Earning a high income in Canada but unsure if you're actually building wealth? In this video, a financial advisor with 10+ years of experience breaks down research-backed investing and tax strategies for high-income earners at three levels — $250K, $500K, and $1M+ — whether you're a T4 employee or a business owner.

You'll learn how to automate your finances, max out registered accounts, avoid lifestyle inflation, cut your tax bill with advanced planning, and manage over-concentrated portfolios — plus the behavioural traps that quietly destroy wealth at every income level.

Sources:

→ https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/0022-1082.00226

→ https://academic.oup.com/qje/article-abstract/116/1/261/1939000

→ https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1540-6261.1985.tb05002.x

→ https://www.anderson.ucla.edu/documents/areas/fac/accounting/smartjpe226.pdf

→ https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2900447

→ https://web.mit.edu/curhan/www/docs/Articles/biases/1_J_Risk_Uncertainty_7_(Samuelson).pdf

→ https://repository.upenn.edu/prc_papers/426/

→ https://www.morningstar.com/content/cs-assets/v3/assets/blt9415ea4cc4157833/bltebc45c862e642793/6759e563cbd7d6cef415ac94/Mind_the_Gap_2024.pdf

→ https://www.morningstar.com/content/dam/marketing/shared/research/foundational/677796-AlphaBetaGamma.pdf

→ https://corporate.vanguard.com/content/dam/corp/articles/pdf/putting_value_on_your_value_quantifying_vanguard_advisors_alpha.pdf

→ https://cirano.qc.ca/files/publications/2016s-35.pdf

→ https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1706541114

→ https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/does-more-money-correlate-greater-happiness-Penn-Princeton-research

→ https://dspace.mit.edu/bitstream/handle/1721.1/135992/SSRN-id3351382.pdf

→ https://schulich.yorku.ca/faculty/moshe-arye-milevsky/

→ https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/registered-plans-administrators/whats-new.html

→ https://www.taxtips.ca/taxrates/on.htm

→ https://www.bdo.ca/insights/passive-investment-income-impact-small-business-deduction

→ https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/individuals/topics/about-your-tax-return/tax-return/completing-a-tax-return/personal-income/line-12700-capital-gains/gifts-shares-stock-options-other-capital-property.html

→ https://gowlingwlg.com/en/insights-resources/articles/2025/tax-considerations-when-donating-shares-in-canada

→ https://www.investmentexecutive.com/news/cra-announces-prescribed-rate-for-q3-2026/

→ https://www.nbc.ca/personal/advice/savings-investment/understanding-the-individual-pension-plan.html

→ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_stock_market_decline

→ https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/251031/dq251031b-eng.htm

→ https://www.statcan.gc.ca/o1/en/app/8663-high-income-canadians-2023

→ https://www.spglobal.com/spdji/en/research-insights/spiva/#canada

→ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZggpDiOtQE

Important disclosures

This video is produced by Sam Lichtman for educational and informational purposes only. Nothing in it constitutes investment, tax, legal, insurance, or financial advice, an offer or solicitation, or a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security or to adopt any investment strategy. Information is general in nature, may not apply to your circumstances, and should not be relied upon as advice. Consult a qualified professional about your own situation before making any decision. Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal.

Mutual funds are offered through Portfolio Strategies Corporation ("PSC"), a member of the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO). Sam Lichtman is an Approved Person of PSC. Financial planning and insurance services, where mentioned, are business activities separate from PSC.

Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees, and expenses all may be associated with mutual fund investments. Please read the prospectus before investing. Mutual funds are not guaranteed and their values change frequently, and past performance may not be repeated. Important information about mutual funds is contained in the simplified prospectus — to obtain a copy, contact your Advisor.

Any reference to a specific fund or portfolio, including its asset allocation, is provided to illustrate how a strategy is constructed and is not a recommendation to invest in that fund or portfolio. Any planning illustrations use FP Canada's Projection Assumption Guidelines and are hypothetical illustrations, not a guarantee or prediction of future results. Any opinions expressed are those of the speaker as of the date of recording and are subject to change.

This communication is intended for residents of the Canadian provinces in which Sam Lichtman and Portfolio Strategies Corporation are registered.

