Posts Tagged ‘Investing’

Many employers who provide pension plans have shifted from the traditional defined benefit (DB) plan, where the employer takes on most of the risk of providing fixed retirement benefits, to defined contribution (DC) plans, where the employee bears all of the risks. Related: Have we seen the last of the gold-plated pension? Although employers commonly…

A client reached out to me for advice after her financial advisor at BMO Nesbitt Burns dumped her earlier this summer.  The advisor was looking to scale back his practice and she was one of the unfortunate investors he was “letting go”. The client, let’s call her Jane, shared the “transition” letter with me and…

Many DIY investors have been accused of having home country bias when choosing their investments, especially those who are dividend-growth investors. What is home country bias?  According to Investopedia, it is the tendency to overweight domestic holdings at the expense of foreign securities.  These investors do not diversify their portfolios, which could have a negative…

It’s a sad fact that Canadians know a lot less about investing than they think. Confidence can ride high when markets are rising steadily, but when their portfolio takes a beating, doubt sets in. When more than 4,000 Canadian investors were asked to answer a 10-question investment test only one-third got a passing grade.  Only…

If you have long-term money in GICs, this post is for you.  I know, rates are abysmal, and I’m not here to talk you into investing in mutual funds, or ETFs, or to buy bonds directly.  If you’re comfortable with GICs, and you can meet your income or capital-preservation goals with them, then keep on…

I stumbled on a thread from Reddit’s Canadian personal finance community where a young investor sought feedback on his investment portfolio.  He held a low cost and diversified portfolio consisting of seven ETFs inside his tax free savings account.  The allocation was broken down like this: Canadian equity (ZCN) – 25% U.S. equity (VUN) –…

I read an interesting article titled, “Do Risky Assets Belong in a TFSA?” (Canadian MoneySaver – March/April 2014).  The author compares purchasing a GIC paying a guaranteed 2% a year with a risky ETF tracking the TSX with an expected average return of 6%, but which could result in returns ranging from a gain of…

Five years ago I opened a discount brokerage account – transferring $25,000 from my HSBC mutual fund account to TD Waterhouse – to start investing in individual stocks. Here are 5 lessons learned about investing over the last five years: A rising tide lifts all boats I’ve learned to recognize the difference between skill and…

The 2008 Federal budget introduced the new investment vehicle called the “Tax Free Savings Account.”  It allows Canadians aged 18 and over to contribute the dollar limit for the year, plus any unused contribution room from previous years and any amount you withdrew the year before. Starting in 2009, contribution room accumulates every year.  The…

Many investors are making the decision to manage their own investments.  In fact, they can do very well with an index mutual fund or basic ETF portfolio and a consistent, systematic contribution plan. But not everyone wants to “do it themselves.”  What if indexing is not your thing? You may have accumulated a substantial balance…