Market Musings
By: Guillaume and Erik
Planned giving, the here and afterlife, or foundations, lifelong legacies.
As we go through the planning process, many clients conclude that they wish to transfer their wealth to their children and grandchildren at their death. Many have specific charitable bequests that go along for part of their accumulated patrimony, but the essence of their will is to have the next generations inherit the largest part of their estate. It is a great gift, one that can be very helpful. When possible, we help our clients them find ways of sharing their accumulated patrimony with their children while they live, so they may witness the joy that the gift provides.
The above scenario is quite typical, if not to say the most popular case.
But there are cases where the desire is to, in part or in total, create a legacy through ongoing gifting to non-profit or charitable organization.
There is a great degree of personal gratification and satisfaction in knowing that, upon death, the good that you did during your life can be maintained upon your passing, thus ensuring that the aid provided does not cease with the end of life.
Beyond the social and moral benefits, planned giving is also a great fiscal planning tool. It can allow you to better manage tax liabilities, both while you live, and in your estate.
At Raymond James ltd, we have been helping clients do this for many years through our charitable giving fund (CGF), through the Raymond James Canada Foundation. A CGF is an investment vehicle that offers the benefits of a private foundation without the high costs and administrative burdens. It is a cost effective, flexible, and simple solution to help clients seamlessly incorporate philanthropy into their overall financial plan.
How Does It Work?
Our clients can establish a CGF in as little as one week with an initial irrevocable donation of $100,000 or more to the Raymond James Canada Foundation (RJCF). The RJCF provides a tax receipt for the full value of the donation which can be used immediately or carried forward up to five years.
We then manage the funds in accordance with our comprehensive investment policy statement (IPS). Your initial gift will continue to grow, tax free.
At the client/donor’s recommendation, and based on a list of accredited Canadian charities, the Raymond James Canada Foundation will issue grants to our client’s favourite charities, either on a recurring or one-time basis. The donor can choose to receive recognition for the grants or remain completely anonymous.
A CGF can be made through a will or registered investments (TFSA, RRSP, RRIF) with a beneficiary change (outside Quebec). The gift can be a percentage or all of the assets.
Combine giving now with giving later is the most comprehensive solution providing the greatest amount of strategy to reduce tax and create a personal legacy.
We would be happy to share more information with you on the subject, should you wish. Please let us know.
And that brings me to today’s anecdote:
Guillaume and I have a variety of clients, many of whom have been with us for over 30 years.
One such couple, Rachelle and Ted, approached me several years ago during one of our regularly scheduled quarterly reviews. They wanted to explore a more active gifting process regarding their combined residual estate. Their situation is the following: They have some wealth, but not endless resources, so their wills have been written to ensure the survivor, by transfer of all assets of the deceased to the survivor. The peculiarity is that Rachelle and Ted have no children. They have nieces and nephews, brothers, and sisters, but all of them are doing well, and do not need any help. So, upon the death of the survivor, and being very charitable in their nature, the money was destined to doing good in the global community via a charity of their choice.
Rachelle and Ted had spent their careers in teaching, and their original estate gift/donation plan was clearly affected by their professional lives. The money would ultimately go to an organization that promoted literacy in adults. A very noble cause.
But time had passed since that early decision. Rachelle and Ted retired, and as is the way, had developed new hobbies and interests. After several years, they discovered the world of charitable micro financing. Both Rachelle and Ted are very passionate about this as a charitable pursuit. As it provides a structure that they agree with. That of not providing goods through charity (although there is always some provision of good or tools) but is more about providing opportunity that can have a more lasting impact. Micro financing in third world countries or environments can provide for a framework around an old concept: give a person a fish, and they will eat today. Teach a person to fish, and provide the equipment, they, and the other villagers will eat every day.
For many years, Rachelle and Ted parted with their money annually to gift amounts to very specific projects around the world through a US charity. I say “parted” as a donation to a US charity is not accepted as such by the CRA, so there was no tax benefit for these gifts.
The search was on for a Canadian counterpart.
Unfortunately, that was where we stumbled. There are several such charities in Canada, but none of which would allow for a proactive participation from the donors. This would not do, as Rachelle and Ted now have visions of scalability, and complexities to add, all grounded in their mission: to teach.
The vision evolved from micro finance of specific projects, to one of creating an entity that would not just finance, but coach, provide additional skills to aid those needing or wanting the financing. How? The entity would not only have a very diverse board of directors within which the skill set would include health, education, finance, accounting, international experience, and charity, all willing to get their hand dirty. As well, it would also have a selection committee, composed of younger individuals from different walks of life, in cegep and university as students, who would evaluate and assess, perform due diligence, and provide guidance (all while aided by the board) to the candidates. The selection committee would also be responsible for the ongoing follow-up and reporting on ongoing projects.
The idea had taken significant shaper as we went through this. While it ticked all the boxes for Rachelle and Ted, there was still much to consider. This undertaking, we were being told, would be very expensive, and quite onerous to administer. As well, promoting micro financing in third world environments has its own complications, starting with: where do you find projects, and how do you work safely in those geographies in a practical sense.
Dealing with the first was the initial and immediate priority. If this was not going to be feasible from a cost perspective, then Rachelle and Teds dream would have to be altered by compromise.
We started working with a mid-sized accounting firm in Montreal and were pleased to learn that other than the startup legal costs and the ongoing annual costs, this could be done without much overhead. Furthermore, the startup costs were manageable.
One surprise was that while Rachelle’s and Ted’s foundation (the DevKey Foundation) was to be funded at the death of the surviving spouse, we were counseled to get it started now, even with minimal activity. The reason for this is that once a charity is recognized by the CRA, and if charity remains within the rules, the process will not have to be initiated in a future where the playing field may change for such an incorporation/charitable conversion. This also suited the two founders, who are now very enthused about seeing their foundation in action.
The first step was registering a non-profit, which we did on May 17, 2021. This involved the corporate registry and creation of a board of directors, signing officers, by laws, the works. Fortunately, we had the right people in the circle, and there are boilerplate bylaws easily available.
Following this, the work turned to the crafting of the mission statement of the foundation. This document, and a budget for financial disclosures is required for the submission to the CRA for conversion to charitable status.
Rachelle and Ted have now adjusted their will to reflect the new bequest to the DevKey Foundation (upon approval from CRA). The fact that the foundation will be able to receive donations, and issue receipts is a bonus, an added element of scalability. Once DevKey is fully active, it will be a useful tool to manage their taxation over their lifetimes. And they will soon be able to direct very specific loans to projects of their choosing.
In closing, two similar solutions (the Raymond James Canada Foundation CGF, and the private foundation) for two different types of donors.
Special thanks to Rachelle and Ted for volunteering their story to share.
Please contact us should you have any questions regarding the subject.
Erik and Guillaume.
This document or article is not an investment recommendation or proposal. Erik Moisan & Guillaume D.-Tessier are Portfolio Managers with Raymond James Ltd. The views are those of the authors, and not necessarily those of Raymond James Ltd. Investors considering any investment should consult with their Investment Advisor to ensure that it is suitable for the investor’s circumstances and risk tolerance before making any investment decision. Raymond James Ltd. is a Member - Canadian Investor Protection Fund. Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees and expenses all may be associated with mutual funds. Please read the prospectus before investing. Mutual funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated.
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