The recent news of the SARS-like virus originating from China is rapidly becoming front-page news. Given Canadian demographics, it seems reasonable to expect a growing awareness of the problem. By the time you read this, the virus will likely have killed a bit less than 3% of its subjects. Its victims are mostly elderly souls … Continue reading The Coronavirus: Putting It Into Perspective & Economic Impact
As the Bank of Canada announced yesterday that it will maintain its overnight rate, our Chief Strategist John Johnston gives an overview of key implications that are important for investors. Overview The Bank of Canada (BoC) left the overnight rate steady at 1.75%, but is leaning slightly more toward lower rates than higher rates. It … Continue reading Bank Of Canada Interest Rate Announcement & Monetary Policy Report: Key Implications
As we’ve said before on the blog, investing is about growing your wealth while insurance is about protecting it. Insurance is a tool, one that not everyone needs and that can certainly be misused, but in situations where it makes sense the effects of having it in place can be life-changing. It’s a way to protect … Continue reading Risk Management & Insurance: Protect What You’ve Built
Another year in the books and the 2010s have slipped away with a quiet boom in equities. The next weeks will be full of stock market projections for the year and decade to come. We thought it would be fun to look back and give some basic observations of what has happened in the past … Continue reading January Update, 2020: What A Difference A Decade Makes
Effective wealth and tax planning should take place throughout the year, not just during tax season, however this an important time to check in and make sure you’re not missing any time-sensitive deadlines. By taking a few key steps now you can get ahead of the tax season rush and ignore the surrounding marketing hype … Continue reading Tax Planning: Year-End Deadlines And Reminders
Bob Wordham is an inspiring man for many reasons: he started running half marathons at 65 years old and at 82 he’s taken on the challenge of running 1000km, he’s raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for a youth mental health charity that he’s now the board chair of, and together with his wife, Joanne, … Continue reading Meet Robert Wordham: The Importance Of Giving Back
As we enter the holiday season and markets are in a far more pleasant mood than this time last year, it is easy to feel wealthier. But defining wealth is more nuanced than the value of your portfolio. It is the questions you ask yourself and others about what wealth means to you that are far more … Continue reading December Update, 2019: Are You Wealthy?
As another year comes to a close, you may find your mailbox flooded with requests for charitable donations. There's a good reason so many charities make year-end requests. According to a 2018 report from the Rideau Hall Foundation and Imagine Canada called Thirty Years of Giving in Canada, individual Canadians gave an estimated $14.3 billion to charities and non-profits in 2014, with the biggest chunk … Continue reading Charitable Giving: A Guide To Year-End Giving
There are forecasts of all types telling us what will happen to stocks over a one-year period and frankly, most of it is bunk. It's bunk because there are too many variables and too many unknowns to forecast with any real accuracy consistently. That’s not to say that forecasts aren’t useful. The trick is to use as many data points … Continue reading November Update, 2019: A Thought Experiment On Expected Future Stock Returns
In the wake of the 2019 Canadian federal election, our Chief Strategist John Johnston gives an overview of key implications and policy issues that are important for investors. Overview The election has resulted in a Liberal minority government - likely with NDP support - that should be stable enough to last at least two years. Fiscal policy is expected to remain relatively prudent. More federal deficits lie ahead, … Continue reading Canada’s Federal Election 2019: Key Implications
