Canada’s LGBT fiscal power not lost on big banks

Canada's big banks are looking to harness the power of the pink dollar, setting up shop in Canada's largest LGBT community -- Toronto's Church Wellesley Village -- and devoting advertising dollars to Xtra magazine, Canada's gay & lesbian weekly.

As noted in a recent Toronto Star article, wealth management is a fiercely competitive industry in this country, so it's par for the course for financial institutions to target the LGBT community given its relatively high levels of disposable income.

"I'm a member of the (LGBT) community and I only have a certain amount of clients that are too," remarks Kenton Waterman, financial consultant, Investors Group Financial Services Inc. in Toronto. "In most cases, same-sex couples' income levels are a lot higher than (heterosexual) couples depending upon their lifestyle. You're looking at two adults with no kids and there's more money to access.

"It's noticeable that in the last two years, (the big banks) are advertising increasingly to the gay community."

TD Canada Trust is one of the big banks with a branch in the Church Wellesley Village and it's been increasingly ramping up its LGBT initiatives since 2004.

Rodney McPherson, financial planner, TD Waterhouse Financial Planning in Toronto, says TD continues to support various programs in the community.

"We continue to be a co-sponsor of Pride week and throughout the year there are other events that we sponsor," he says. "TD is on the forefront of that and we were the first (big bank to make its presence known) in this community."

Unique financial planning challenges?

With respect to financial planning, he adds a lot of gay couples have higher earning power but many also tend to be avid travellers, for instance.

"Sometimes with certain tax credits or estate planning issues unique situations arise but for the most part, as in any common law relationship, there isn't much that's different," he explains. "There are tax advantages to having a spouse to claim a tax credit for people that are financially dependent."