Use it as a safe haven if you must, but never speculate Over the past month or so, the price of gold has climbed steadily, gaining nearly US$150 per ounce, to trade over US$1,270 per ounce at the beginning of March. This is the biggest sustained gain in the past 12...
Basic tips for a long-lasting relationship with your advisor Right now, the markets are a scary place to be for the do-it-yourself investor. And many are looking to hand over their investment planning and portfolio management to a professional financial planner,...
In a word, yes One of the factors to take into account when deciding on a target rate of return for your investments is the rate of inflation. But according to Statistics Canada, inflation was actually down -0.5% in December. With inflation rates low or declining...
First, pack away the plastic With the holiday season now over, all those credit card bills are coming in. And the news isn’t good. If you have a wallet full of cards, and you’ve reached the limit on at least one, you’ve got a problem. Fortunately, there are some...
How to avoid money-losing moves in gyrating markets During periods when sentiment sours and markets sell off suddenly and steeply, as has happened recently, financial advisors’ phones never stop ringing, with clients asking whether they should sell their funds or...
Here’s what you can contribute to get a tax deduction We’ve heard much about the Trudeau Liberal government’s rollback of Tax-Free Savings Account contribution limits. We’ve haven’t heard so much about Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs). And that’s a good...
Title insurance can protect you while you’re away If you typically spend the winter months in the sunny south somewhere, your Canadian home is likely to be unoccupied. That could leave you open to mortgage fraud (even though you might not have had a mortgage on the...
Avoid these money mistakes for a more successful 2016 At this time of the year, I’m often asked what I consider to be the most common financial and planning errors most people make. Over the years, I’ve boiled it down to the seven deadly sins of financial planning....
A few basic tips to help you get started Do you have good intentions at the beginning of each year, but find that by New Year’s Eve, your finances and investments are still in a disorganized mess? If so, I have a few suggestions to help you start getting your money...
The danger of under-diversifying your portfolio How can you tell if your portfolio is properly diversified? A prospective client asked me to review an investment portfolio of several hundred thousand dollars consisting of two big holdings: iShares Canadian Growth...
Time’s running out for these 4 financial strategies It’s already getting rather late in the year to set up financial strategies that will have a tax-saving or other impact for 2015. However, there are a number of items you can attend to before the year is out,...
Should you max out the $10,000 contribution for 2015? Tax-Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs) sound simple. But they’re not. There’s an array of rules and regulations involved. One of the most common questions I’m asked is whether you would lose this year’s contribution...