In this week's edition

An increasingly online world calls for looking like a pro when video conferencing. Achieving that isn’t complicated but it does require attention to detail. Put your best face foward with these tips from financial pros who have embraced video meetings and social media.

When researchers at the New York Fed examined the connection between Alzheimer’s and poor financial decisions, they found that finances deteriorated steadily in the years leading up to a diagnosis. The findings could inform the role of financial institutions in reducing financial risk among seniors with undiagnosed memory disorders.

Trusts that hold assets with a combined fair market value of less than $50,000 throughout a year are generally exempt from annual filing under new requirements for trusts in 2023 and beyond. That exemption applies to trusts that hold certain assets, including cash. What’s not considered cash? A GIC. Read all the details.

A proposed class action is underway against TD Bank, alleging the bank failed to properly disclose systemic deficiencies in its anti–money laundering (AML) controls, particularly in its U.S. operations. The bank should have known by August 2021 that U.S. regulators would likely take steps to address the AML issue, the class action alleges. The bank has 20 days to file a defence.

Last week this space discussed total cost reporting for segregated funds, and in response one advisor said a fiduciary (another topic recently discussed here) would also show clients the long-term impact of fees on investment returns. Cost conversations are probably most effective if clients understand product cost versus advice cost, and the value they receive for each. These ideas relate to a recent and popular story on Advisor.ca about how the outperformance of active funds is relatively short-lived. Does cost inform your client conversations? Let me know your thoughts in a email.