It Doesn’t Pay to Procrastinate
Many people struggle with retirement planning and often wait for life events to take action. Despite clear steps like recording expenses and saving, few Canadians follow through. A recent survey revealed that couples frequently disagree about their retirement plans.
Maximize Your RRSP Return Through Asset Location
Do you know the real rate of return on your investments? Generally, Canadians measure the success of their investments based only on the rate of return. While it provides a good snapshot of whether an investment is doing well or not, it is not the only criterion for a true picture of success. A good […]
The Retirement Dilemma: Part 1
In the mid – 1960s conventional wisdom (or motherhood) for retirement planning said that you should take all of your investments and put them into government bonds or fixed income type products. The thinking was that you could not afford to take any ‘risk’ in your retirement years. Thus it was believed that guaranteed investing […]
The Safe Investing Dilemma
As John nears retirement, he is becoming concerned about covering his future living costs with income from only interest-bearing investments. Along with many other investors globally who have poured trillions of dollars into government bonds over the past decade, John wants to feel safe and have his money guaranteed. But the price of safety in […]
Diversification is Key
As with many retirement savers, it took two major stock market events (Global Financial Crisis, Global Pandemic) to convince Adam and Sonya that trying to ‘time the market’ or pick specific sectors was a costly exercise in futility. But, with the value of their RRSPs nearly halved in the 2009 Financial Crisis, they also recognized […]
A Fresh Look at RRSPs vs. TFSAs
The Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) contribution limit increased to $7,000 (from $6,500) for 2024. This new limit means that a taxpayer who has never contributed to a TFSA and has been eligible for one since its inception will have a cumulative contribution room of $95,000. TFSAs are now a serious portfolio and investment planning […]
Year End Tax Planning Ideas
With the year’s end fast approaching, here are some ideas to minimize your 2023 tax bill. The first idea is to look at harvesting any tax losses in an investment portfolio to help offset any capital gains you may have triggered. Even if there are no capital gains, non-registered tax losses can be applied […]
All-Weather Investing
There is almost always chatter in the media about the next possible correction or recession. The most recent buzz is about a possible US recession where Canada would likely follow suit. The chatter also includes opinions about a “soft” versus a “hard” landing, etc. The primary challenge for individuals trying to build wealth is […]
Who is Your Trusted Contact Person?
Monica was alarmed to hear from her mother’s financial advisor expressing concern over some unusual financial requests. She called her mom, who seemed fine, but Monica couldn’t get the conversation with the financial advisor out of her head. She travelled to see her mom in person and was dismayed to discover numerous unpaid bills […]
The Shifting Economic Winds
There will likely be many impacts on the global economy resulting from the Russia-Ukraine War. The biggest casualty will most likely be the end of the “business as usual” mindset that most Canadians have lived by since at least 1980, if not since the end of World War Two. Just like the nostalgic desire […]
Time: Your Most Important Planning Tool
Time is one of those daily realities that we usually take for granted. But when it comes to building wealth and managing investments, it is tremendously important. How you view, manage, and interact with “time” could deeply impact your financial success more than any other variable that you personally control. The ability to think […]
Which Type of Investor Are You?
Many investors are very focused on annual returns and others worry about losing money if the economy goes into a recession. The reality is that how to approach or react to different scenarios really depends on what type of investor you are. In other words, context and your financial plan are everything! The first […]
Financial Advice for New and Expecting Parents
Whether you’re expecting a child, planning to have one soon or have just become a new parent, you’re about to embark on one of the most rewarding journeys that life has to offer. It’s also one of the most expensive: an average of $12,500 per year until age 18.1. That’s $225,000 per child, and it […]
Storyline Investing
The point of the headline is to distinguish what kind of investor you are. Do you follow storylines as described in the media headlines, or do you rely upon numbers and data to build your wealth and achieve financial independence? Warren Buffett has made this point clearly by stating that in the short term, […]
When Investment Returns Matter
The goal of financial planning is to build enough assets, by the time you retire, that the income earned from investments (including pensions etc.) will provide you with your desired lifestyle, without the need to get out of bed and go to work. Simple, right? All other discussions relate to the strategies you can […]
When Volatility Arrives, Optimism is Key!
