Financial services in London
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CWCC works with London families, retirees, farm families and incorporated professionals on life insurance, living benefits, succession planning and capital strategy: entirely online. The firm is registered with Quebec’s AMF under number 602293 and is licensed to place insurance in Ontario, where Jose Salloum is a licensed life insurance agent with FSRA.
A point about titles
In Ontario the titles “Financial Planner” and “Financial Advisor” are protected under the Financial Professionals Title Protection Act. We do not use them. Jose Salloum is a licensed life insurance agent here: that is what his FSRA licence permits.
This page is general information and financial education. It is not personalized financial, insurance, investment, tax or legal advice, and reading it creates no professional-client relationship. Participating whole life insurance is an insurance product, not an investment; its primary purpose is the death benefit. Dividends are not guaranteed: they are declared annually by the insurer’s board of directors based on the performance of the participating account, and past performance does not indicate future results. Guarantees described are contractual obligations of the issuing insurer and depend on its financial strength; they are not government-backed. Insurance products are not deposits and are not insured by CDIC. Policyholder protection is provided by Assuris within its published limits. Policy loans accrue interest and reduce the death benefit and available cash value until repaid; under section 148 of the Income Tax Act a policy loan is a disposition and a taxable gain can arise where proceeds exceed the adjusted cost basis. Creditor protection varies by province and circumstance and is never absolute. Suitability can only be assessed through individual consultation. CWCC is a firm registered with the AMF (602293); its advisors earn commissions paid by insurers on products placed. CWCC is not registered with CIRO and provides no securities advice.
In plain language: this page describes what we do and how the pieces fit together. It cannot tell you what you should do, because we have not met. Dividends are not guaranteed. The insurer’s board decides, one year at a time. The guarantees come from the insurer, not the government, and a policy is not a deposit. When a client places a policy through us, the insurer pays us a commission: you should know that when you weigh anything we write. And when a question belongs to securities, we say so rather than pretend our licence stretches that far.
What makes London different
London holds a particular place in the Canadian financial landscape: it has historically been one of the country’s insurance industry capitals, home to major insurers for more than a century. That changes nothing about what a London family actually needs, but it does mean a population accustomed to the sector, often with assumptions about how it works that deserve verifying rather than taking for granted.
A health care and research hub. London Health Sciences Centre and Western University are among the region’s largest employers. As in Hamilton and Ottawa, that means a high proportion of households belong to a defined-benefit pension plan: hospital or university.
Agricultural economy all around. London is surrounded by some of the most productive farmland in the country. Many regional families operate a family farm, often passed down across several generations, carrying substantial land value and succession planning of its own.
A markedly more affordable cost of living than the Greater Toronto Area. London attracts retirees and families leaving Toronto for more affordable housing, often with substantial capital from the sale of a Toronto property.
The family farm: planning apart
A farming operation is not a business like any other for succession planning purposes, and the London region holds a great many of them.
Land value often dwarfs everything else
Several hundred acres of farmland can be worth several million dollars, while available liquidity remains modest: the money is in the land, not in an account. At death, deemed disposition can trigger substantial tax on a gain accumulated over decades, and the estate must find that liquidity without selling the land itself if the goal is to keep the farm operating.
Intergenerational transfer has particular rules
Transferring a family farm to a child benefits from particular tax rules under the Income Tax Act, including a possible rollover at tax cost rather than fair market value, under strict conditions. This is a technical question belonging to an accountant specialized in farm taxation and to a lawyer: we flag it because it changes the arithmetic entirely, but we do not handle it ourselves.
One child takes over, the others hold only the land
As with an urban family business, the question of who takes over the operation and how to treat fairly the children who do not work the land comes up constantly. A life insurance policy whose death benefit roughly equals the other children’s share allows the farm to stay intact for the one who takes it over, without forcing a sale or an impossible division.
The health-sector group plan
For households tied to the hospital or university network, the first useful step is checking what already exists before adding anything.
Defined-benefit plans in this sector generally provide a surviving spouse pension equal to a fraction of the member’s, and a pension is not an asset that can be left to children. The pension adjustment also sharply reduces RRSP room: the TFSA becomes the primary tool for additional saving. Exact terms vary by plan: check yours in your annual statement.
The retiree who came from Toronto
London receives households each year who sell a Toronto property to settle in a more affordable region, often approaching or beginning retirement. That transition creates specific financial questions.
The sale proceeds become substantial capital that must be drawn down intelligently: in what order to withdraw from registered and non-registered accounts, how to manage OAS recovery, and how to structure what remains for heirs. A move is also the ideal moment to revisit a will and beneficiary designations written years earlier, under different circumstances.
