Hot Off the Web The large number of RRSP related articles continue in tune with the season. Rob Carrick of the Globe and Mail in “Are you saying no to free money from your employer? “ reminds the reader to contribute to RRSP or defined contribution pension plans in order to take advantage of the […]

Hot Off the Web In “Is your portfolio ready for a slump?”  we are reminded that good times in the market won’t last for ever, and we should check if our portfolio has shifted significantly away from the target asset allocation. Also, if we have for example a position that has grown to $50,000, we […]

Hot Off the Web Both the Globe and National Post continued the almost daily articles on the income trusts saga. In “Trusts: Ottawa not victimizers” Chevreau explains why the narrow interests represented by the “Trust lobby had no hope against Flaherty” . Adding a nail to the income trust coffin the Bank of Canada message […]

Hot Off the Web In the NYT article entitled “A contrarian view:  save less, retire with enough” Damon Darlin tables the debate on assets required to be saved for retirement. This is a debate between calculations of financial institutions (who at times are accused of trying to beef up assets under management) and some economists […]

Hot Off the Web “Getting more of what the market gives” in the WSJ focuses on why investors have to change the emphasis from investment returns in general toward the returns we receive as investors ourselves. Data shows that investors don’t receive anywhere near what the markets return (after fees, costs and taxes) due to […]

Hot Off the Web Interestingly, today’s WSJ in “Spending in Retirement” discusses the same important topic I covered in my last week’s blog on “Withdrawal Strategies in Retirement”. That is, how much can you withdraw from your portfolio without running out of money? The perspectives presented here are very similar. Here reference is made to […]

Hot Off the Web In the Globe and Mail article “Feeling well enough to work longer?” the results of an Investors Group sponsored Decima Research poll show that 65% of the working 45 to 64 year olds expect to do some work during retirement. However, only 23% of those surveyed were actually working in their […]

Hot Off the Web In “Making Your House Pay in Your Retirement” with the subtitle “Reverse Mortgages Turn your Home Equity into Income, and Costs- a Big Drawback- Are Coming Down” Opdyke of the WSJ discusses how growing competition and government action in the U.S. is starting to bring down the costs of reverse mortgages. […]

Hot Off the Web In Financial Post article  “Live the Good Life, but Save for the Worst” Jonathan Chevreaux discusses how sudden changes in ones health situation reassesses one’s priorities and how “…should live each day as if it were our last because one day it will be. Spending as if there is no tomorrow […]

Hot Off the Web WSJ ran a special section on retirement. A couple of stand-out articles are: “The Retirement Lies We Tell Ourselves” discusses the quicksand upon which many build their retirement dreams. Examples include the false expectations of: working in retirement, the home as the safety net, living on 70-80% of pre-retirement income, getting […]