Two years ago, when I last wrote about the table of returns across asset categories, I observed, “the consistently steady performance of the US stock market.” It appears that things have not changed despite the poor performance of American stocks last year. As I did in...
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I have been approached a couple of times to offer a second opinion on a person’s investments. I know what I do, but I wondered how “second opinion” is presented by financial institutions and their investment advisors. A quick search yielded several results, including an...
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With the Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) contribution deadline for 2022 coming up soon and the personal income tax filing deadline close behind, most Canadian adults are focused on this annual task. I am a financial planner, not a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA), so I do...
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Someone who is in or nearing retirement has many ways to invest a financial windfall. Here’s how to ensure the money serves you well. I wrote this article for the Qualified Advice column of MoneySense, the online Canadian personal finance magazine. Qualified Advice is written by...
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One of the reasons why people love dividends, especially in the accumulation stage, is that they like the idea of being paid from their investments and using those investments to buy more of the same securities. This can be done in an automated matter by...
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Are you looking for New Years Resolutions? If your ideas involve financial concerns, you have come to the right place. Below are nine different options to consider for 2023. All will require a bit of work to accomplish, but equally, all will leave you in...
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Each year the month of November is designated as Financial Literacy Month. I like to think that each blog post that I write adds to the financial literacy of my readers, but there is something to be said for a special focus on bringing up...
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Many Canadians have a reasonable degree of net worth. Millionaire households are not that unusual if you consider the value of housing, especially if you have been a homeowner for 20 years or more, which would be the case for many who are approaching retirement....
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Dividends and Dates When I worked at a discount brokerage, I routinely fielded questions about dividends, in particular, the record date and the ex-dividend date (often abbreviated as “ex-date”). Investors would often get confused by these two dates and the impact they would have on their...
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The bucket strategy divides your investment assets into three categories. The Immediate or Short-Term Bucket This bucket covers a period lasting between two to five years. Money in this category is typically held in savings accounts, Guaranteed Investment Certificates (GICs), and Short-Term Fixed-Income (Bond) Funds. Assets in...
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