Our seven service areas, seen from London
Life insurance
Term, permanent, participating whole life. For a family farm or business, equalization among heirs is often the most direct function.
Living benefits
Critical illness, disability, long-term care. A farmer generally has no group plan: income depends entirely on the capacity to work the land.
Group insurance
Hospital and university plans are among the most complete. Our first task is often to check what you already have.
Wealth creation
RRSP, TFSA, FHSA, RESP. For a recent retiree, the drawdown sequence matters more than accumulation.
Investment options
Segregated funds, mutual funds, ETFs, GICs. Education, and segregated fund contracts placed under our insurance licence. For securities held through a dealer: a CIRO-registered representative, which CWCC is not.
Succession planning
Will, estate trustee, designations, Estate Administration Tax, and intergenerational transfer of a farm or family business.
Financial sovereignty
The layer that connects the other six. See below.
The Infinite Financial Sovereignty® strategy in London
The strategy we call Infinite Financial Sovereignty® rests on the approach widely known as The Infinite Banking Concept®, originated by R. Nelson Nash. In any financing arrangement, someone supplies the capital and someone owns the structure it moves through.
The strategy uses a participating whole life insurance policy issued by a Canadian mutual insurer as the place capital accumulates on a tax-deferred basis, accessed through a policy loan rather than by applying to an outside lender.
Three clarifications, non-negotiable: a policy loan is a genuine loan issued by the insurer, it accrues interest, and it reduces the death benefit while outstanding. Dividends are never guaranteed. And this is not a bank: a policy is an insurance contract governed by provincial insurance legislation, it is not a deposit account, and protection comes from Assuris rather than CDIC.
Why London? For a farm family whose capital is locked in the land, a parallel structure can supply liquidity without further mortgaging the operation. For a retiree who came from Toronto with substantial capital and little need for aggressive growth, contractual stability may suit part of the portfolio. In both cases the long-horizon requirement remains, and we will help you determine honestly whether it fits your situation.
The book Infinite Financial Sovereignty®, Simplified sets out the full mechanics, including an entire chapter on where the strategy does not fit.
How this approach compares
An honest comparison does not declare a winner.
| Element | Conventional approach | Coordinated IFS™ approach |
|---|---|---|
| Where capital sits | Land, registered accounts, investments | The same, plus a participating insurance contract as the foundation |
| Access to capital | Taxable withdrawal, or a farm mortgage | A policy loan issued by the insurer, accruing interest |
| At death (Ontario) | Estate assets subject to Estate Administration Tax | Beneficiary designation: proceeds do not form part of estate value |
| Equalization among children | Often requires dividing or selling the land | Liquidity available to balance without dividing the operation |
| Horizon required | Variable | Long: cash value is generally lower than premiums in the early years |
This table claims no superiority. A participating policy is an insurance contract; comparing it to the market as though it were a fund would be a category error.
The cornerstone guide
Start here: the whole strategy in one page
What it is, how it works in Canada, what it costs, what it risks, how long it takes and who it does not suit.
Read the guideWho this is for in London
- Farm families. Substantial land value, modest liquidity, and the transfer to the next generation.
- Hospital or university plan members. Partial survivor pension, and no transferable asset.
- Retirees who came from Toronto. Substantial capital from a sale, drawdown, revisiting the will.
- Small business owners and incorporated professionals. Cash in the corporation, the Capital Dividend Account, succession.
- Families. Protection, RESP, the foundation of family wealth.
And who it is not for: without an emergency fund, carrying high-interest debt, or with uncertain cash flow, those things come first.
What a first meeting covers
Thirty minutes, online, no products and no obligation.
Your situation
Income, assets, business or farm structure if applicable, dependants.
What is missing
The real gaps, ranked by importance.
An honest answer
If your situation calls first for a farm-tax accountant, we will tell you.
How a meeting works
All of our meetings are held online, by video. The firm’s office is in Quebec, and no London client needs to travel there.
Check us out independently
No form in this section, nothing to book. Before trusting anyone with money the right instinct is to verify, and nothing here should discourage it.
The AMF register
Canadian Wealth Creation Centre Inc. is registered as a firm with the Autorité des marchés financiers under number 602293. Both a firm’s registration and an advisor’s certificate can be confirmed in the AMF’s public register.
The full profile
Licensing, designations and issuing bodies, with how to confirm each one. About Jose Salloum.
Or check for yourself
The Google links open a Google Canada search in a new tab. What appears there is Google’s ranking, not a recommendation from this site.
Frequently asked questions. London
Are you licensed in Ontario?
Yes. Canadian Wealth Creation Centre Inc. is licensed to place insurance in Ontario, and Jose Salloum is a licensed life insurance agent with FSRA.