The focus here is on you as an investor! What do you bring to the table in terms of investment experience and personal temperament (emotions) that impacts your investment returns and satisfaction while building your nest egg? October is a seasonal time of the year when investment markets often decline as part of a […]
How Now Horatio Alger?
Horatio Alger1 was an American writer of novels about impoverished boys rising from humble backgrounds to middle-class security and comfort through hard work, determination, courage and honesty. His writings were characterized by the “rags-to-riches” narrative, which continues to have a formative effect on many entrepreneurs today. The “rags -to-riches” theme is part of the […]
History is a Good Teacher
Like many young adults, Lindsay took what her parents had to say with a grain of salt when it came to money. A new college graduate with an entry-level job, she was more interested in spending her paycheques than saving them. Saving was for later, she thought. Life was for living. When her father raised […]
What Comes Next?
With Canada and many other countries practicing physical distancing or participating in complete lockdowns because of the COVID-19 virus, thoughts are turning to what the world may look like after the restrictions have been lifted. Many people are expressing a desire for life to return to how it was before the arrival of this […]
The Role of Luck in Your Planning
One of the most interesting facets of the financial services industry is how so many people tend to invest their money and plan their financial affairs by chasing trends and doing what is “popular”. For example, many investors like a “sure thing” and will often pile into an investment sector that is hot. […]
Boomer Advice to Young People: Invest Early & Diversify
When asked if they had any regrets, Baby Boomers wished they had started investing and saving at a much earlier age. Hindsight being 20/20, the Boomer generation can pass on some much needed advice and guidance to their kids and grandkids. It is normal for younger people to focus on earning money to accommodate their […]
Understanding Market Volatility – Part 2
Our previous article looked at the increase in market volatility in 2018 in historical terms to put it in perspective. The other factor to consider is where are we in the market cycle and what this might mean for you personally in terms of your own long-term financial strategy. Many market commentators suggest that […]
Understanding Market Volatility – Part 1
This year began with some market turbulence resulting in a correction in the S&P Index in late January of about 10%, and about 7% for the TSX during the same period. You would have thought the world was ending with all the hand-wringing and hysteria stirred up by media reports at the time. More […]
De-Dollarization and You – Part 2
The US has been Canada’s largest trading partner for decades, so our economy is closely tied to the fortunes of our southern neighbour. In addition, because the US economy is still currently the largest in the world, whenever an investor implements or revises a financial strategy, it is always important to consider how US Government […]
Hype, Hope and Glory
Advisors offer clients many value-added services, in addition to investment planning, insurance and risk management planning and general financial and Estate Planning advice. This often leads to a discussion by clients of what is hot in the market and what is actively being discussed in the media and whether the client should participate in the […]
Investment Risk in Retirement Years
As Joe Farnsworth* from Toronto discovered, published return percentages do not necessarily tell the whole story of an investment portfolio performance. Joe retired 9 years ago from the Toronto Police Service from which he collects a serviceable pension each month. When Joe retired he decided to try investing his life savings ($300,000) on his […]
Active Versus Passive Investing
There are very passionate views on both sides of the debate as to whether it is better for individual investors to use active investment managers versus using an index approach, with its main selling feature being lower fees. Let us first bear in mind why people invest in the first place, whether it is […]
The Story Behind ‘Sell Everything’
The media in general has a tendency to take an idea or story and run with it until the original context or point is lost in a wave of misinformation, taking a form of its own. At that point, the idea can become very dangerous to you as an individual working to build your own […]
The Advice Dilemma
A constant dilemma for Advisors working with clients to help them realize their goals and dreams is striking a balance between the tyranny of immediate current events with the need to stay focused on your longer term goals. The recent Brexit vote in the U.K. is a case in point. The media created a […]
World Reserve Currency Regime
Canadians, like many nationalities, have a home bias when it comes to investing. The majority, if not all of their investments, such as RRSPs, real estate, mutual funds, segregated funds and businesses, are in Canada and are tied to its future economic growth. These Canadian investments could see reduced returns in the future, however, […]