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Understanding debt: A key to building wealth
Why debt matters in wealth conversations
Debt is part of life for many Canadians. But not all debt is the same. As an advisor, you can help clients understand their debt and how to manage it. This is key to building wealth and confidence. Financial Literacy Month is a great time to “Talk Money.”
Types of debt1- Secured: This is backed by something the client owns, like a house or car. Its cost of borrowing or interest rate is usually lower.
- Unsecured: This includes credit cards and personal loans. These debts have no asset behind it and often cost more.
- Revolving: These are like credit cards. The balance owing can carry over to the next month.
- Installment: These are like car loans. Clients pay a set amount each month.
Helping clients manage debt- Pay off high-interest debt first: Credit cards are often a good place to start.
- Consolidate: One lower-interest loan payment can replace many.
- Make a budget: Include debt payments and savings.
- Use insurance-based investments: Segregated funds and Daily/Guaranteed Interest Accounts offer protection and guarantees. These can help clients manage risk while growing wealth.
Why reducing debt matters
Less debt can mean more financial freedom. Clients can save more, stress less, and plan better for retirement. It also helps them leave a financial legacy.
Your role as an advisor
You do more than sell products. You guide clients to make smart choices. Use this article to start a simple, clear conversation about debt—and how Equitable Individual Wealth solutions might fit into their overall financial picture.
Talk to your Director, Investment Sales today for more strategies to help clients with debt.
1 Source : ARC, 2025-03-28 - About
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Give clients guaranteed retirement income with Payout Annuities
With increased market volatility and interest rates higher than we have seen for much of the past decade, now is a great time to consider payout annuities. Payout annuities can provide regular guaranteed income regardless of how markets perform.
Clients using only a Systematic Withdrawal Plan (SWP) for retirement income are potentially vulnerable during times of market volatility due to the sequence-of-returns risk.1 When markets are down, more units are redeemed to cover income needs. When markets later rise, clients are not able to participate fully in the recovery because more units were redeemed to provide income. That is why having a guaranteed income component, like a payout annuity, as part of an overall retirement strategy is so important.
Three great reasons to consider Equitable Life® for your payout annuity business:
1. Choose from a variety of payout annuity options including:
A. Life Annuity – guaranteed income for one life
B. Joint Life Annuity – guaranteed income for two lives
C. Term Certain – guaranteed income for a specific period of time (5 to 30 years)
D. Term Certain to Age 90 – guaranteed income until age 90
2. Attractive rates, particularly in Registered and Term Certain Annuities
3. Step Up Your Wealth Sales program - 25% of payout annuity net sales qualify for the 0.75% bonus commission earned on net deposits for 20222
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For more information, please contact your Equitable Life Regional Investment Sales Manager.
1Sequence-of-returns risk, or sequence risk, is the risk that an investor will experience negative portfolio returns very late in their working life and/or early in retirement.
2All eligible deposits, sales, and redemptions occurring between January 1 and December 31, 2022, will be used to calculate an advisor’s 2022 net deposits.
® denotes a registered trademark of The Equitable Life Insurance Company of Canada. -
Repositioned Wealth Accumulator available
Repositioned Equimax Wealth available now
As we continue to grow to meet the needs of various market segments, our product options for your high net worth (HNW) clients have also been improved. Equimax Wealth Accumulator® has been repositioned to meet the needs of your high net worth clients by providing more deposit room and competitive early cash values.
Equimax Wealth is now repositioned for your high net worth clients
Equimax Wealth Accumulator is now targeted for clients ages 45 to 65 with an insurance need but also looking for tax advantaged growth as an alternative to traditional investments. It allows your clients to achieve both while diversifying their portfolio and saving taxes, particularly for corporations.

Highlights of the repositioned Equimax Wealth Accumulator:
- More deposit room - Allows for significantly more deposit room by reducing the initial death benefit. This means more money can be paid into the policy to promote the tax-advantaged investment growth.
- Higher early cash surrender values - We are more competitive on total cash value in years 1 to 10 in the target market ages of 45-65. The higher extra deposit room and early surrender cash value allows the illustration to show an earlier premium offset, which is key for the HNW market.
