When wealth outgrows a single spreadsheet, the challenge shifts from getting rich to staying organized, tax-smart, and values-aligned—across assets, entities, and generations. This guide frames ultra high net worth wealth management for Canadian families who want clarity, control, and continuity.
Start with governance before products
Portfolios change. Principles endure. Begin with a lightweight governance model that keeps everyone rowing in the same direction:
- Family purpose and priorities: a one-page statement that defines why the capital exists (freedom, philanthropy, enterprise, stewardship).
- Decision rights: who decides, who is consulted, and how conflicts are resolved (family council, investment committee, trusted advisors).
- Cadence: an annual family meeting, quarterly portfolio reviews, and a written “letter of wishes” to sit beside formal documents.
Good governance reduces confusion, speeds decisions, and protects relationships when stakes are high.
Build an integrated advisory bench
Ultra high net worth wealth management is a team sport. At minimum:
- Portfolio manager/OCIO for policy, manager selection, and reporting across public and private markets.
- Tax specialist (CPA) and tax lawyer to structure entities, transactions, and exits.
- Estate lawyer for wills, multiple-will strategies (where applicable), alter-ego/joint partner trusts, and cross-provincial nuances.
- Insurance strategist for risk transfer, estate liquidity, and corporate-owned solutions.
- Philanthropy advisor to align impact with tax efficiency.
Insist on coordination—advisors should talk to each other, not through you.
Investment policy for real life (not just real returns)
Your policy should translate purpose into guardrails:
- Objectives by pool: operating cash, opportunistic capital, legacy/endowment capital—each with its own return, risk, and liquidity targets.
- Concentration risk: many Canadian UHNW families are business-heavy or real-estate-heavy. Cap exposure, hedge selectively, and stress-test “what if the core asset declines 40%?”
- Liquidity: maintain a runway for spending, taxes, and capital calls (often 2–5 years across cash, short debt, and liquid income).
- Private markets with discipline: size commitments to your true illiquidity tolerance; focus on manager quality, downside control, and pacing to avoid vintage risk.
- Consolidated reporting: one source of truth across custodians, funds, holdcos, and real assets.
Advanced tax strategy (at a high level)
Rules change; principles do not. Coordinate with specialists around:
- Owner-manager planning: remuneration mix, surplus extraction, and the small business lifetime capital gains exemption on qualified shares (where available).
- Estate freezes and trusts: exchange growth for fixed-value shares to shift future appreciation; mind the 21-year deemed disposition for Canadian trusts.
- Attribution and TOSI: avoid surprise income-splitting setbacks by designing compensation and ownership intentionally.
- Cross-border: snowbird days, treaty tie-breakers, U.S. estate/gift exposure—plan residency before you plan investments.
This is not DIY territory—treat tax like a recurring design problem, not a once-in-a-lifetime event.
Insurance as an options-preservation tool
For UHNW families, insurance is not only catastrophe cover; it is liquidity and optionality:
- Estate/tax liquidity: permanent coverage to fund tax at death without forcing sales.
- Corporate-owned life insurance (COLI): after-tax accumulation inside a corporation; potential capital dividend account (CDA) credit on death for tax-free distributions to shareholders.
- Buy-sell and key-person coverage to protect enterprise value.
Aim for elegant sufficiency—cover the risk, avoid complexity bloat.
Philanthropy: impact with intention
If giving is part of the plan, formalize it:
- Gifts of appreciated securities to eliminate capital gains and claim donation credits.
- Donor-advised fund vs. private foundation: choose based on control preferences, admin appetite, and family engagement goals.
- Grantmaking policy & next-gen roles: define focus areas, due diligence, and how children participate (board seats, site visits, reporting).
Treat philanthropy like an investment in outcomes, with clear metrics and a review rhythm.
Family lending and the “family bank”
Rising generations need more than inheritances—they need structured opportunity:
- Document intra-family loans (purpose, rate, repayment, security).
- Use written gift/loan policies to balance fairness with flexibility.
- Pair support with responsibility: co-investment programs, matched savings, or entrepreneurial seed funding with lightweight reporting.
This keeps support aligned with values and reduces future resentment.
Risk management beyond markets
Wealth attracts different risks:
- Cyber and privacy: enforce MFA, password management, device hygiene, and secure document vaults.
- Reputation: media protocols, social guidelines, and crisis communication plans.
- Real asset risk: insurance adequacy, appraisal schedules, and disaster preparedness for properties, collections, and yachts/aircraft.
- Key-man life maps: who runs the business if the principal is unavailable? Keep a written playbook.
Simplicity is a strategy
Complexity compounds errors. Consolidate where prudent, standardize account and entity names, streamline signatories, and retire legacy products that no longer serve the plan. A clean architecture makes it easier to spot risk and seize opportunity.
A 12-month cadence that works
- Q1: family meeting + goals, cash flow, and giving plan
- Q2: investment policy review, rebalancing, and private pacing
- Q3: tax projection, remuneration/extraction decisions, charitable pre-planning
- Q4: legal documents check, beneficiary audit, liquidity test, and year-end actions
Bottom line: Ultra high net worth wealth management in Canada is less about chasing the next idea and more about building a system—governance, team, policy, structure, and rhythm—that protects options and compounds advantages over decades. With purpose as your north star and a coordinated advisory bench at your side, you can turn complexity into clarity—and pass both capital and confidence to the generations that follow.
