November 28, 2011 Hot Off the Web Advice from Charles Ellis, star investors disappoint, William Sharpe’s “adaptive asset allocation”, reverse mortgages, Canada’s housing overvalued, Florida’s home sales up, Canada’s seniors OK? pension fiduciaries? Euro’s end? value of auditors and rating firms? European QE? Niall Ferguson’s new Europe.

November 21, 2011 Hot Off the Web Indexing, retreating to the ‘safety’ of fixed income? dividend investing? financial advice? grandparents’ gifts? managing sequence risk- flexibly, ETF portfolios, shelter from deficits/debt/demographics (3-Ds), high yields? zero-cost ETFs, online home value estimates? PRPP still no pension reform, retiring at 80+!?! benchmarks and indexing, fiat currency, Friedman on Capitalism.

November 14, 2011 Hot Off the Web Variable annuities with guarantees, fiduciary, longevity insurance, contingent convertibles, ETF taxation, FL and US foreclosures up, Florida property tax, CPP changes, debt math, interest rates heading lower? Retirement redefined?

November 7, 2011 Hot Off the Web No certainties! young and risk-averse, ETFs, Cuban real estate, fiduciary!?! public vs. private pensions in Canada, spotting a bubble? Greek options? risk-free? boomers’ retirement? debtors and creditors, bond dealer disintermediation, US oil independence? not prosecuting Wall Street, mob rule.

October 31, 2011 Hot Off the Web Lifetime/retirement income products: Vanguard leads again, wealth manager selection, taxes in retirement, safe withdrawal rates? value vs. growth? acumen declines with age? financial plans? real estate: Canada up and U.S. down? public pensions, underfunded pensions, behavioural finance, inflation/deflation? U.S. financial reform, currency hedging? securities lending, ‘anti-capitalist’ protests.

October 24, 2011 Hot Off the Web Wills and estates, fund of hedge funds, opting out of 401(k)? dividend vs. return of capital, annuity: retirement cost or the safest/cheapest solution? buy house get US visa? pension priority in Canada? DB pension problems- oops! misery index, ETFs, Canadians’ wealth up (relatively), recession?

October 17, 2011 Hot Off the Web Portfolio sabotage, fixed-rate mortgage, scramble for ETF market share, low interest crushing savers/retirees, ditch commodities? advisers, housing: Canadian bubble and Us time to buy? UK pensions get priority, PRPP: seeing is believing, farmland? Canada’s pension funds hit in Q3, QE vs. spending vouchers, Pimco’s U-turn, risk-on/risk-off, charges-up/returns-down as usual, you the capitalists should join “Occupy Wall Street”.

October 10, 2011 Hot Off the Web Retirement calculators, ETFs, Canada’s housing softening? Pensioner overconfidence, caregiver pensions, hybrid pension plans, Nortel patents and pensions, Occupy Wall Street? gold? commodities? Black Swan insurance? radical forecast? Dollar’s reign over? bail out banks or...? Canada’s regulatory focus.

October 3, 2011 Hot Off the Web Buying on dips? taxable investment management, ETF threats, asset dedication, removing trailers from fees, charitable donation benefits, fiduciary? on track to retirement? share buy-backs, the future is??? low-volatility index ETF, target-maturity bond ETF, house prices: US flat while Canada up, non-profit super-trusts for pensions! pension plan sponsors: accounting manipulators or plain stupid? Bogle on ETFs, core vs. headline CPI, highest taxes? Carney vs. Dimon, Madoff claw-backs curtailed.

September 26, 2011 Hot Off the Web Hedge funds, advice for the masses, annuities, volatility for risk management, target date index, more US mouse price pain? Nortel pensions, corrosive pension costs, responsibility for underfunded pensions, ETF liquidity, neo-stagflation, bubbles? vaults spilling over, Greece, Fidelity conflicts? financial crime in Canada.

September 19, 2011 Hot Off the Web Diversification? cheap money, retirement myths-Not! guaranteed income? boosting inheritance, volatility driven pension portfolio, US foreclosures up, Florida property values/taxes, private pensions killed by companies, P/Es, investment and retail banking? regulatory hubris or undermining reform? expectations up in east down in west, conflict of interest.

September 12, 2011 Hot Off the Web Outperformance? Ibbotson perspectives, need nanny? widow pitfalls, wills, saving/spending, tax on inheritance, lifestyle & longevity, housing investment errors, pension gaps, LIFs and Nortel Quebec pensioners, Nortel bankruptcy, ‘macro’ investing, speculator driven commodity prices? securities lending risk, signs of a rebound, Hanley signing off, Bogle on investing.

September 5, 2011 Hot Off the Web Swensen on mutual funds, ETF returns, active investing? dividend stocks? proprietary index for ETFs? pay-yourself- first, new OBSI, housing: Canada again up but US-flat in quarter-down in year, new arrival's OAS? public sector pensions, synthetic ETFs, Gross on Treasuries, Euro fixes? risk-free rethink, shorts flush out scams, behavioral finance.

August 29, 2011 Hot Off the Web Info safety, rebalancing return, new advisor role, online guides, Wall Street forecasts? safe yield? earthquake insurance, Canadian Vanguard ETFs, Canada housing affordable? Vancouver bubble? Toronto correction? US home prices down delinquencies up, Florida bargain? Locked-in funds (LIF), Treasuries vs. stocks, rating agency conflict! purpose of banking/finance?

August 22, 2011 Hot Off the Web Tax-loss selling, Investment Policy Staement (IPS), travel insurance, withdrawal rates, transparency in bonds, retirement strategies or not, advice, safe havens? how much stock for retirees? house price-to-income ratio, institutional real estate investment, pension plans' holes deepen, US AAA again!?! inflation is the answer? gold, sell bond and buy stocks? saving the middle class.

