Proprietary Framework

Your Corporation Builds Wealth. This Protects It.

The Corporate Wealth Shield™ is a structured framework that uses tax-efficient insurance strategies to protect your corporate wealth, reduce what you pay the CRA, and build a tax-advantaged retirement — all inside your existing corporation.

Book Your Free Gap Analysis See the Framework

FSRA-Licensed Brokerage

No Obligation

CPA-Coordinated

The Corporate Wealth Shield™

Four strategies. One integrated shield.

Corporate-Owned Life Insurance Tax-sheltered growth inside your corporation

Insured Retirement Program Tax-advantaged retirement funded with corporate dollars

Capital Dividend Account Tax-free wealth transfer to shareholders

Buy-Sell Agreement Funding Protect your business from partner loss

The Gap Most Business Owners Never See

Your Accountant Files Your Taxes. Nobody's Protecting What You're Building.

Most incorporated Canadian business owners have an accountant, a financial advisor, and possibly a lawyer. And yet the single most tax-efficient wealth-building strategy available to them — corporate-owned life insurance — never comes up.

Not because it doesn't work. Because accountants aren't insurance advisors, financial advisors often don't understand the corporate tax code deeply enough to structure it correctly, and most insurance brokers don't specialize in business owners. The result: retained earnings sit in low-yield investments, getting taxed on the way out.

The Corporate Wealth Shield™ closes that gap.

"I have retained earnings in my corp and don't know what to do with them."

Leaving retained earnings in a holding account triggers passive income rules and generates a large tax event on withdrawal. COLI offers a tax-sheltered alternative with guaranteed growth.

"My accountant is great at compliance but never suggests strategies proactively."

CPAs are incentivized to file, not to plan. Insurance-based tax strategies sit at the intersection of tax law and insurance — it requires a specialist, not a generalist.

"If my business partner died tomorrow, I have no idea what would happen."

Without a funded buy-sell agreement, surviving partners often face forced sales, family disputes, or using personal assets to buy out an estate. A properly structured insurance policy eliminates this entirely.

"I want a tax-efficient retirement but maxing my RRSP isn't enough."

RRSPs are fully taxable on withdrawal. An Insured Retirement Program uses permanent insurance inside your corporation to create tax-advantaged retirement income — funded with corporate dollars at a lower tax rate.

The Framework

Four Strategies. One Integrated Shield.

The Corporate Wealth Shield™ is not a single product — it's a coordinated framework of four complementary strategies applied to your specific corporate structure. A Gap Analysis identifies which pillars are relevant to you.

Corporate-Owned Life Insurance

COLI

Your corporation owns and pays for a permanent life insurance policy on a key person. The cash value grows inside the policy at a tax-sheltered rate — separate from passive income rules — and can be used as collateral for business financing or distributed tax-free through the Capital Dividend Account on death.

Best for: Business owners with $250K+ in retained earnings looking for a tax-efficient alternative to low-yield holding company investments.

Insured Retirement Program

IRP

Your corporation funds a permanent insurance policy during your working years. At retirement, the accumulated cash value is used as collateral for bank loans, which are received tax-free and repaid from the death benefit. The result: a significant, tax-advantaged income stream funded with corporate dollars at a lower tax rate than personal withdrawal.

Best for: Incorporated professionals who have maximized RRSP contributions and want a tax-efficient retirement income stream.

Capital Dividend Account

CDA

When a corporate-owned life insurance policy pays its death benefit, the excess above the policy's adjusted cost basis flows into the Capital Dividend Account — a notional account under s. 89(1) of the Income Tax Act. Amounts in the CDA can be distributed to shareholders as capital dividends, completely tax-free.

Best for: Any business owner with a COLI policy — the CDA is built into the structure. Particularly valuable for estate and succession planning.

Buy-Sell Agreement Funding

Buy-Sell

A legally binding agreement between business partners, funded by life insurance, that ensures the surviving partners can purchase the deceased's share at a pre-agreed value — without going to the bank, selling assets, or negotiating with a grieving family. The insurance benefit provides immediate liquidity at exactly the moment it's needed most.

Best for: Any incorporated business with two or more owners. Without a funded agreement, a partner's death can force a business sale.

Who It's For

Built for Incorporated Canadian Business Owners

The Corporate Wealth Shield™ only makes sense for a specific type of client. We'd rather tell you upfront if it's not right for you than waste your time.

