Dollar Cost Averaging
Let us imagine that you have a plan to be a wise investor and use your funds to make strategic deposits into your various investment funds. You’ve heard about the investment strategy of buying any time the market is low with the plan of selling when the market turns upward. This might seem like it’s […]
Active Versus Passive Investing
There are very passionate views on both sides of the debate as to whether it is better for individual investors to use active investment managers versus using an index approach, with its main selling feature being lower fees. Let us first bear in mind why people invest in the first place, whether it is bond […]
The Story Behind ‘Sell Everything’
The media in general has a tendency to take an idea or story and run with it until the original context or point is lost in a wave of misinformation, taking a form of its own. At that point, the idea can become very dangerous to you as an individual working to build your own […]
The Predicament of Sudden Wealth
Imagine one of the following scenarios. Suppose you have suddenly come into a significant sum of money. For the interest of this example, we will imagine that it is one million dollars. This might have come to you by way of a lottery win, an estate inherited after the death of a family member, or […]
The Advice Dilemma
A constant dilemma for Advisors working with clients to help them realize their goals and dreams is striking a balance between the tyranny of immediate current events with the need to stay focused on your longer term goals. The recent Brexit vote in the U.K. is a case in point. The media created a firestorm […]
The Question That Is Rarely Asked
After speaking with many clients and potential clients over the years, a pattern emerges in the direction that the interview takes. There is often a sense of give and take with the client wanting to get certain questions answered in their mind, giving out small bits of information, but withholding the rest as if to […]
Investing Like the Rich Do
“Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.” George Foreman. With RRSP season upon us, it might be useful to see how the wealthy invest their funds for some indication as to how they differ from average Canadians. As Baron Rothschild famously stated, “The time to buy is when there’s blood in […]
The Client Interview
There is often a sense of nervousness when you go to your first meeting with a new financial planner or advisor. How should you approach the meeting? What and how much should you tell them? What results do you expect from the meeting and from any future interactions? Generally speaking, there are two approaches that […]
China’s Global Impact
The August correction in the Chinese stock market led to a lot of “how terrible” news coverage and speculation as to whether or not this signaled the end of the China growth story and how it would impact the US and global economies. Calmer voices were more resolute in the midst of the chaos, proclaiming […]
Anatomy of a Market Correction
The origin of the recent stock market correction started earlier in the spring of this year. During the month of April, the Canadian, U.S. and many other global stock markets achieved new record highs. Instead of celebrating such a numerical milestone, many media commentators started wringing their hands in worry and expressing their fears about […]