August 11, 2011 Hot Off the Web To panic or not? stocks cheap? common-law estate, money chat with aging parents, Toronto condos (still) on fire, enhanced CPP not recommended by financial industry? Fed’s low rates to 2013, US downgraded by AAA raters of MBS in 2008, US spending up but power down, Wall Street rot, tail-risk protection, Canada health care reform?

August 8, 2011 Hot Off the Web Combined insurance? Encryption, estate planning, equity swoon, what parents won’t tell you, Toronto housing cools, refinance opportunity, bondholders vs. pensioners, non-profit pension management the best, PRPP, risk management, generational balance, ‘best-idea’ funds, Spain’s 400 year old default.

August 1, 2011 Hot Off the Web Investment counsellors, income ladder, declining cognitive capacity, house prices: Canada up & US up (but not seasonally adjusted), beach property insurance, UK pension priority, OECD pensions, U.S. on default/downgrade precipice, is Stanford different from Madoff? ETF rules, AARP good for who? watch out for hospices!

July 25, 2001 Hot Off the Web Advisors? power of attorney abuse, ETF questions, risk vs. return, retirement planning, PINs, Canadians buying US real estate? switch to ‘rentership’, buy vacation house? Nortel pension cutback, PRPP is not pension reform, neon swan, US dollar, Canadian inflation easing? peak gold signs? Dodd-Frank at risk? self-destructing US?

July 18, 2011 Hot-Off the Web Income replacement rates, wills, advisers/advice, home as investment? Florida real estate, Nortel Canadian pensions, pension reform urgency, sovereign debt, rich-poor gap, tail-risk management, 5 questions for retirees.

July 8, 2011 Hot Off the Web Bond ETFs, essential documents, delay Social Security, retirement checklist, trusts, advisors, worst case retirement age, foreigners buy US real estate, Florida's growing property tax inequality and insurance rates, Canada's home prices peaked? Nortel creditors optimistic, reforming Canada's three-tiered pension system, 401(k) law reduces contributions-NOT, capitalism, ETF lending risks, tail-risk, goal achievement.

July 1, 2011 Hot Off the Web Retirement spending, fund yield? trusts? investor protection? hotel discount? skill vs. luck? home prices: Canada and U.S. up but don't yet relax, $4.5B for Nortel IP!!! pension plans improve? negotiating retirement, inflation up! US$ reserve currency? derivatives transparency, financial 'innovation'??? review Greek monks.

June 27, 2011 Hot Off the Web Borrowing from 401(k)? disclosure, fiduciary, longevity, stop-loss, Bengen's 4%, life insurance, fundamental index? ETFs, retirement planning, when to CPP? US resales down but Florida up, reverse-mortgages, DC vs. DB, US vs. Canadian court treatment of Nortel pensioners, financial industry opacity costs you! who pays for low interest and inflation rates? QE2, income disparity, WiFi technology for your health.

June 20, 2011 Hot Off the Web Annuities, fee-only, ETF uptake and standards for Canadian advisors, YTM for bond ETFs, personal advice, Canadian real estate, debt and Vancouver bubble, AARP turns on entitlements, pension reform deferred again, low rates bad, restless China,commodity speculation and 'splash crash', derivative regulations delayed, 5% inflation is solution.

June 13, 2011 Hot Off the Web Investor survey and advice? Vanguard in Canada, boomer risks (or opportunities)? annuity puzzle? buy-and-hold, Vancouver housing bubble yes but dwarfed by China's, time to buy? CPP is target benefit not DB! Indalex impact tbd, MPs on pensions-we're OK! commodities not expensive, derivative regulations, inequality-good & bad, cyberhackers!

June 6, 2011 Hot Off the Web Assets to income, survivor finances, sadly VA sales up, returns? commodity ETPs, US home prices off, rent vs. buy, foreign buyers, Australia's failed pension reform, traditional ETF collapse? 'ETF's not all the same, core vs. headline inflation, retirement fears and opportunities.

May 30, 2011 Hot Off the Web Withdrawals 2% max??? OAS clawback, benchmarks, riskier retirement, portfolio insurance? happier super-rich? Canada home prices up-again, Florida down and US problems continue, condophobia, pension regulation, ETF collapse??? structured products-NOT, forecasting still difficult, stagflation, real assets? bullish on USD, older is better or at least still good!

May 23, 2011 Hot Off the Web Equal & fundamental weighted ETFs? rebalancing, trip cancellation insurance, hybrid life+LTC insurance?, stress test, mid-retirement checkup, Canada home prices up? buying US real estate? pension & benefit protection- not in Canada, GLiB variable annuities, longevity derivatives, Great Recession damaged future retirees, US Treasuries? gold? stock bubble? stealth retirement communities, easing into retirement.

May 16, 2011 Hot Off the Web Safe savings rate!!! nest egg size, fiduciary, risk, annuities, US homes: volume up- prices down, Canadian homes: heading higher? disappearing private sector DB pensions, Gold on pension crisis, risky ETFs, behavioural finance, gold, retirement age and longevity correlated??? path to longevity?

May 9, 2011 Hot Off the Web Taxes & borrowing, ready to retire? singles vs. couples, structured products-NOT, risky ETFs, LTCI? TIPS, FL property tax, plunge into US real estate? mortgages, real estate agents, discount rate lunacy, Nortel pensions, pension reform, oil for China, equity/bond indexes, income disparity, bullish bears a signal???