Monthly Archives: March 2012
Canada Supplementary Pension Plan (CSPP)
Canada Supplementary Pension Plan (CSPP)-Highlights and discussion of Keith Ambachtsheer’s proposal in recent C. D. Howe paper Keith Ambachtsheer tabled a pension model sponsored by the C.D. Howe Institute which may potentially turn a new page in Canada’s pension system. You can read the proposal in its entirety at “The Canada Supplementary Pension Plan (CSPP): […]
Is your (defined benefit) company pension safe? Is your Defined Pension (DB) Plan Adequately Funded? Pension Plan Valuation: Art, science or magic? …and, the answers are: No, Maybe, Not science!
Is your (defined benefit) company pension safe? Is your Defined Pension (DB) Plan Adequately Funded? Pension Plan Valuation: Art, science or magic? …and, the answers are: No, Maybe, Not science! Problem Statement A number of readers have approached me to see if I can help them get a sense of how secure is their company […]
“The Investor’s Dilemma- How mutual funds are betraying your trust and what to do about it”
Louis Lowenstein “The Investor’s Dilemma- How mutual funds are betraying your trust and what to do about it” Lowenstein tables a shocking indictment of the U.S. mutual fund industry. He paints an industry which started out as a ‘trust’ where managers behaved as fiduciaries on behalf of customers who didn’t have the time, skill or […]
Renewal in retirement…”painting” on a new “canvass”
Renewal in retirement…”painting” on a new “canvass” In my April 13, 2008 blog I refer to Jonathan Clements who gives ”freedom to pursue your passions” as one reason for spending a lifetime saving/investing to accumulate wealth. Some spend their entire working career doing what they are good at and they enjoy doing. Perhaps many more […]
flexibleRetirementPlanner is a real gem!
flexibleRetirementPlanner is a real gem! (and it is free) I came across Jim Richmond’s flexibleRetirementPlanner by surfing the web for a good retirement planner with Monte Carlo capability and lots of flexibility to specify investment returns, taxes and cash flows. When I found this planner, its capabilities blew me away. It is the most capable […]
“A Demon of Our Own Design” by Richard Bookstaber
“A Demon of Our Own Design” by Richard Bookstaber Bookstaber’s book is appropriately subtitled Markets, Hedge Funds, and perils of Financial Innovation. He systematically looks at what precipitated the ‘Crash of 1987’ and LTCM, and Value Jet and Chernobyl. The catastrophic failures are usually the result of complexity mixed with tight coupling giving rise to […]
Protecting the Downside, while Participating in the Upside
Protecting the Downside, while Participating in the Upside A couple of months ago in “Lifecycle investing” I, superficially touched, upon Zvi Bodie’s view that diversification is not the only way to reduce investment/market risk. In fact, according to him, it may not even be the best way. In a reference that I quote in that […]
The Black Swan by Nassim Taleb (The Impact of the Highly Improbable)
The Black Swan by Nassim Taleb (The Impact of the Highly Improbable) Just finished reading Nassim Taleb’s “The Black Swan” and I enjoyed it even more than his previous good book “Fooled by Randomness” (not that it wasn’t a good read). Taleb defines a Black Swan is an event which: 1. Is an outlier, i.e. […]
Pension/Retirement Plan Reform
Pension/Retirement Plan Reform One of the interesting topics at the CFA conference that I recently attended was the topic of required pension changes to be implemented urgently with the accelerated unraveling of the defined benefit (DB) plans, the misapplication of the defined contribution (DC) plans and the often mentioned inadequately funded Social Security liabilities. At […]
What’s in the budget for retirees?
What’s in the budget for retirees? Well not a great deal more than the reaffirmed pension splitting announced last Halloween. The additional goodies included here are mostly covered in Chevreau’s FP article “Retirees: two more years for saving”: • RRIFs start date moved from age 69 to 71, adding opportunity for a further two years […]
RetirementAction.com 