- More competitive on life pay - Improvements to life pay more notable than 20 pay. Reduced premiums for most male and female non-smokers in our target market (ages 45-65) as well as 2, 3, and 4 year improvement in illustration of premium offset.
- More competitive at older ages - A shift in the target market means you can support older clients in the HNW market. The Equimax Wealth Accumulator is now more competitive at ages 45-65.
Learn more
For full details on the transition, please see our transition rules.
For more information on this product, please visit the Equimax page on Equinet.
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Market Commentary April 2026

Key Takeaways
• Markets started 2026 constructively, with positive returns in both stock and bond markets in the first two months of the year. However, the war on Iran by the U.S. and Israel drove significant changes to markets in March. The biggest driver was the spike in oil prices. Oil prices increased over 70% during the quarter to over US$100 per barrel as 20% of global oil production became trapped in the Middle East when Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz.
• Canadian equities returned 3.9% in the first quarter, outperforming U.S. equities which lost -4.3%. The Canadian market benefitted from its 40% exposure to strong performing Energy, Materials and Utilities sectors, which each gained over 10% in Q1. Conversely, the U.S. market has much less exposure to those strong performing sectors and therefore fell as geopolitical tensions weighed on performance of most other sectors.
• Canadian bonds posted modest gains as early-quarter strength was largely offset by March weakness. Rising commodity prices reignited inflation fears and prompted speculation for central bank interest rate hikes. Credit spreads widened as concerns regarding defaults and liquidity in the private credit market intensified.
• The Bank of Canada and the U.S. Federal Reserve held policy rates unchanged during the first quarter. Both central banks maintained a wait-and-see approach amid slowing labour markets, persistent inflation risks, and heightened global uncertainty.
Economic and Market UpdateEconomic Summary: The U.S. economy continued to grow at a steady pace in the first quarter. Inflation remained above the Federal Reserve’s target. The labour market showed signs of cooling as hiring slowed, but the unemployment rate remained stable. However, higher energy prices and risks to global supply chains added near term inflation pressures and weighed on the global outlook. The Federal Reserve held its policy interest rate unchanged during the quarter, maintaining the target range at 3.50% to 3.75%. Chair Powell highlighted ongoing uncertainty and reiterated that the Federal Reserve is well positioned to adjust policy as economic conditions evolve.
In Canada, economic growth remained subdued in the first quarter as excess supply persisted, and the labour market softened. Inflation stayed close to the 2.0% target, though rising global energy prices increased short term inflation risks. Trade uncertainty continued to weigh on confidence and business activity. The Bank of Canada held its policy interest rate steady at 2.25% throughout the quarter. The Governing Council noted it stands ready to respond if the economic outlook shifts materially.
Bond Markets: The Canada Aggregate Bond Index returned 0.23% in the first quarter. A strong start to the year in January and February (+2.25%) was mostly offset by a weak March (-1.97%), as higher oil prices from the war in Iran led to higher interest rates on Canadian bonds (bond prices fall as interest rates go up). The increase in interest rates was most predominant in shorter term bonds, with higher oil prices driving inflation fears. These inflation fears reframed the market’s interest rate cut expectations for 2026: a 40% chance of an interest cut by the Bank of Canada has now shifted to a 70% chance of not just one, but two 25 basis point increases to the Bank of Canada overnight rate in 2026. In addition, the war in Iran has resulted in a higher risk premium for corporate bonds: credit spreads (i.e. the extra yield on corporate bonds versus government bonds to compensate for their extra risk) moved higher in March after reaching record low levels in January and February. These higher credit spreads resulted in corporate bonds modestly underperforming the overall index, albeit still with positive returns. Despite the modest risk off tone, investors remain buyers of corporate bonds as evidenced by investors’ enthusiasm to support the primary issuance market. Corporate bond supply continues to set new records, with an impressive $50 billion in new issuance in the quarter, a record start to the year and 23% higher than the same period in 2025.
