I have often criticized the investment industry for pumping out products designed to sell, rather than build, wealth for investors, and have worked to raise investor awareness of how gimmicky products destroy wealth. The battle against such products...
It is no surprise that companies and their investors are increasingly recognizing the importance of sustainability. Hardly a day goes by without discussion in the mainstream and the financial media about the impact of sustainability issues. Today...
Family Wealth Challenges The creation of family wealth takes years of dedication, sacrifice, and hard work. Because of this, no family wants to be in a position where they need to create their wealth twice. Instead, they are desperately seeking the...
There is a lot to like about dividend-paying stocks. Dividends generally follow earnings, and are cold hard evidence of earnings’ existence. In Canada, this infatuation with dividend-payers is compounded by our love of bank and utility stocks, and...
My HighView partners and I spent quite a bit of time discussing and studying the issue of portfolio rebalancing a decade ago – prior to formally launching the firm and taking on our first client. While it’s not the sexiest of investment topics,...
Whether saving for a rainy day or creating wealth for the benefit of the next generation, investing by its nature is about the future. At HighView we take a goals-based investment approach, and as wealth architects, we look to design an investment...
When families have built wealth over years or decades, and in particular when that wealth was largely due to an event such as the sale of a business, their attention quickly turns to getting peace of mind knowing that their wealth is protected. This...
How does a company go bankrupt because of a forest fire? How does an investment grade company fall to junk status in a week? Just ask Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) how 2018 stacked up for them. What can we learn from this to be able to ask...
In many ways, creating an investment portfolio is like building a custom home. At the outset you have a variety of options in front of you with sizes, amenities, and styles. The role of the architect is to design something that will be the right for...
Affluent families often find themselves seeking and needing guidance from a network of professional advisors—accountants, lawyers, and others. With advice coming from a variety of sources, how do you make sure it’s being put to use in ways that...