The rise of the high net worth Canadians

The wealthiest Canadians only continue to get richer amid the ever-rising value of assets

In a fiscal environment characterized by consistent growth in the value of assets, the wealthiest Canadians only continue to get richer, according to a Toronto-based business communications professional.
 
In a contribution piece for The Canadian Press, markets observer Talbot Boggs cited a report by Investor Economics and the Canadian Securities Institute, which predicted that 7 per cent of households will be considered high net worth (HNW) by 2022.
 
While HNW individuals are projected to control 66 per cent of the entire nation’s personal wealth by then, the report provided an even more eye-popping forecast for just two years after that.
 
“By 2024, the total assets of the HNW in the country are expected to be $4.3 trillion or 69.5 per cent of total person wealth,” Boggs stated.
 
What exactly is driving this increase? Most likely, the growing number of wealthy individuals born between 1946 and 1964.
 
“A lot of this rise in wealth and high net worth individuals and households is coming from the Baby Boomers who have accumulated their money and assets of various types during their working years and now are looking to cash them in for retirement or to pass them on to younger generations,” Boggs wrote.
 
This observation was backed by Chris Reynolds, president and CEO of the independent financial services firm Investment Planning Counsel.
 
“The Baby Boomers are selling their businesses and liquefying assets such as real estate, farms, small and medium-sized businesses and other properties with greater frequency because of their age. They want more liquidity as they get older,” Reynolds said recently. “They are looking for safety and a good income from what they've been able to accumulate over the years to provide a good retirement and preserve their wealth to pass on to the next generations.”
 
Much of this wealth is going to the next generation, a development that might prove to be a boon for millennials and for the financial system as a whole. In recent years, young professionals have proven to be remarkably hesitant about investing into real estate and other long-term assets.
 
“About 80 per cent of our time with the Boomer demographic is spent on succession planning and only about 20 per cent on their investments,” Reynolds said. “It's about the preservation of what these people have worked all their lives to get and making it last for their retirement and to pass on to the next generations.”

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