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Investor Education Blog

Recession Risk: When The Central Bank Stops Being Boring

The Bank of Canada’s monetary policy should be boring. Like a hockey or soccer referee, people shouldn’t notice it. If they do, it usually means a contentious decision has been made. Interest-rate policy and inflation figures shouldn’t be the main topic of discussion around an average family dinner table.

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Not all Income is Equal – Three Categories to Consider in 2023

Now is a great time to look at your income investments. Recent interest rate hikes in North America have significantly reduced the prices, making 2023 an interesting entry point. But this is not about market timing or making a quick profit, it’s about taking advantage of structural changes in interest rate policy designed to deal with inflation and to unwind emergency lending rates post pandemic. There are many investments that could fall under the income category, so for simplicity we will define them as investments made with the primary purpose of generating cash flow. Looking at the prevailing conditions in 2023 there are three categories everyone should re-evaluate – bonds, REITs and infrastructure.

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The Taxing Issue of Succession Planning

Whether it’s the sight of Logan Roy foaming at the mouth at his conniving, inheritance-sucking kids in Succession or the recent Federal budget, which outlined new rules around intergenerational business transfers, the passing down of family wealth is a core part of a good financial plan.

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As Women Live Longer, They Should Also Plan For A Second Retirement

"Second Retirement" refers to the period after the death of the first spouse when the survivor must tend to household, financial and health matters alone. This article correctly points out that fewer still focus on the repercussions to the spouse who is left behind.

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Key Dates For 2023

In this brief 3-minute video, our Head of Financial Life Strategies, Monique Madan CFP, gives you a look ahead to some important tax considerations for 2023.

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Tax Season: Bucking the Trend

Even Albert Einstein, a man with a brain capable of solving the most complex physics equations, stumbled when it came to taxes. “The hardest thing in the world to understand,” he said, “is the income tax.”

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The Art and Science of Spending Money

Building wealth must be about more than just seeing a larger number on your investment statement each year.  Wealth translates into life satisfaction when it has a purpose. 

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2023: Building on a better base for investors

Investing money at its most basic is just delayed consumption. Putting $250 away versus buying another pair of shoes simply means you can buy those shoes at some point in the future. It makes sense then that the baseline goal of investing is to protect the purchasing power of your money.

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Keep Calm and Plan For Volatility

Keeping your nerve when you see minus signs on your portfolio statement is not easy. Throw in a global pandemic, the rising cost of living, interest rate hikes, and a news cycle of war and political division, and it’s little wonder many investors want to exit the market and hunker down until the good times return.

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Private Credit Versus Investment Grade Bonds

Most investment portfolios have three basic components. Cash that has option value for future buys, equity for growth that hopefully exceeds inflation, and income that generates cash flow. Normally, our income investments are stable - we get some capital appreciation with predictable cash distributions.  That was the case, until 2022!

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Pandemic Legacy: How Have Investors Been Affected

How the COVID-19 pandemic alters the path of history remains to be seen. Like a retiree looking back over their life, it’s only in hindsight that they can fully process the impact of euphoric highs and devastating lows. The great events of history are similar; they shape people and societies.

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Is the 60-40 strategy dead and buried?

The 60-40 portfolio strategy is a touchstone for the industry, and shorthand for the tried and trusted method of protecting capital from wild market swings. There are endless variations on this theme, largely dependant on client risk tolerance and time horizon, but the navigational starting point of a “balanced” 60% stocks and 40% bonds mix has endured.Yet, when it comes to the financial markets, investors absorb daily blow-by-blow accounts of price drops, stock bubbles, and geopolitical-induced volatility. This can influence decisions and emotions, and lead to panic selling – and often panic buying – that harms your portfolio.

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Navigating Emotional Real Estate Decisions

Our House, the gentle Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young classic - written, incidentally, by Graham Nash - strikes an emotional beat familiar to many homeowners or wannabe homeowners. The song describes an everyday scene yet it’s beloved by millions because, as the cliché goes, home is where the heart is. It’s also why decisions around selling or buying real estate, usually the biggest asset a person will own, go far beyond a financial transaction. Yet, when it comes to the financial markets, investors absorb daily blow-by-blow accounts of price drops, stock bubbles, and geopolitical-induced volatility. This can influence decisions and emotions, and lead to panic selling – and often panic buying – that harms your portfolio.

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Do you really need to work longer?

Slaving over a hot computer, putting in extra hours over the weekend… many pre-retirees are driven by a fear of the future. What if I don’t have enough money saved? What if I outlive my investments? Maybe I’ll just tap away for another two years to ensure my family are secure.

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Beyond Coldplay: how emerging markets enhance your investment palette

There’s a reason the likes of Coldplay and U2 sell millions of albums - people know what they’re getting. Whether it’s The Edge’s chiming guitar or Chris Martin’s lovelorn warbling, familiarity is comforting. Less widely known, and arguably more interesting bands, like Sparks for example, who switch up genres, often endure more sporadic profits.

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Inflation … what does it mean?

Gordon Gekko hasn’t done the investment industry’s reputation any favours. Michael Douglas’ unscrupulous movie character quickly became shorthand for all that is wrong with Wall Street and financial markets with his infamous ‘greed is good’ speech. But you don’t have to look too far away from the big screen to see real-life examples of people whose actions have perpetuated the link between the wealth industry, untrustworthy characters and get-rich-quick trades.

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Six investment myths busted

Gordon Gekko hasn’t done the investment industry’s reputation any favours. Michael Douglas’ unscrupulous movie character quickly became shorthand for all that is wrong with Wall Street and financial markets with his infamous ‘greed is good’ speech. But you don’t have to look too far away from the big screen to see real-life examples of people whose actions have perpetuated the link between the wealth industry, untrustworthy characters and get-rich-quick trades.

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Volatility and Staying Invested

Imagine you’re on a long-haul flight and the pilot informs you of every hint of turbulence. It would drive every passenger crazy. Thankfully, instead, most of us watch a movie, grab some uncomfortable sleep, and wait until the plane’s wheels hit tarmac. Ignorance is bliss. Yet, when it comes to the financial markets, investors absorb daily blow-by-blow accounts of price drops, stock bubbles, and geopolitical-induced volatility. This can influence decisions and emotions, and lead to panic selling – and often panic buying – that harms your portfolio.

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Wealth transfer: Preparing the next generation

Intergenerational wealth, on our TV screens at least, conjures images of Succession’s Logan Roy dismissing one of his weasel kids with a sneer and expletive. Roy, the fearsome patriarch, who built his business from nothing, watches in disgust as the heirs to his throne – who do no work of any note - connive and backstab in an effort to win the keys to more money and power.

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