When my wife and I began investing, we did what is probably the most common thing that Canadians do, we went to our local bank branch, sat down with a financial advisor, and invested in a portfolio of mutual funds issued by that bank. We...
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Every once in a while in my earlier career, I was approached by people who were interested in market-linked Guaranteed Investment Certificates (GICs). These are investment products that protect your principal but give you the opportunity to participate in the growth of the stock market....
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“If you want good investment performance, forget you have an account.” This seems like an unlikely recommendation. Nor does it sit well with us. “Don’t just sit there; do something!” Isn’t that the usual guidance we receive? However, action doesn’t seem to work so well with...
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A couple of months ago, Apple and Tesla, split their stock. Apple did a four-for-one split and Tesla split its stock five-for-one. This made big news, but it is not always clear to the general public what this means. What is a Forward Stock Split? A stock...
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The Kidney Foundation of Canada raises money to support people with kidney disease and to fund research into treatments for kidney disease. Each September, their big fundraising event is the Kidney Walk, which this year was held in a properly physically distanced manner; those with...
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Coping with the Uncertainty of Investment Returns Imagine that you have been putting away $10,000 at the beginning of each year from 2002 until 2019. For the sake of this example, taxes and commissions are excluded; you have been investing that money into the Canadian stock...
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Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Investing My introduction to Socially Responsible Investing began at church. Michael Jantzi, who was raised in the church where I was then a pastor in London, Ontario, and where his parents were still members at that time, came one Sunday from...
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Finance is Scary Financial matters tend to scare a lot of people away: “Finance is all about money and numbers. I don’t have enough of the former and I don’t understand the latter.” At least that is a common impression. The financial advice industry exists in...
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Recapping the Earlier Post Earlier this month (July 2020) I compared the one-year return of the Vanguard Growth ETF Portfolio (VGRO) ending 2020-07-13 using a lump-sum investing approach versus a dollar-cost averaging approach. I invested a $60,000 inheritance in a TFSA in a single lump sum...
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The Situation A relative of yours has died. You have received an inheritance. With that money, you have paid off your mortgage and your car loan. You have topped up your Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) and you have set aside six months of living expenses...
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