plans.

Helpful hints for a smooth RSP season:

• Please make sure to have the application or account number on the cheque
• Please make sure the cheque is current dated with the correct year ( i.e. 2023) 
• Please do not send in duplicates (only send paperwork one way: email, fax or mail). If sending multiple copies, ensure to indicate that on the paperwork.

Keeping you informed

Emblem Asset Allocation Update – December 20, 2022

Find out more about the Investment Team’s views on the
impact of recent events in the market and how the funds are
positioned going forward. Download the latest asset
allocation update for Emblem Portfolios.

Leveraging our 2022 success for 2023
Empire Life Investments webinar

We all know that 2022 was an unprecedented year. But through it all, Empire Life’s investment strategy played a significant role in the success of many of our investment mandates.

Over 85% of Empire Life's segregated fund assets finished ahead of their peer group in 2022 with 18 of our funds in the top quartile.¹

Join us for a portfolio manager round table discussion with Q&A for insights on how the Empire Life investment team is looking at 2023. Hear how the team’s investment strategies reflect our cautious view of the environment, but with some positive outlooks and opportunities. Learn about the team’s defensive stance, diversifying investments, its approach to buying companies that can handle the slowing global economy or are “on sale” due to low valuation levels, and more.

Date: Tuesday, January 24, 2023

Time: 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. ET

Please note this webinar will be in English only. 

¹ Source: Empire Life analysis based on AUM as at Nov. 30, 2022 and Morningstar preliminary 2022 performance ranking report as at Jan. 2, 2023.

2023 Update:
The Empire Life RRSP & TFSA toolbox

Now that it’s time to have retirement savings conversations with your clients and prospects, we’ve put together a handy online resource to help you navigate the season.

The toolbox gives you quick access to informative advisor and client resources that can help make your 2023 RRSP and TFSA season a success.

Empire Life December 31, 2022 Investment Statements 

The Empire Life December 31, 2022 Investment Statements are now available online. Hard copies will begin mailing to customers on January 24, 2023. Customers registered for MyEmpire online who have opted in for electronic statements (eStatements) will not receive mailed copies and instead received an email notifying them to log in to their account. Advisor copies of all customer statements are available through the Advisor Dashboard / Business Centre. Our advisor Online Statements feature allows you to conveniently download statements as Individual (single policy) or Bulk (all policies in a .zip file).

For additional information about your customer’s statements, please see Information Circular 2023-01.

Our trip will take us to the various developments and issues around:

• Digital - the new normal
• Remote interactions: are they the new normal? Are they expected? Or are they a matter of client choice depending on the situation?
• Evolving and rising client expectations
• How can advisors stand out from others?

And throughout the session, you will hear about what lies ahead.

Date: Tuesday, January 24, 2023

Time: 2:00 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. ET

This webinar is also available in French on January 25, 2022, at 10:00 am

Make sure your letter gets to the Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT). Follow these steps and ensure your letter is received at Empire Life by Monday, February 20th, 2023.

Visit the MDRT website to download the qualifying letter and complete the appropriate sections.

• Mail the completed letter to:
  Empire Life, 259 King St East, Kingston ON  K7L 3A8 Attention: Leanne Dowling
  
• Email a scan of the completed letter to salescentre@empire.ca

Once received, we will complete the letter and send it back to you.

Updated! 

Guidelines for Immigrants

The Underwriting Department is pleased to announce that updates have been made to the Guidelines for Immigrants. These include:

• Increased life insurance face amounts for Temporary Residents to $500,000 with consideration to $1,000,000 for residents who have been in Canada for more than 2 years
• Increased life insurance face amounts for Post Graduate Work Program Visa holders to $500,000
• Student Visa holders age 18 and up may qualify for life insurance face amounts to $250,000

These guidelines can be found here.

ATTENTION:

Insurance intermediaries in New Brunswick

New Brunswick's Financial and Consumer Services Commission (FCNB) received Ministerial Approval to adopt Rule INS-001 Insurance Intermediaries Licensing and Obligations and Rule INS-002 Insurance Fees. The Rules are expected to come into force on Wednesday, February 1, 2023.  Please review the notice for more details and to familiarize yourself with FCNBs expectations of intermediaries.

If you have any questions on this notice or the implementation of the Rules, contact the Insurance Division of FCNB at 866-933-2222 or by email at info@fcnb.ca.

Notice to Industry regarding implementation of Rule INS-001 Insurance Intermediaries Licensing and Obligations and Rule INS-002 Insurance Fees

Complaint Handling updates for Quebec

The AMF published a Bulletin informing the financial services industry that all entities under its supervision will now be required to report consumer complaints only once a year, by May 1 of each year for the period from January 1 to December 31 of the previous year. However, single-representative firms and independent representatives who do not have any complaints in the year are not required to file a report.  

Due to these changes, we have amended the “Complaint Handling (Quebec) Template” and the “Advisor Complaint Handling Policy” Reference Document to reflect these changes. These documents can be found on the compliance section of our website.

Complaint Handling (Quebec) Template

Complaint Handling Reference Document