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The term “exit tax” often creates unnecessary fear. Some people believe Canada imposes a special penalty simply because an individual moves to another country. That is not an accurate description of how the Canadian tax system works. Canada’s departure tax is generally not an additional tax, immigration fee, or penalty for leaving Canada. It is primarily a timing rule that allows Canada to tax certain investment gains that accumulated while an individual was a Canadian tax re

The Business Family Professionalization Framework Family Ownership Competence Profile Overview of Ownership Competences

For many successful families, wealth planning often begins with transferring assets. But at ANICO Capital, we believe true legacy planning must go further. A will, trust, tax plan, or investment portfolio can transfer financial wealth. But they cannot automatically transfer wisdom, values, responsibility, family unity, or purpose. To make wealth last across generations, families need to build and pass on six forms of capital: spiritual, financial, human, family, structural, a

For many successful families, wealth is not only measured by investment return, business valuation, real estate, or portfolio size. Real family wealth carries something deeper: the family name, the founder’s story, years of sacrifice, reputation, responsibility, and the hope of passing something meaningful to the next generation. This is especially true for family enterprises and first-generation entrepreneurs. A family business is rarely just a company. It may represent cour

Parental Control Theory and the Heterogeneity of Family Firms Parental Control Theory provides an important perspective for understanding why family businesses can operate very differently, even when they have similar ownership structures, industries or financial resources (Jaskiewicz et al., 2017). The theory focuses on how parents combine control, expectations and discipline with emotional support, communication and responsiveness when raising their children. These early fa

It is really about family governance, communication structure, and long-term wealth continuity. The key message is: in family enterprises, conflict often becomes destructive when people feel ignored, excluded, or disrespected. A professional family office advisor can help families turn emotional conflict into constructive discussion by creating a clear system where each family member has a proper opportunity to be heard. Family businesses and family wealth structures naturall

How Does SpaceX Make Money? When investors look at SpaceX, many people still think of it mainly as a rocket company. In reality, SpaceX has already evolved into a much broader business platform. Its revenue now comes from satellite internet, rocket launch services, government and commercial missions, and future space infrastructure projects. From my perspective, the most important point is this: SpaceX is no longer valued only by how many rockets it launches. The market is in

Below is a rewritten client-facing version in Anita’s voice and purpose, based on the article you provided about why family business clients really call professionals. Why Family Business Owners Really Need Professional Help Many family business owners are smart, capable, and experienced. They know their business better than anyone else. They understand their family history, their company culture, and the sacrifices they made to build wealth over many years. Many of them have

The purpose of this book is simple. It’s to help families understand and implement sound investment decisions, consistent with their philosophy of wealth, long-term vision, and values. After spending 40 years of my career in the family office and wealth management fields, I’ve found that, more often that not, families struggle to develop a coherent and consistent investment strategy. In the book, my co-author and I offer our thoughts on how families can tackle this problem, a

Following Part 1, we now turn to a deeper exploration of the key themes and practical applications. 6. Ego Must Be Managed In family advisory work, ego can quietly damage the entire process. Some professionals want to be seen as the most important advisor. Some want to control the client relationship. Some resist input from other disciplines. Some become defensive when their recommendation is questioned. This is not helpful for the family. The best advisors are confident but

Why wealthy families need more than “many advisors” — they need true coordination In family enterprise and wealth management, we often hear that the best client outcomes come from a multidisciplinary advisory team. In theory, this is absolutely true. A successful family may need lawyers, accountants, investment professionals, insurance specialists, estate planners, business consultants, governance advisors, and sometimes even family dynamics experts. No single professional ca

The Strategic Turn: Navigating the Rise of Family Offices in China For decades, the story of wealth in China was one of rapid creation. Today, that narrative has shifted toward a more complex challenge: wealth preservation and intergenerational succession. As the first generation of entrepreneurs reaches retirement, the "Family Office" has emerged not just as a financial tool, but as a critical vehicle for managing family legacies. What Exactly is a Family Office? In the simp

Opening: From Discovery Channel to Your Family Office Advisor Over the past decade, we have collectively witnessed the market’s ebbs and flows and experienced the challenges of entrepreneurship firsthand. I deeply understand the anxiety many small business owners feel under today’s downward economic pressure. My career began in Toronto, where I had the privilege of serving as the Chief Accountant at Discovery Channel. That experience taught me how to discern a company’s lifel

The First-Generation Wealth Problem in Asia Over the past three decades, Asia has created more new wealth, faster, than any region in modern history. Behind this success lies a structural reality that is often overlooked:most of this wealth is still in its first generation. This is not just a statistic—it is a defining characteristic of how capital behaves, how families make decisions, and how fragile—or resilient—this wealth will be over time. In my experience working with c

Private equity is facing skepticism in today’s higher-rate environment, but at Anico Capital, we see this period as a healthy reset—not a decline. By focusing on disciplined managers, better valuations, and long-term value creation, private equity remains a powerful tool for diversification and wealth growth for investors with patience and a long horizon.