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  • Home
  • About
    • About Russ
    • How We Work
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  • Blog
  • Resources
    • General Resources
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Twins at the Crossroads: Covered-Call ETFs vs Total Return

in Blog
by Russell Sawatsky

Over 25 years ago, I first learned about options trading. I never got around to implementing any such strategies for my accounts, but unexpectedly, I found myself in the investment industry, initially serving U.S. investors at a discount brokerage that had a contact centre here...

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Twins, Tension, and Tolerance: Navigating the Risk Spectrum in Personal Finance

in Blog
by Russell Sawatsky

During my time in the discount brokerage world, I encountered individuals whose investment accounts seemed to function more like slot machines or roulette wheels. They would deposit money and bet it all on a single stock, implement aggressive options strategies, or day trade in and...

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Should I Invest in the U.S.? Tariffs, Trump, and the Ethics of Investing as a Canadian

in Blog
by Russell Sawatsky

Allow me to introduce Daniel—a 32-year-old single man living in Calgary, earning $105,000 per year. He contributes regularly to his TFSA and personal RRSP, and also to a group RRSP through his employer, who matches his contributions via a Deferred Profit Sharing Plan (DPSP). Daniel...

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Understanding Defined Contribution Pension Plans: What You Need to Know

in Blog
by Russell Sawatsky

My first full-time job did not have any benefits. I am aware that in certain careers, a lack of an employer-sponsored retirement saving benefit is the norm, whether a Defined Benefit pension, plan, Defined Contribution pension plan, Group RRSP, or Deferred Profit-Sharing Plan. Nevertheless, for...

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Should You Add Alternatives or Commodities to Your Portfolio?

in Blog
by Russell Sawatsky

A New Option, or a New Distraction? Periodically, investors are introduced to new asset classes with the promise of improving their portfolios. Lately, “alternatives” and “commodities” have become buzzwords in the world of investment products, sometimes packaged as part of a fund’s “expanded opportunity set,” or...

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The “Canada First TFSA Top-Up” – A Policy Analysis

in Blog
by Russell Sawatsky

You may have heard that the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) has proposed the introduction of the “Canada First TFSA Top-Up,” a plan to allow Canadians to contribute an extra $5,000 in their Tax-Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs), as long as the amount qualifies as a...

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How Investors Nearing Retirement Can Navigate Market Anxiety

in Blog
by Russell Sawatsky

As I write this on Monday, April 7, 2025, the repercussions of U.S. President Trump’s tariffs continue to roil the stock market. Many readers, especially those in their 50s, 60s, and older, who have likely accumulated significant investment assets over their lives, are probably down...

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Where Do I Go From Here? A Journey to Independent Living at a Senior Care Facility

in Blog
by Russell Sawatsky

The Problem Emerges Margaret's Situation At 75, and recently widowed, Margaret has decided to sell her detached home in British Columbia. She's in good health but wants to eliminate the responsibilities of homeownership.   The Dilemma With anticipated net sale proceeds of $800,000, Margaret is faced with a decision about...

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Nature Risk: A Personal Finance Perspective for Canadians

in Blog
by Russell Sawatsky

The Unexpected Problem: Nature Risk Our home insurance renews at the end of January every year. In December, we received a document from our insurance broker informing us that the insurance company we had been using for the last several years was removing “overland water (flood)...

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Comparing Canadian Listed Asset-Allocation ETFs

in Blog
by Russell Sawatsky

There Are Too Many ETFs It wasn’t that many years ago when I was barely aware that Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) existed. After a few years, the benefits of ETFs began to appear. They were a remarkably low-cost way to get broad-market exposure to the world’s investment...

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Russ Writes

  • Twins at the Crossroads: Covered-Call ETFs vs Total Return
  • Budgeting for Rest: Rethinking Vacation in a World That Doesn’t Stop
  • Health and Personal Finance: Planning for the Unplannable
  • Twins, Tension, and Tolerance: Navigating the Risk Spectrum in Personal Finance
  • Should I Invest in the U.S.? Tariffs, Trump, and the Ethics of Investing as a Canadian

Contact

Russell J. Sawatsky
Certified Financial Planner®
T: (519) 852-0318
E: russ@moneyarchitect.ca

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