How do we transfer the family farm to one child without shortchanging the others?
A life insurance policy whose death benefit roughly equals the other children’s share allows the operation to stay intact for the one who takes it over. The tax rules for intergenerational farm transfer are technical and belong to a specialized accountant and a lawyer: we coordinate the insurance portion of that plan.
I just sold my Toronto house to settle in London. Where do I start?
With a full review: will, beneficiary designations, and a drawdown strategy that accounts for the capital from the sale. This is often the best moment to update documents written years earlier.
Do I have to travel to meet you?
No. All meetings are held online.
Is an insurance policy a bank?
No. A participating whole life insurance policy is an insurance contract governed by provincial insurance legislation. It is not a bank, and protection comes from Assuris, within its published limits.
How are you paid?
Through commissions paid by insurers on products placed. Full disclosure appears on the Transparency and Compensation page.
A thirty-minute discovery meeting
A first conversation establishes whether this fits. No illustration is prepared and nothing is arranged.
Often the answer is no, and you will hear it during the call rather than in a proposal afterwards.
Sources and references
- THE AMF REGISTERFirm 602293, Autorité des marchés financiers, lautorite.qc.ca
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About the author
Jose Salloum is a Financial Security Advisor (Conseiller en sécurité financière) licensed by the Autorité des marchés financiers in Quebec, by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario, and by the Insurance Council of British Columbia. Licensed since 2001, he works with Canadian families, business owners and incorporated professionals.
He is the founder of Canadian Wealth Creation Centre Inc. (CWCC), registered with the AMF, and of its educational branch IBCFinancial.com. He holds the Infinite Banking Concepts® Authorized Practitioner certification from the Nelson Nash Institute, a private certification rather than a regulatory licence.
CWCC is not registered with CIRO and does not provide securities advice. This page is general education and not advice on any individual file.
Important disclosures
This page is education, not advice. The content is general information prepared by Canadian Wealth Creation Centre Inc. It does not take your circumstances into account and is not a recommendation to buy, hold or cancel any contract. CWCC is not registered with CIRO and does not provide securities advice. The firm places insurance in Quebec, Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba and New Brunswick; clients elsewhere are served by advisors licensed in their province.
Nothing here was written with your file in front of us. Read it to understand the subject, then judge it against your own situation, ideally with someone who is licensed where you live and who has seen your numbers.
Tax treatment depends on your own circumstances. The tax treatment described depends on the contract remaining exempt under the Income Tax Regulations and on the reader’s individual circumstances. A withdrawal, a surrender or a policy loan may be a disposition under the Income Tax Act, and amounts above the adjusted cost basis may be taxable in the year they occur. Tax rules change.
The tax result is not automatic and it is not unconditional. It rests on the contract staying within the Canadian rules and on your own situation. Before you rely on any of it, talk to an accountant who has actually worked with these contracts.
Guarantees come from the insurer, not from the government. Guaranteed values in a life insurance contract are contractual promises of the issuing insurer and depend on that insurer’s financial strength and claims paying ability. Dividends on a participating contract are not guaranteed, are declared at the insurer’s discretion and can change. Policyholder protection in Canada is provided by Assuris within its published limits; deposit insurance does not apply to insurance contracts.
The guarantees written into a contract are real, and they are the insurer’s. The dividend is not a guarantee at all; it is what the insurer decides to declare each year. Know which numbers are which before you make a plan around them.
Illustrations and projections are not predictions. Any figures, examples or illustrated values are hypothetical, are shown to explain a mechanism, and are not a forecast of the performance of any contract. Actual values will differ and may be lower than those shown. Past dividend scales do not predict future scales.
An example is there to show how the parts move, not to tell you what you will get. Any real illustration you are shown should be read on its guaranteed columns first.
Borrowing against a contract carries its own risks. A policy loan or a loan secured by a contract accrues interest. If the balance and interest are not managed, the death benefit is reduced, and a contract that lapses with a loan outstanding can produce a taxable gain in that year. Third party lenders set their own terms and can change them.
A loan is a loan. Interest builds whether or not you pay it, and a contract that runs out of room while it is owed can cost you both the coverage and a tax bill. This is the part of the strategy that needs the most discipline.
Investment discussion is general and comparative. References to investment products, accounts or returns are for comparison and education. CWCC does not sell securities and is not registered with CIRO. Segregated funds are insurance contracts; their guarantees are the insurer’s and apply only at the dates and on the terms written in the contract. Returns are not guaranteed and capital can be lost.
When this site compares a contract with an investment, it is describing how each works, not telling you which to buy. Questions about securities belong with someone registered to answer them.