Contents: Ready for retirement or not?brokers fight fiduciary care, international diversification free, market timing hard, end-of-life care covered by estate allocation, lower U.S. house sales in 2014? the new American dream? UK house prices accelerate, first time buyers squeezed in UK/Canada, CPP investment risk rising, Ontario pension reform on the way, 401(k) to IRA conversion […]

Contents: Advisor vs. adviser and advice, self-delusions, negative rates: lower returns and deflation? withdrawal strategies, Canada home prices higher but slowing? minimizing tax when transferring assets, 401(k) automation, pension plan funding levels, actuarial insanity, longevity insurance, smart-beta? un-real assets? ETF ratings: G/PG/PG13/R/NC, “decline of moral capital”, technology driven discontinuities- not necessarily for the good. Personal […]

Contents: Can I afford to retire? no free-lunch with dividend funds, new LTCI options? reverse mortgage use up in Canada, pay down mortgage vs. retirement saving, rent/buy/upsize/downsize, PBC: condo sales slump, fixing the 401(k), reduce mandatory RRIF distributions, Calof: Nortelers have right to remaining assets, UK-PPF pension insurance premiums adjust for default risk, Europe moves […]

Contents: Travel insurance underwriting required up front, Vanguard driving lower fees in Canada, retirement risks, high risk-free returns, US housing still rising but more slowly, potential first time home buyers struggling, Florida property taxes to move significantly higher, homes and cars 50% of typical US household spending, pension or lump-sum? Nortel’s Canadian pensioners to be […]

Contents: ‘To’ vs. ‘through’ retirement strategies, ETF definitions, high market values? home investors: buy-to-flip morphs into buy-to-rent, IMF’s macroprudential advice for Canada’s housing, Nortel allocation trial, can workers really self-prep for retirement? don’t leave free money on the table, managing pensions not just about assets, scammers capitalizing on new UK pension flexibility, demographics to drive […]

Contents: Active management a pseudoscience, signals that adviser behaving badly, paying too much in fees, SEC backing away from broker fiduciary level of care? target-date fund problems, Canada house prices up, condo hell, own vs. rent in Toronto, talk of longevity insurance in Canada? UK financial industry in upheaval due to non-mandatory annuitization, Mom’s winning […]

Contents: Conflict of interest, portfolio strategies, considerations on imminent retirement, Hybrid LTCI policies, retirement consumption, target-date funds, bonds are like stocks? housing: rent vs. buy? Yellen: US housing market risk, UK housing: still firing on all cylinders, self-made annuities? shared-risk pension plans, pension gives peace of mind in retirement, wealth tax inevitable? Sunstein: “Why Nudge?” […]

Contents: Outperformance unpredictable, Clements: “rules of the road”, smart-beta an expensive way to implement factor strategies, financial plan necessary but outcome not guaranteed- flexibility is key, older love but not marriage, tax-aware asset location, intermediate bond funds strike interest rate risk-return balance, robo-adviser shortfalls, Shiller: home ownership tarnished, considering current mortgage refinance options, Florida tangible […]

Contents: A stockpicker’s conversion, inadequate savings, estate planning docs, can’t beat the system, U.S. home sales slow, “private webcast” for Nortel bankruptcy trial? federal and provincial pension reform talk again, advice on annuity or lump sum? Canadian middle class richer than Americans, even minor index composition changes degrade index fund performance, beware of ‘hedgefundification’ of […]

Contents: Investors don’t know what they are doing, rising rate ETFs? dividend funds? financial literacy, long-term-care insurance, adjusted cost base (ACB), fiduciary questionnaire, Canada housing: prices flat but home sales up and Toronto condos flying off the shelves, U.S. housing: market slow start this spring, storm surge maps, take cash from pension to invest? participation […]