Incorporated Professionals

Physicians, dentists, lawyers, chiropractors, vets, and consultants with a PC or LLP and retained earnings building up inside the corporation.

Small Business Owners

Business owners with $500K–$5M in annual corporate revenue, particularly those with partners, significant retained earnings, or succession concerns.

Business Partners

Any incorporated business with two or more owners who have not yet put a funded buy-sell agreement in place — or who have one that hasn't been reviewed in years.

This framework is not for everyone. If you're not incorporated, if your corporate revenue is under $150K, or if you're primarily looking for personal term insurance, the Corporate Wealth Shield™ is probably not the right fit. Dundas Life serves personal and family insurance needs.

How It Works

Three Steps from Gap to Strategy

No long intake forms. No pushy sales calls. A structured process that gives you clarity before any decisions are made.

Free — 30 Minutes

Free Gap Analysis

We review your corporate structure, retained earnings, tax situation, and current coverage. You leave with a clear picture of where you're exposed and what strategies apply to you — regardless of whether you move forward.

Custom Strategy

Custom Strategy Session (60 min)

For clients where one or more pillars are a fit, we build an illustrated strategy with real numbers — projections, tax savings, cash value growth, and retirement income modelling specific to your corporation. Bring your accountant. We welcome it.

Implementation

Carrier Placement & Setup

If you decide to proceed, we handle the application, underwriting, and carrier placement across 20+ Canadian insurers. You're not locked into a single company. We find the right structure from the right carrier for your situation.

Why Dundas Wealth

This Is Not a Side Offering

Most financial advisors know the names of these strategies. Few have the depth to structure them correctly for an incorporated Canadian business owner — or the carrier relationships to place them competitively.

FSRA-licensed, independently owned Dundas Life Inc. (FSRA #37628M). No captive products. Access to 20+ Canadian carriers.

Canadian-specific, not generic advice Every recommendation is grounded in the Canadian Income Tax Act — s. 148, s. 89(1), s. 70(5.3). We speak accountant.

We work alongside your existing advisors Your accountant, lawyer, and financial advisor are welcome in any meeting. Good strategies get better with a full advisory team in the room.

Transparent about how we're paid We earn a commission from the insurer when a policy is placed. The Gap Analysis and strategy session are free. You'll always know what we earn and why.

$5B+

in coverage placed for Canadian clients

1,000+

Canadian families and businesses served

20+

Canadian insurers — independent access

30min

Gap Analysis — no prep, no obligation

Common Questions

Straightforward Answers

If you're skeptical, good. You should be. Here's what most clients ask before the Gap Analysis.

Yes — COLI is explicitly recognized in the Canadian Income Tax Act (s. 148, s. 89(1)). It is not a loophole. It is a tax planning strategy that Parliament deliberately built into the code, used by major Canadian corporations and professional practices. The CRA is aware of it and has issued guidance on it. The key is that it must be structured correctly — which is what the strategy session is for.

Not necessarily. Most accountants know these strategies exist but are not insurance-licensed and don't specialize in structuring them — so they rarely bring them up proactively. A good accountant will tell you to speak to a specialist. We work alongside your CPA and welcome them to any meeting. If your accountant reviews our recommendations and raises a concern, we want to hear it.

The Gap Analysis and the strategy session are genuinely free. We earn a commission from the insurer when a policy is placed — so we only get paid if you decide to implement a strategy, and it doesn't cost you more than going direct. There's no catch. If the strategies aren't right for your situation, we'll tell you that in the first session.

Most financial advisors are not insurance-licensed or are not specialists in corporate insurance structures. This is a niche at the intersection of tax law and insurance that requires specific expertise. We don't replace your advisor — we complement them. Many of our best client relationships started because a financial advisor referred their incorporated client to us for a strategy their firm couldn't offer.

Generally, COLI strategies become compelling when you have $250K or more in retained earnings and are generating consistent corporate income. Below that threshold, the economics typically don't justify the structure. The Gap Analysis will tell you exactly where you stand — including if it's worth revisiting in a few years but not right now.

You'll know within 30 minutes. If the framework isn't right for your situation, we'll tell you that directly, point you toward what might be more relevant, and you'll leave with a clearer picture of your corporate tax situation than you walked in with. No pressure, no follow-up sales campaign.