Federal Tax Shifts Explained: Enhancements, Risks & Planning Insights
Release Date: 12/18/2025
When Life Shifts: Protecting Wealth Through Divorce, Inheritance, and Change
The Wealth Exchange
Major life events like divorce, inheritance, or changing family dynamics can feel deeply personal, but they often carry immediate legal and financial consequences. How can you make thoughtful decisions when emotions are high and the stakes are long-term? Host Cassandra Cross sits down with Sierra Yanish, Family Lawyer, Mediator, and Arbitrator at BDL Family Law, to explore how personal transitions quickly become legal and financial turning points. Together, they unpack the assumptions, blind spots, and emotional pressures that can shape financial outcomes for years to come. You’ll hear: •...
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The Market Pendulum: Understanding Mean Reversion
The Wealth Exchange
Markets can surge for years, but history shows momentum rarely lasts forever. How should investors respond? Host William John sits down with John Nicola, Founder, Executive Chair, and Chief Investment Officer of Nicola Wealth, to explore mean reversion, the idea that over time highs come down and lows move up, and what it means for today’s investors. Drawing on decades of experience across public equities, private capital, real estate, infrastructure, and fixed income, John explains why asset classes often drift back toward long-term averages and what typically follows strong market...
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Beyond The Noise: What's Currently Happening In Private Credit
The Wealth Exchange
Private credit is everywhere in the headlines, but are the risks as big as they seem? Host Rob Olsen sits down with Jurgen Van Vuuren, Senior Director & Head, Private Debt, and Stacey Mouadeb, Senior Director, Private Debt to cut through the noise and unpack what’s really happening in today’s private credit market. You’ll hear: What’s driving the growth of private credit Why recent negative headlines may be overstating the risks How defaults, recoveries, and diversification actually work Why manager selection and disciplined underwriting matter What today’s market environment...
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A Look Inside Canada’s Current Commercial Mortgage Market
The Wealth Exchange
Interest rates are up and real estate values have shifted. So where are the opportunities now, and how does real estate debt fit into your portfolio? Host Rob Olsen sits down with Mark Tiu, Director of Mortgage Investments at Nicola Wealth, and Sam Brown, President and Head of Commercial at CMLS Financial, one of Canada’s largest commercial mortgage lenders, to share their front-line perspective on today’s real estate market. You’ll hear: • How higher rates are changing borrower behavior • Where lenders are finding opportunities and where they’re cautious • How commercial...
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Beyond the Podium: The Fundamentals That Last - A Conversation with Patrick Chan
The Wealth Exchange
Excellence is rarely defined by a single moment. More often, it is built quietly over years through discipline, preparation, and the support of a trusted team. In this episode of The Wealth Exchange, Nicola Wealth's Institutional President David Sung sits down with Olympic medalist and three-time world figure skating champion Patrick Chan, for a live fireside conversation recorded at the Arbutus Club in Vancouver. Patrick reflects on the mindset behind elite performance, from the early years of training and the lessons learned through setbacks, to the routines and preparation that help...
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Capturing Financial Opportunity in the Private Equity Secondaries Market
The Wealth Exchange
In private equity, fund timelines have traditionally shaped when investors exit an investment. Today, the secondaries market is creating new ways to provide liquidity while allowing strong assets to be held for longer. In this episode of The Wealth Exchange, Rob Olsen speaks with Sunny Lee about the evolution of private equity secondaries, with a focus on General Partner-led transactions. They discuss what is driving growth in the market, how continuation vehicles work, and how Nicola Wealth evaluates secondaries opportunities across managers, sectors, and vintages.
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Real Estate’s Reset, Revisited: What’s Changed and What Hasn’t
The Wealth Exchange
Real estate remains front-page news; from trade tensions and a soft condo market to the implications of BC’s Cowichan land claim ruling. In this follow-up episode, Rob Olsen, Head of Nicola Wealth Private Capital, reconnects with Mark Hannah, Executive Managing Director, Real Estate, to revisit their earlier conversation on valuation pressure and liquidity challenges, exploring what has shifted since then and what investors can expect in 2026. Mark shares updates on portfolio performance across Canada and the U.S., the state of redemptions, recent asset sales, and early signs of...
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Succession Isn’t a Transaction: What Business Owners Often Discover Too Late
The Wealth Exchange
Leadership transitions are defining moments for any organization. When done well, they preserve what made a firm successful while creating space for the next generation to lead. In this episode, host Natalie Michael, Managing Partner of CEO Next Chapter, speaks with John Nicola, Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Nicola Wealth, and Chris Nicola, the firm’s newly appointed CEO. Together, they reflect on the journey that led to the leadership transition and the careful planning that supported it, including the role of independent governance, succession planning, and the board led process...
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Beyond the Practice: Smart Financial Strategies for Dental and Medical Professionals
The Wealth Exchange
In this episode, Ron Haik, Wealth Advisor | Client Relationship Manager at Nicola Wealth, is joined by Karisa Schaitel, Wealth Advisor | Client Relationship Manager and CPA, for a practical discussion on tax planning, estate considerations, and long-term wealth strategy for physicians and dentists. Drawing on their experience advising owner-managed professional corporations across Canada, they explore how financial decisions evolve over the life of a practice, and why proactive, coordinated planning matters. The conversation covers common planning gaps, the risks of siloed advice, cash flow...
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Beyond the Hype: How Long-Term Investors Are Thinking About AI
The Wealth Exchange
Artificial intelligence sits at the center of today’s market narrative, surrounded by extraordinary investment, ambitious projections, and no shortage of bold claims. Yet as capital pours into infrastructure, chips, and data centers, investors are increasingly asking a more difficult question: what does realistic, long-term value creation from AI actually look like? In this episode, host Chris Nicola, CEO of Nicola Wealth, sits down with Eugene Wong, Associate Portfolio Manager | Public Assets, to unpack what’s really happening inside the AI super cycle. Drawing on Eugene’s research...
info_outlineWith new tax credits, compliance updates, and evolving regulations, Canada’s tax landscape can be challenging to navigate. In this episode of The Wealth Exchange, Ethan Astaneh, Wealth Advisor | Client Relationship Manager at Nicola Wealth, sits down with Matt Baker of Baker Tilly, one of Canada’s largest independent accounting and business advisory firms, to break down what these recent changes mean for planning, investment, and compliance.
Drawing on his extensive experience guiding clients through tax planning, compliance, and investment strategies, Matt explores both the enhancements designed to encourage investment, such as expanded SR&ED credits, flow-through share incentives, accelerated capital deductions, and the potential pitfalls that business owners need to watch for, from AMT considerations to emerging CRA review priorities.
For business owners and investors seeking clarity, this episode offers a practical, expert-led perspective on navigating Canada’s evolving tax landscape, highlighting the areas of opportunity, the areas of risk, and what thoughtful planning can achieve.
For details on Baker Tilly’s advisory services, or to connect with Matt Baker, visit https://www.bakertilly.com/