Investment management fees often make the difference between comfortable retirement living and a highly restricted retirement lifestyle. Imagine you had $100,000 in your RRSP invested in low-fee ETFs (exchange-traded funds) and your average...
Every investor needs to understand how easy it is to ensure that his or her portfolio performs at least as well as the market does. Here is the reason why. Over the next decade, many experts would agree that a balanced portfolio could be expected...
This week, I attended the MFDA’s Seniors Summit conference to participate in a panel discussion. We tackled several questions pertaining to senior investors and suitability. My esteemed co-panelist Tom Bradley didn’t disappoint and...
Are you really getting good value when you spend your money? The enjoyment from some discretionary purchases will last for many years, while in other cases (travel, dining out and alcohol) the enjoyment is quickly gone. To get the greatest value...
OVERVIEW: One of the challenges that many affluent families face is establishing a regular cash flow payment structure for family members, which I refer to as ‘The Family Pay Cheque’. Specifically, often after the sale of a business, the...
Floating rate note (FRN) funds are gaining in popularity because of their marketed ‘promise’ to protect capital during periods of rising interest rates. In Canada since the mid-2000s, FRN funds invest mainly in corporate loans bearing...
I had the pleasure of dining with a group of friends recently at one of the fine wineries along Lake Erie. Near the entrance was a rock hanging from a chain – i.e. a “weather rock”. One of our friends explained how it works. ...
Whenever the notion of a volatile sideways market bubbles up among portfolio managers, they claim indexing will fail in comparison to active stock selection. In other words, portfolio managers argue that trendless volatility is ripe for active...
I have been writing articles in the public domain for more than 13 years. No series of articles has generated more interest or feedback than my many critiques and analyses of monthly income fund and assessing distribution sustainability. Below...
Many years ago an investor’s default investment strategy – in the absence of an advisor’s involvement – was to invest in GICs or Canada Savings Bonds. Today, the more affluent investor’s default strategy is –...