Marc Pineault on Financial Planning for Business Owners

Does Marc Pineault work with business owners? Yes — and this is one of his areas of deepest focus. Incorporated business owners face a level of financial complexity that most generalist planners aren't equipped to handle well. Marc has built his practice to serve exactly this type of client.

If you run an incorporated business in Ontario and you've been wondering whether your financial plan is keeping up with your corporate structure, here's what Marc brings to the table.

Why Business Owner Planning Is Different

When you're incorporated, you have two financial lives running simultaneously — your personal finances and your corporate finances — and decisions in one directly affect the other. Most financial advisors are trained to handle one or the other, not both in an integrated way.

Business owners who don't have a planner comfortable in both worlds often end up with:

• A salary/dividend split that wasn't optimized for their tax situation
• Retained earnings sitting in the corporation without a strategy
• Personal wealth that's entangled with the business in ways that create risk
• No succession or exit plan in place as they approach retirement

Marc works across both the personal and corporate dimensions — alongside your accountant — to build a plan that makes sense as a whole.

Salary vs. Dividends: There's No Universal Right Answer

One of the most common questions incorporated business owners ask is: "Should I pay myself salary or dividends?" The answer depends on your personal income needs, your marginal tax rate, your RRSP room, your corporate tax situation, and your retirement plan.

In general, salary provides RRSP contribution room and pensionable earnings for CPP. Dividends can be more tax-efficient at certain income levels and preserve corporate cash differently. The optimal split varies by year and evolves as your business and personal situation changes.

Marc helps business owners model the options and make deliberate decisions each year — not just default to what they did last year.

Retained Earnings and Passive Income

When your corporation retains earnings beyond what you take as personal income, those retained earnings need a strategy. Leaving large amounts as passive cash in the corporation can trigger changes to your small business deduction eligibility — a meaningful issue as passive income thresholds apply.

Options include drawing earnings strategically into personal accounts, investing within a holding company, or using corporate-owned life insurance as a tax-advantaged accumulation vehicle. Marc helps business owners think through the trade-offs and implement a structure that fits their goals.

The Holdco Strategy

For business owners with growing retained earnings, a holding company (holdco) can be a powerful tool. A holdco separates accumulated wealth from the operating company — protecting it from business risk and enabling more flexible investment and estate strategies.

Setting up and using a holdco effectively requires coordination between your financial planner, accountant, and lawyer. Marc helps clients understand when a holdco makes sense, what it can and can't do, and how it fits into their overall financial plan.

Business Succession and Exit Planning

At some point, every business owner transitions out of their business — whether by sale, transfer to family, or other means. The earlier you start planning for that transition, the more options you have and the more of the business's value you'll be able to capture.

Marc helps business owners think through:

• What the business is worth and what it needs to be worth for retirement to work
• Whether a family transfer, management buyout, or third-party sale is most realistic
• How to structure the business and personal balance sheet to minimize tax on exit
• How life insurance fits into succession and buy-sell agreements with partners

Who Marc Works With

Marc works with incorporated business owners across Southwestern Ontario — London, Kitchener, Hamilton, and surrounding areas — in professional services, trades, consulting, healthcare, and other sectors.

If you're running a business and feel like your financial plan hasn't kept pace with your corporate complexity, a conversation with Marc is worth having.

Book a free consultation at https://calmmoney.ca/contact.

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This article is for educational purposes only and does not constitute personalized financial advice. Please consult a qualified financial planner before making any financial decisions.