Listen in as Sam Lichtman, CFP and Founder of Millen Wealth Advisors, walks through how having hard conversations with your parents and your kids can help preserve generational wealth. 

Want to become a client? Check out www.mwadvisors.ca

This episode is produced by Sam Lichtman for educational and informational purposes only. Nothing in it constitutes investment, tax, legal, insurance, or financial advice, an offer or solicitation, or a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security or to adopt any investment strategy. Information is general in nature, may not apply to your circumstances, and should not be relied upon as advice. Consult a qualified professional about your own situation before making any decision. Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal. Mutual funds are offered through Portfolio Strategies Corporation ("PSC"), a member of the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO). Sam Lichtman is an Approved Person of PSC. Financial planning and insurance services, where mentioned, are business activities separate from PSC. Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees, and expenses all may be associated with mutual fund investments. Please read the prospectus before investing. Mutual funds are not guaranteed and their values change frequently, and past performance may not be repeated. Important information about mutual funds is contained in the simplified prospectus — to obtain a copy, contact your Advisor. Any reference to a specific fund or portfolio, including its asset allocation, is provided to illustrate how a strategy is constructed and is not a recommendation to invest in that fund or portfolio. Any planning illustrations use FP Canada's Projection Assumption Guidelines and are hypothetical illustrations, not a guarantee or prediction of future results. Any opinions expressed are those of the speaker as of the date of recording and are subject to change. This communication is intended for residents of the Canadian provinces in which Sam Lichtman and Portfolio Strategies Corporation are registered.

Learn 5 actionable methods wealthy people use to build and preserve long-term wealth in Canada. Certified Financial Planner Sam Lichtman breaks down evidence-based financial planning, AI budgeting strategies, legal CRA tax hacks (spousal RRSPs & income splitting), corporate holding structures, and low-cost index fund investing to protect your portfolio.

*Chapter 1 — Splitting Income*

→ https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agen... → https://www.ey.com/en_ca/tax/tax-calc... → https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agen... → https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agen... → https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agen... → https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agen... → https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agen... → https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agen...

*Chapter 2 — Holding Companies*

→ https://www.zeninvestor.org/wp-conten... → https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.c... → https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfineco.201... → https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agen... → https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/a... → https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agen... → https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/a...

*Chapter 3 — Own the Market, Pay for Advice*

→ https://doi.org/10.2469/faj.v47.n1.7 → https://web.stanford.edu/~wfsharpe/ar... → https://www.spglobal.com/spdji/en/spi... → https://www.spglobal.com/spdji/en/spi... → https://www.nber.org/papers/w17929 → https://www.nber.org/system/files/wor... → https://doi.org/10.3386/w17929 → https://www.morningstar.com/lp/global... → https://www.osc.ca

*Chapter 4 — Asset Allocation*

→ https://doi.org/10.2307/2975974 → https://www.jstor.org/stable/2975974 → https://doi.org/10.2469/faj.v42.n4.39 → https://www.dimensional.com/ca-en

Important disclosures

This video is produced by Sam Lichtman for educational and informational purposes only. Nothing in it constitutes investment, tax, legal, insurance, or financial advice, an offer or solicitation, or a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security or to adopt any investment strategy. Information is general in nature, may not apply to your circumstances, and should not be relied upon as advice. Consult a qualified professional about your own situation before making any decision. Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal.

Mutual funds are offered through Portfolio Strategies Corporation ("PSC"), a member of the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO). Sam Lichtman is an Approved Person of PSC. Financial planning and insurance services, where mentioned, are business activities separate from PSC.

Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees, and expenses all may be associated with mutual fund investments. Please read the prospectus before investing. Mutual funds are not guaranteed and their values change frequently, and past performance may not be repeated. Important information about mutual funds is contained in the simplified prospectus — to obtain a copy, contact your Advisor.

Any reference to a specific fund or portfolio, including its asset allocation, is provided to illustrate how a strategy is constructed and is not a recommendation to invest in that fund or portfolio. Any planning illustrations use FP Canada's Projection Assumption Guidelines and are hypothetical illustrations, not a guarantee or prediction of future results. Any opinions expressed are those of the speaker as of the date of recording and are subject to change.

This communication is intended for residents of the Canadian provinces in which Sam Lichtman and Portfolio Strategies Corporation are registered.