Defined Contribution Pensions are Looking Good! Imagine a 60-year-old Canadian receiving a pension of $4,200 per month for life. An actuary might tell them that pension is worth nearly $1 million. Most people would shrug. Offer them a cheque for $1 million instead, and suddenly everyone's...
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You may have heard about a young woman from Montreal who won a million-dollar lottery recently. Instead of selecting the lump sum, she elected the annuity option of $1,000 per week for life. From the little bit I read, most people were shocked at her choice:...
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Reform Is Not Just Technical; It Is Moral This blog post is inspired by an article in Canadian Affairs (December 2025) by John Stapleton and Peter Hicks. Stapleton is a recognized expert on low-income retirement, so his perspectives are worth attention. Retirement income reform is often framed...
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From time to time, it’s important to step back and share where things are heading, especially when trust, relationships, and long-term planning are involved. I want to offer an update about my Money Architect Financial Planning practice and how I’m preparing for a careful, well-supported transition...
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An Unexpected Retirement Question Robert (Rob) is a 64-year-old DIY investor living in the B.C. Okanagan. Born in 1961, he is turning 65 in February 2026 and will be retiring at the end of that month after a long professional career. Rob is comfortable managing his own...
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I. Introduction A. The RRIF transition milestone The conversion of your Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) to a Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF), which must occur not later than the year you turn 71, but can take place earlier, is a major retirement milestone. One of the notable...
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The Calm Before the Fear Permit me to introduce an investor whom we’ll call Michael. He is 41* years old, and a disciplined DIY investor who left his full-service investment advisor to build a globally diversified, 100% equity portfolio in early 2023. The portfolio consists of: ...
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I have joined several Facebook groups that discuss personal finance. Among them there is a lot of discussion about investing through index ETFs. Somewhat ironically, there are people in this category who repeatedly ask questions about income or dividend ETFs, technology ETFs, or U.S.-listed ETFs that...
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I came across a recent CTV News Consumer Alert article/video clip about taxes on the estate when the bulk of the deceased’s assets were held in a Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) and a principal residence that had been owned as a secondary property for...
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Exploring the psychology of stock picking and the evidence for better alternatives The Problem Emerges The paradox is hard to miss: study after study shows that consistently beating the market through individual stock picking is nearly impossible, even for professionals. Yet many do-it-yourself investors keep trying. Why? Stock...
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