Investing

Last year, with the help of Justin Bender from PWL Capital, I went back and calculated the rate of return from my portfolio of dividend stocks since I started buying shares in 2009.  Why?  Because it’s important to calculate and compare your portfolio returns to an appropriate benchmark so you can figure out whether active…

I’ll admit I’ve never liked the idea of taking out an RRSP loan to boost contributions and generate a higher tax refund.  If you can afford to pay back the RRSP loan over 12 months then you probably should have budgeted and saved for higher contributions in the first place instead of borrowing. However, after…

Whether you are a do-it-yourself investor or you rely on a financial advisor you have an overall strategy of choosing your investments based on your profile, risk tolerance and beliefs that will enable you to achieve your objectives. Related: 5 Challenges DIY Investors Face What investing style fits you? Index investing An index is a…

The top mutual funds have trounced the Canadian index this year, which again opens up the debate of whether active management can outperform a passively managed portfolio after fees.  Fans of passive investing say it’s nearly impossible to beat the market over the long term, and equally as difficult to pick the investments that will…

I have always dismissed preferred shares.  The definition I heard was that preferreds are a hybrid of both equity and fixed income investments with the worst characteristics of each, and who would want that?  Plus their special added features – redeemable, callable, retractable, convertible, perpetual, cumulative – just seemed too complicated to me. Related: Why…

Last month we looked at the Canadian dividend aristocrats, a list of companies that have increased dividends each year for the past five years.  The list of stocks is a good starting point for dividend investors, but it also reveals a number of flaws when looking to invest in a company. Some companies grow their…

Many retirees are looking to boost their income through their investment portfolios.  One way to boost your yield, while still maintaining a higher level of safety, is with split shares. What is a split share? A split share is a unique type of derivative investment product (also called a structured product).  The “risk/reward” of common…

The 59 stocks that make up the Canadian dividend aristocrats are a good starting point for investors who are hunting for yield.  These stocks must have increased their dividends for at least five consecutive years to make the aristocrats list. Becoming a dividend aristocrat shows that company management is committed – for better or worse…

Many investors like the “do-it-yourself” approach for one or more of the following reasons: To save money on fees They think they can do a better job than their advisor They enjoy the process Perhaps DIY investing was a lot of fun in the beginning.  It felt good to fire your advisor.  Maybe the prices…