Monthly Archives: March 2012
Hot Off the Web- April 2, 2012
Topics: Advisor fees-conflicts-‘regulation’, ETNs? mortgage rate stress test, Chevreau moving. House prices: US down and Canada up, global house prices, OAS moves to 67, Ontario pans PRPP, equities vs. bonds, your advisor a lemon? Personal Finance and Investments In the Globe and Mail’s “Revealed the lowdown on advisor fees” Rob Carrick quotes fee data from […]
Hot Off the Web- March 26, 2012
Topics: Malkiel: bonds worst asset class, life insurance cash-value taxable, more reverse mortgages, GMWBs- No, annuities: Hartford exits and agent to jail, lifestyle inflation, advisor evaluation and messages, fiduciary, VIX index expensive protection, Canada’s synthetic ETFs safer? Canadian real estate investment??? US real estate bottom? OAS and MP/public-sector pensions to be hit? Poor retirement prospects, new retirement options: […]
Hot Off the Web- March 19, 2012
Topics: Crooked advisors, stocks risky, condo living? US housing market factors, resurgent Phoenix? pensions + ERP + savings rates, ETF regulatory tightening? stewardship of assets, concierge and retainer medicine, Goldman toxic exit. Personal Finance and Investments In the Globe and Mail’s “How to spot a crooked advisor” Rob Carrick interviews CFA Institute’s Steve Horan […]
Pension Reform (presented to Ontario Expert Commission on Pensions- Nov 1, 2007)
Problems and solutions for DB pension plans and a proposal for pension system revolution (presented to Ontario Expert Commission on Pensions in Ottawa on November 1, 2007) ‘click’ on Pension Reform
Hot Off the Web- March 12, 2012
Hot Off the Web- March 12, 2012 -Topics: Dividend investing, Canadian taxes, emergency travel insurance? US housing revival? reduced employer pension contrintributions? conflicted objectives of EM state-controlled companies, Boomers investment return problem. Personal Finance and Investments Tom Bradley in the Globe and Mail’s “Dividend obsession distracts investors from the big picture” reminds readers that a […]
GMWB III – Q & A: Are GMWBs more desirable investments in “post-2008” context of low interest rates?
Last week I received the following question on GMWBs (Guaranteed Minimum Withdrawal Benefit insurance products) that I discussed in earlier blogs. Question: “GMWB discussions. Time to update your conclusions. Outdated pre-2008 markets. Inflation numbers of 3%, GIC numbers of 5%? Will be interested to see part III of this.” Answer: It’s a good question, since […]
“Thinking, Fast and Slow” by Daniel Kahneman
In his book “Thinking, Fast and Slow” Daniel Kahneman describes a theory of humans’ two modes of thinking: System 1 (fast, subconscious, effortless, automatic) and System 2 (slow, conscious, logical, requires effort, responsible for controlling behaviour) Our tendency is to tackle incoming stimuli with fast and effortless System 1, but result may lead to decisions which […]
Welcome to the re-hosted RetirementAction.com
The look is more modern, the platform is built for blogging. The accumulated content (hopefully) made it all across, though some links are yet to be repaired. Accessibility is better with the Contents links on the left and the site Search on the right. While the migration was uncomfortable, I am pleased with the result; […]
Economist’s Buttonwood Notebook
The Economist’s Buttonwood Notebook blog is one of the most insightful big picture bloggers around
“Research on Annuities” CFA Magazine Letter to the Editor July 2008
“Research on Annuities” Letter to the Editor
RetirementAction.com 