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 […]

Contents: Bond returns should interest rates rise? mortgaging home to invest? Canada housing starts off, private sector DB plans’ solvency ratios >95%, UK: free and impartial advice instead of mandatory annuitization, US: greater adviser roles needed in retirement transition, Ottawa’s hidden $120B pension deficit, investors’ bad choices, real interest rates to stay low, embracing longevity, […]

Contents: Aging brain, investment fees, why ETFs cheap, simple US portfolio, skip LTC insurance, foreign withholding tax in Canada, soft landing for Canadian housing, inadequate data to assess state of Canada’s housing, reverse mortgages affect heirs, pension reform: not “Big CPP” and not “Little PRPP”, what replaces UK’s discarded mandatory annuitization? annuities come up short […]

Contents: Financial plan, adviser questions, hedge fund-like mutual funds, wise words for DIY investors, reverse mortgages, no annuity puzzle, taxation of Canadians abroad, US real estate up but slowing, UK decumulation default needed to replace mandatory annuitization, employers’ 401(k) fiduciary responsibility, pension plan headwinds? Gross: retirees crushed by financial repression, Bogle on parasitic financial industry. […]

 Contents: Decumulation strategies, save more with Roth IRAs, retirement realities, fiduciary is a must but industry fighting it tooth and nail, soft landing for Canada’s housing? rich benefit from low interest rates, Canadian home sales up/down/flat depending on location, pension plan liability calculated with discount rate based on rate of return on pension plan assets […]

Contents: Lower return expectations, Buffett to wife: use cheap and passive, free automated portfolio management, advisers enhance returns by up to 3%, passive beats active, testamentary trusts still useful, new tracking at border-crossings requires snowbird vigilance, Canadian home prices at record level but no bubble? U.S. wealth at record $80T but only $10T in IRA/401(k), […]

Contents: retirement savings first, bank falls for scam, non-financial retirement risks, adviser questions, undisclosed stockbroker red flags, hidden camera shows advisers “lying or incompetent”, “easy money” is attraction to active investing, Milken: health and education better investments than housing, Toronto home sales and prices up again, income replacement percentage inappropriate for estimating retirement expenses, CPP […]

Contents: LTC planning not insurance, work till 75? retirees’ dumb moves, health insurance abroad, healthcare costs in (Canadian) retirement, 4% withdrawal rule unrealistic (Duh…), Green’s Gone Fishin’, GenXers’ financial priorities, getting value from an adviser, prepare “If something happens” binder, US house prices up 11% for year but down 0.3% in quarter, Shiller: losing optimism […]

Contents: Mutual funds’ ‘all-in’ expenses devastate retirement savings, regulate Ontario advisers; yes but not this way, growing young vs. old housing wealth gap, information asymmetry makes pension purchase decision insurmountable, employers squeeze 401(k) plans, 401(k) on auto-pilot better but not perfect, financial services: conflicts of interest everywhere, couple’s retirement disconnect, no universally safe stock holding […]