Weekend Reading: The Trouble With GICs Edition
I’ve never heard so much interest in GICs before this year, but with stock and bond markets down and interest rates up it’s no surprise that investors are looking for a safe and profitable place to park their savings. Just two years ago, a five-year GIC was paying a paltry 1.5% interest, while a two-year…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Canadian Financial Summit Edition
The Canadian Financial Summit is a three-day virtual conference featuring 35+ Canadian personal finance experts (including yours truly) speaking on a wide range of topics from investing and retirement, to pensions, real estate, financial planning, inflation, and much more. It’s Canada’s largest personal finance and investing conference. This year’s conference takes place October 12th to…
Read MoreInvestors Are Ready To Capitulate
Investors are ready to throw in the towel. To cry uncle. To capitulate. Can we blame them? This year has been brutal for both stock and bond markets. A global all-equity portfolio is down 16.87%, while a global balanced 60/40 portfolio is down 15.22% as of September 30th. But it’s not just the double-digit losses…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: RRSP vs. RRIF Edition
One question retirees face when setting up their retirement income plan is whether to convert their RRSP to a RRIF or to make withdrawals directly from their RRSP. There are pros and cons to each approach, depending on your age, how much income you require, whether you have a spouse, and where your RRSP account…
Read MoreMoney Bag: Creating Retirement Income, Money Resources For Beginners, All Equity ETF Comparison, and More
Welcome to the Money Bag, where I answer questions and address comments from readers on a wide range of money topics, myths, and perceptions about money. No question is off limits, so hit me up in the comments section or send me an email about any money topic that’s on your mind. This edition of the Money Bag…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Tax Loss Selling Edition
Many of my clients and blog readers are looking to change their investing strategy to a simple indexing approach using a single asset allocation ETF. This can make a lot of sense if you want to reduce fees, improve diversification, and simplify your portfolio. Indeed, investing complexity has been solved with all-in-one ETF products. Making…
Read MoreRRSP Loans: Why You Should (and Shouldn’t) Get One
February is RRSP season, which for many Canadians means an annual trip to the bank to make an RRSP contribution before the deadline (March 1, 2023). It might be tempting to take out a loan if you don’t have the cash available to make a contribution – the rationale being that in one shot you’ll…
Read MoreMy Own Investing Multiverse Of Madness
A counterfactual is when we create possible alternatives to events that have already occurred – something contrary to what actually happened. We do this all the time. “If only I had set my alarm, I wouldn’t have been late.” “If only I hadn’t been speeding, I wouldn’t have wrecked my car.” We also use counterfactual…
Read MoreSustainable Investing Solutions For DIY Investors
A growing number of investors are concerned about the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) aspects of economic activities and want their investment portfolios to reflect this concern. This demand has been met by the investment industry with an explosion of new mutual funds and ETFs described as sustainable and socially responsible. However, as the landscape…
Read MoreWhat Is A Non-Registered Account And How Does It Work?
Canadian investors have several account types at their disposal to build an investment portfolio. This typically starts with registered accounts – RRSPs and TFSAs – to take advantage of tax deductions, tax deferred growth (RRSP), and tax-free growth (TFSA). But registered accounts come with contribution limits, so once those accounts are filled up many investors…
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