Posts by Robb Engen
Weekend Reading: FinTech Edition
There’s a disruptive shift happening in the financial industry where nimble technology start-ups are moving in on traditional bank-dominated services such as lending, investing, payments and retail transactions, and everyday banking. Dubbed FinTech, this financial technology renaissance is quickly moving from alternative to mainstream and is something to watch in 2016 and beyond. We’ve already seen…
Read MoreGet A Handle On Your Expenses: Simplify And Save
I challenged readers a while back to take a day off during the week to work on their finances. That means going through recurring bills, such as cable, internet, bank fees, car insurance, and monthly subscriptions to ensure you’re getting the best bang for your buck. You might also use the time to look for…
Read MoreHelp! I Discovered I’m Over-Contributing To My RRSP
Less than one-quarter of Canadians contribute the maximum to their RRSP each year, but if you’re one of those keen savers you’ll want to pay close attention to your RRSP contribution limit to avoid going over. A blog reader named John realized he might be pushing his limit due to automatic monthly contributions and a…
Read MoreMischief Managed: How I Went From Credit Card Abuser To Rewards Card Master
I wasn’t always good with money. Back in college, I violated just about every personal finance rule you could imagine. My biggest offense was misusing credit cards. I racked up over $5,000 in credit card debt between my junior and senior year; making brilliant decisions such as bringing my credit card to the bar, taking…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: SPIVA Edition
The SPIVA Canada Scorecard looks at the performance of actively managed Canadian mutual funds versus that of their benchmarks. The results over the long-term show that the majority of active managers underperform their benchmarks. And it’s not even close. Here are the biggest losers: Canadian Dividend & Income Equity Funds – Only 6.67% of the active Canadian…
Read MoreMortgage Brokers Gone Bad
When it comes to buying a home or renewing a mortgage term, many financial experts recommend using a mortgage broker to help find the best mortgage rate and terms. The reason is that mortgage brokers work for you – not the bank (even though they’re paid by the lender and not the client) – and can leverage…
Read MoreDo Millennials Really Fear The Stock Market?
New research from investment management firm BlackRock suggests that Millennials are fearful of the stock market and sitting on too much cash in their accounts. It got me thinking – do Millennials fear the stock market? Or are there other factors at work? Millennials came of age during the global financial crisis and Bernie Madoff Ponzi…
Read MoreIs My Two-ETF Portfolio Too Simple?
I get plenty of questions about my two-ETF retirement portfolio. Some advisors think it’s too simple – stating that a properly diversified portfolio should contain at least six asset classes. Further to that, some clients and blog readers ask me whether it’s wise to add a dash of gold, REITs, or even farmland to their…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Problems With Trailer Fees Edition
The Canadian Securities Administration wants to reform the mutual fund fee structure in Canada and earlier this year awarded two studies to review whether commission-based compensation changes the nature of advice and influences mutual fund sales. The first report was prepared by the Brondesbury Group made it clear that commission-based advice creates problems that need to be…
Read MoreHow To Set Up An RESP
My wife and I made it a priority to set up an RESP for our daughter just a few weeks after she was born. As new parents with little free time we weren’t sure where to go and what type of account to set up. To complicate matters, we were bombarded with pamphlets and brochures promoting group…
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