Date
Wednesday, November 15, 2023 | 7:30 AM - 10:30 AM
Lead Sponsor:
Breakfast Sponsor:
PROFESSIONAL PLANNING FOR 2024: SIX ESSENTIAL TAX, LEGAL, AND FINANCIAL TOPICS
Please join us at the Jewish Foundation’s upcoming Professional Advisory Committee breakfast and seminar to hear from expert speakers on a variety of topics related to finance, accounting, and law.
In addition to our regular program, we will provide an update on the situation in Israel and how Toronto's community has provided support.
Wednesday, November 15, 2023
Networking and breakfast: 7:30 AM
Program: 8:00 – 10:30 AM
Adath Israel Congregation
37 Southbourne Ave.
North York, ON
Cost: $75 per person
Kashrut observed
All attendees will be required to pass a security check prior to entering the venue. Please bring a piece of identification and be prepared to have your bags checked. You will need to enter the venue via the doors on Westgate Boulevard.
Continuing education credits may be available.
Registration for this event has now been closed. If you would still like to attend this seminar, please contact Lena Manashirov at lmanashirov@ujafed.org
SPEAKERS
Benjamin Tal
Managing Director and Deputy Chief Economist, CIBC World Markets Inc.
Benjamin is a member of the CIBC economic team that is responsible for analyzing macro economic developments and their implications for fixed income, equity, foreign exchange, and commodities markets. He also acts in an advisory capacity to bank officers on issues related to wealth management, household/corporate credit, and risk.
Benjamin has more than 20 years experience in the private sector advising clients, industry leaders, corporate boards, trade associations, and governments on economic and financial issues. He is also a regular commentator in the media.
Benjamin is a member of the Economic Committee of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and The Economic Development Committee of the Toronto Board of Trade. He is also a member of the Board of Governors of Junior Achievement of Central Ontario, and a board member of Toronto Finance International.
Hemal Balsara
Head of Tax, Retirement and Estate Planning, Individual Insurance, Manulife
Hemal Balsara provides tax, retirement, estate, and insurance planning support and consultation to advisors regarding complex cases in the affluent and business markets. He leads a team of professionals providing this type of support and consultation across the country.
Hemal joined Manulife Financial in 2011 after spending six years in the tax area of a national accounting firm, where he researched and analyzed complicated technical tax issues. In addition, prior to specializing in tax, Hemal spent two years in the audit practice.
Hemal has contributed to various tax-related publications, including Canadian Tax Highlights and PwC’s Wealth and Tax Matters. He has also been a keynote speaker at various industry conferences, including STEP Canada's National Conference and Manulife's Elite Conference.
Hemal received his BCom degree from the University of Toronto and graduated with high distinction. He has also obtained his Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation. Hemal is a member of CPA Canada, CPA Ontario, Canadian Tax Foundation, Estate Planning Council of Toronto, Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, and Family Enterprise Exchange.
Jamie Golombek
Managing Director, Tax & Estate Planning, CIBC Private Wealth
As a member of the CIBC Private Wealth team, Jamie works closely with advisors from across CIBC to support their clients and deliver integrated financial planning and strong advisory solutions. He joined the firm in 2008 after 12 years with a global investment company, where he was involved in both internal and external consulting on all areas of taxation and estate planning.
Jamie is quoted frequently in the national media as an expert on taxation; writes a weekly column called “Tax Expert” in the National Post; and has appeared as a guest on BNN, CTV News, and The National.
He received his BCom from McGill University and earned his CPA designation in Ontario. He has also obtained his Certified Financial Planning (CFP) and Chartered Life Underwriting (CLU) designations. Jamie is a recipient of CPA Ontario’s Award of Distinction, which honours those CPAs who have made an early impact.
Jamie teaches an MBA course in personal finance at the Schulich School of Business at York University in Toronto.
Ali Spinner
Partner, Tax & Estate Planning, Crowe Soberman LLP
Alexandra (Ali) Spinner’s practice focuses on helping wealthy families and high-performance professionals structure their affairs in a tax-efficient manner. She works closely with her clients to ensure that their short and long term personal, financial, estate, and philanthropic goals are carefully considered in their planning.
Ali’s broad technical expertise includes domestic, cross-border, and international tax matters for individuals, trusts, estates, and corporations. She is experienced in complex estate and trust planning, post-mortem planning, corporate reorganizations, and the preparation of Canadian tax returns and compliance forms.
In 2022, Ali was elected as a Fellow of the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario. The distinction of Fellow formally recognizes her exceptional service to the professional and to the broader community. She is a past lecturer in the commerce program at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, CPA Canada’s In-Depth Tax Program, and the School of Accountancy Tax Program administered by CPA Ontario.
Emily Ben-Haim
Senior Investment Counsellor, RBC PH&N Investment Counsel
Emily provides discretionary investment management services for high-net-worth individuals and institutions. Emily’s emphasis on client communication informs her assessment of each client’s risk tolerance and investment objectives, resulting in an objective-oriented portfolio solution that is customized for each client’s unique profile and circumstances. In working with her clients, Emily draws on her extensive prior experience as a vice-president of client wealth management at Gluskin Sheff. Prior to that, Emily held investment banking and wealth management positions at Morgan Stanley and J.P. Morgan in New York and London, England.
In 2019, Emily won the Wealth Professional Canada Young Gun of the Year Award.
Emily earned her MBA from New York University, Stern School of Business, and holds the Chartered Investment Manager (CIM) designation. She is a strong believer in giving back to her community and is a board member of The North York General Hospital Foundation and Best Buddies Canada.
Jonathan Leibtag
Senior Counsel, Microsoft
Jonathan Leibtag is senior counsel on Microsoft’s Strategic Pursuits Team, a global legal team dedicated to supporting Microsoft’s most strategic, complex, and novel transactions across its commercial business. In addition to transactional work, Jonathan is deeply engaged with engineering teams and business leaders across the company tasked with driving its AI ambitions. This includes being Microsoft’s primary legal support for the Frontier Model Forum, an industry body developed in collaboration with Google, Anthropic, and OpenAI to promote the safe and responsible development of frontier AI models.
Prior to joining Microsoft, Jonathan was an M&A lawyer at a prominent downtown Toronto firm. Jonathan holds a law degree from the University of Western Ontario and a BCom from McGill University. Jonathan will be teaching an MBA course in organization studies at the Schulich School of Business at York University in Toronto.
Marni Pernica
Partner, Aird & Berlis LLP
Marni’s practice focuses on estate, income tax, and succession planning, including cross-border planning, planning to reduce estate administration tax (formerly known as probate fees), the preparation of wills, powers of attorney and trusts, and assisting with estate administration. Additionally, Marni advises clients on how to reduce personal and corporate tax, including the effective use of a family trust.
Marni works closely with her clients to provide them with practical and thoughtful advice regarding their estate plan. Understanding both the financial and personal elements of a family is essential to ensuring that a client’s estate plan reflects their unique circumstances. Marni offers effective planning for clients, ranging from young families who are just starting out to multi-generational families who are looking for effective ways to transition assets to the next generation.
Marni frequently writes and speaks on topics involving tax, estate planning, and business succession planning for audiences such as insurance and financial advisers, accountants, professionals, and fellow lawyers.