Stock Markets: The first quarter of 2026 marked a period of heightened investor caution with geopolitical tensions rising. Equity markets remained under pressure in March, as dip buyers remained cautious. Early market volatility was driven by several geopolitical developments, including Japan’s snap election, events in Venezuela, and U.S. interest in Greenland. Private credit markets also came under pressure as liquidity tightened and default risks increased, particularly in semi-liquid lending structures. The war on Iran raised concerns around demand destruction and inflation, pushing oil prices above US$100 per barrel for the first time since 2022. Gold continued to rise strongly early in the quarter. However, it later recorded its sharpest decline in years, driven by central bank selling. Despite this pullback, gold finished the quarter up 8% and continues to be viewed as a key safe-haven asset.
U.S. Equities: U.S. equities entered the first quarter with strong momentum, supported by robust earnings growth from technology companies. While earnings results confirmed this strength, investor sentiment weakened, particularly toward Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) companies. Rapid progress in AI agents developed by firms such as Anthropic and Google highlighted how quickly generative AI could automate core SaaS functions. As a result, software stocks sold off sharply in February, triggering a broader rotation away from largecap growth. Furthermore, tighter financial conditions and rising geopolitical tensions reduced risk tolerance and drove sharp sector rotation. The Energy sector led market performance, while Technology lagged and Financials underperformed due to stress in credit markets.
Canadian Equities: The Canadian stock market was supported by its high exposure to commodities. That structural tilt helped Canadian equities outperform U.S. equities as macro narratives shifted toward inflation concerns and supply risks. Performance during the quarter was marked by a sharp whipsaw between gold and oil, reflecting shifting investor sentiment. Investors sold gold aggressively and scrambled to source U.S. dollars as financial conditions tightened. Conversely, oil prices rose sharply on Middle East supply disruptions, lifting Energy stocks to become the strongest-performing sector of the quarter, up 29%.
Bottom line: The first quarter showed how quickly geopolitical shocks can reshape sectors’ performance. Canada outperformed U.S. growth markets due to its higher exposure to commodities, as energy prices rose and inflation concerns returned. The sharp move in gold and oil prices highlighted the market’s sensitivity to macro developments. The war against Iran forced investors to reprice both inflation expectations and Federal Reserve policy expectations. Looking ahead, geopolitical stability, energy prices, and central bank policy are likely to remain key drivers of market performance and sector leadership.
Downloadable Copy
Mark Warywoda, CFA
VP, Public InvestmentsIan Whiteside, CFA, MBA
AVP, Public InvestmentsJohanna Shaw, CFA
Director, Public InvestmentsJin Li
Director, Equity Investments
Wanyi Chen, CFA, FRM
Sr. Quantitative Analyst
Andrew Vermeer, CFA
Senior Analyst, Credit
Elizabeth Ayodele
Analyst, Credit
Edward Ng Cheng Hin
Analyst, Credit
Kate (Huyen) Vinh
Analyst, Equity
Francie Chen
Analyst, Rates
ADVISOR USE ONLY
Except for statements of historical fact, all statements in this document are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements represent the portfolio manager’s current best judgment as to what may occur in the future. However, forward-looking statements are subject to many risks, uncertainties, and assumptions, and are based on the portfolio manager’s present opinions and views. For this reason, the actual outcome of the events or results predicted may be materially different from what is expressed. Furthermore, the portfolio manager’s views, opinions, or assumptions may subsequently change based on previously unknown information, or for other reasons. Equitable assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking information contained in this document. The reader is cautioned to consider these and other factors carefully and to not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Investments may increase or decrease in value and are invested at the risk of the investor. Investment values change frequently, and past performance does not guarantee future results. Professional advice should be sought before an investor embarks on any investment strategy. -
Guides for completing Individual Insurance forms now on EquiNet
We have recently added guides to provide detailed instructions on how to fill out forms on EquiNet. You can find them on the Individual Forms page, directly underneath the applicable form. In the coming weeks, we will be adding more guides for additional forms, so make sure to check the Forms page for solutions that help you work smarter.
View our newly posted guides:- 671OC Guide (Guide to Completing an Ownership Change Form)
- 594 Guide (Guide to Completing Business Information Form)
- 1710 Guide (Guide to Completing Verification of Identity for Policy Owners)
Additional guides for the following forms will be available soon: