Get a fix on your true level of risk tolerance Until very recently, things had been looking up in the U.S. The Labor Department reported that the U.S. unemployment rate dropped to 11.1% in June, as millions of Americans began returning to work. That helped lift...
Rebalancing for recovery The March market meltdown, bond market gyrations, repricing of assets, and the flight to safety over the past couple of months has thrown many portfolios into disarray, particularly those of the do-it-yourself variety. The turmoil is likely...
Why the urgent need for “safety” can lead investors astray These days, we’re reading a lot about the “flight to safety” in markets and investments. It’s understandable, of course, as the COVID-19 virus pandemic spreads fear and panic through global financial...
Robyn Thompson is featured in CTV’s “Your Morning” with Anne-Marie Mediwake, discussing how to handle your investments and personal finances in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic scare. With stock markets now into bear market territory, a global recession looming,...
Stock market rout not the time for wholesale portfolio changes The rapid spread of the Covid-19 virus (also known as the coronavirus), has hit global markets hard over the past few weeks as investors worry about the impact of the spreading contagion on global trade...
Are retirees playing with fire? They could be if they decide to use money borrowed through a mortgage to supplement their other sources of retirement income. The most common ways those at or close to retirement do this is to hold a mortgage through their Locked-in Retirement Account (LIRA) or to borrow money against their home through a so-called “reverse mortgage.” But retirees should think long and hard before entering into either of these arrangements.
Resist the urge to “do something” Unless you’ve been away on vacation in a secluded place, you’ll know that stock markets sank alarmingly earlier this month as the U.S. Treasury bond yield curve “inverted” – that is, the yield on short-term bonds climbed above the...
When your investments take control of you There’s nothing quite like the thrill of managing your own investments. That is, until things go south and you wonder whatever possessed you to buy that two-times daily bull crude oil ETF! Then there’s all that paperwork to...
Carefully selected bond funds as part of a diversified asset mix If you haven’t checked your portfolio for a while, you may have noticed that the performance of your bond mutual funds and ETFs has been lagging a bit. And you may be thinking of selling or switching....
Choosing the best financial advisory team Once you’re established in your profession or career, and you’re accumulating a sizeable nest-egg, getting financial advice from your second cousin or the bank teller just won’t do. You need to get some professional money...
How to compare your portfolio with an index A benchmark is a market yardstick independent of your portfolio against which your performance can be evaluated. It’s usually an index that tracks the performance of the broader market, like the S&P/TSX Composite...
Seasonal patterns can be misleading “Sell in May, go away, and don’t come back till Labour Day.” With the return of volatility earlier this year after many years of an uninterrupted bull market, many analysts are warning that the stock market is due for a...