Contents: Estate planning, portfolio rebalancing, Canadian investors are losers, mandatory RRIF rules, robo-advisers in Canada, Florida snowbirds’ property tax alert, longevity insurance option added to 401(k)s! CPP based Ontario pension plan high cost- but doesn’t have to be, PBGC warns on pooled pension plans, EPI better reflects everyday inflation than CPI, volunteers needed for UK […]

Contents: International bonds: no thanks, Bogle on non-US investor allocation: 25% home country, 50% US and 25% other non-US, annuities have higher ‘returns’ than bonds? robo-advisers include trusts and tax-loss selling, U.S. homes: prices (Apr) up 10.8% YoY while sales (May) up 4.9% MoM, 2nd homes  concentration ups prices, Social Security decision complicated, Nortel bankruptcy […]

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 […]