NEWS RELEASE – TORONTO, CANADA - The Nicola Wealth “Economic Outlook:  Preparing For 2020” held on October 8th was a resounding success with great insights at both the macro and personal levels.  A breakfast crowd of business owners and leaders from throughout the Greater Toronto Area appreciated the speakers’ expert insights.  There were a number of great questions during the Q & A Session that followed.

The Economic Outlook was hosted by Nicola Wealth and MC’d by Dr, Richard (Rick) J. Goossen, Business Development, Nicola Wealth.  Rick introduced the sessions and then moderated an extensive Q & A after the presentations.

Peter Hall, Chief Economist, EDC, spoke about the world economy and its implications for Canada.  Peter has spoked at the two most recent ELO Forums in Toronto and previously at an ELO Forum in Vancouver.  He is a great presenter and he once again provided much food for thought.  Peter covered a range of topics:  overall indebtedness in Canada; consumer debt as a share of disposable income; Canada’s housing market bubble; “world economy: super cycle?”; and “the US housing market: an anti-bubble!”  He also addressed the issue of populism.  He exclaimed, “It’s going the wrong way!”  Typically, populist disenchantment doesn’t happen in a good economy.  He also discussed whether a US-China resolution is likely.  In summary, Peter highlighted the issue of slowing growth; the impact of self-inflicted; unnecessary policies; whether trade resolution is likely; and the possibility of recession.

The other presenter was Ron Haik, Ontario Regional Manager, Nicola Wealth (www.nicolawealth.com), who provided an excellent balance to Peter’s presentation.  Ron was able to take macro economic concerns and distill them down to some practical action steps at the personal level.  Ron talked about the three aspects of the value of financial planning:  tax planning, investment returns and estate planning.  He talked about income splitting (it’s not over!) and the 2018 tax reforms.  He highlighted various planning factors:  corporate assets, age, business income and spending needs.  The bottom line is that in a challenging environment, careful financial and tax planning is essential to personal wealth preservation and growth.

The PowerPoint Presentations are available by contacting the Toronto office of Nicola Wealth.