Dickson Family Wealth at RBC Dominion Securities Inc.

10/15/2026

A stroke, a serious accident, a diagnosis that takes away someone's ability to make decisions. None of that waits for the paperwork to be ready.

Having a power of attorney is a start, not the whole answer. It needs a backup named, in case the first person can't act either. It needs to be someone who's actually available when it matters, close enough or reachable enough to step in without delay. And the document itself has to be structured properly, or an institution can refuse to honour it at exactly the moment your family needs it to work.

I've sat with families who had a POA in place and still hit a wall, because one of those pieces was missing.

Is yours actually built to hold up, backup named, practical to use, properly structured, or is it a document sitting in a drawer? Tell me in the comments.

10/12/2026

I've seen an outdated beneficiary designation undo years of careful planning in one line.

An old will, a properly structured trust, a well-thought-out plan — none of it overrides what's named directly on a policy or a registered account ie. an RRSP. Those designations pass outside the will entirely. If they haven't been updated since a divorce, a remarriage, or a death in the family, the money goes exactly where the outdated form says, regardless of what anyone intended.

This is one of the easiest things to fix and one of the most commonly missed.

If it's been more than a few years since you've checked who's named on those accounts, that's worth five minutes.

When's the last time you actually checked who's named on your accounts? Tell me in the comments.

10/11/2026

Happy Thanksgiving from RBC Wealth Management. Wishing you and your loved ones a warm holiday filled with gratitude and good company.

10/09/2026

Global bond yields have hit fresh multi-decade highs, but is this a warning sign or a healthy market recalibration? We explore the structural forces reshaping interest rates worldwide.

10/08/2026

Charitable giving often gets treated as what's left over after everything else is decided. For a lot of families I work with, it deserves a seat at the table earlier than that.

Done well, giving isn't separate from a family's financial plan — it's part of it. It can reduce the tax burden on an estate, involve the next generation in a shared value before there's an inheritance to argue about, and let people see the impact of their giving while they're still here to see it.

Done as an afterthought, it's usually a cheque written in December with little thought behind it.

If giving matters to your family, it's worth planning for on purpose, not squeezing in at the end.

Where does giving fit in your own financial plan, on purpose or as an afterthought? I'd love to hear in the comments.

10/07/2026

For most of the past two decades, the U.S. power system had a relatively simple job: maintaining the grid for an economy where electricity demand barely grew. But that job is changing quickly.

10/06/2026

Managing wealth is rarely about a single answer, and that’s why human connections still matter in wealth planning.

A tax move today can change retirement income years from now. A succession strategy can ripple into estate planning or family dynamics. Look at one decision in isolation and you might solve the immediate problem while creating a new one down the line.

That's the human element and where I can help. I know you, your goals, your family, and the story behind the numbers.

Through RBC Family Office Services, I can introduce you to lawyers, accountants, tax specialists, and succession and philanthropic advisors and keep everyone working together as one coordinated team.

Reach out if you want to have a conversation about wealth planning.

Why human connections still matter in wealth planning.

10/05/2026

What 20 years in this business has taught me about money and family

Twenty years into this work, the thing that's stayed constant isn't the markets. It's how much money and family get tangled together, for better and worse.
I've learned that the technical side — the tax strategy, the account structures — matters less than whether a family can actually talk to each other about what they want. I've learned that the plans that hold up aren't necessarily the most sophisticated ones. They're the ones everyone involved actually understood.
And I've learned that most people don't need someone to tell them what to do with their money. They need someone who'll ask the right questions and stick around long enough to help them answer them.

That's still the job, twenty years in.

What's the biggest money-and-family lesson you've learned yourself? Share it in the comments.

10/01/2026

Confidence isn't a number in an account

I've worked with people who had plenty of money and no confidence in it, and people with far less who felt completely at ease with where they stood.
The difference was never the number. It was whether they understood what the money was actually for.

Confidence comes from clarity: knowing what you're building toward, what's already covered, and what decisions still need to be made. Without that, more money just means more to worry about.

That's the part of this work I care about most. Not the account balance, but whether someone can look at their situation and feel steady in it.

What does "financial confidence" actually mean to you? Tell me in the comments.

09/28/2026

Why "just add me to the account" is the wrong answer

In BC, adding an adult child directly onto a bank or investment account is one of the most common shortcuts people take to avoid probate. It feels like a simple fix.
It usually creates a different set of problems. Joint ownership can mean that account is no longer fully yours, legally or financially. It can be exposed to that child's creditors, their marriage breakdown, or their own estate. It can also create real confusion about what was actually intended: was that account meant to be split evenly among all the kids, or did you intend for the one named on it to keep it?

There's good planning available to avoid probate and simplify an estate. It just needs to be built as part of a robust, comprehensive financial plan, not as a single account change made on its own.

Have you seen this play out in your own family, one way or another? I'd like to hear about it in the comments.