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Benchmarks
Benchmarks I was discussing last year’s equity returns with a good friend of mine and he mentioned that his advisor did quite well having returned 14%. Unfortunately, the corresponding index returned 18% over the same period. One of the usually overlooked areas by investors is a valid measure of (fund) manager or advisor performance. And […]
ETFs: past, present and future(?) (A somewhat dated view)
ETFs: past, present and future(?) First let’s start with some background material. There are basically two types of funds: (i) Open End Funds (what we usually think of as mutual funds), units of which can be continuously bought/sold directly from the distributor/manager for the NAV (Net Asset Value), and (ii) Closed End Funds (CEF) units […]
Deflation: Impact on retirees
Deflation: Impact on seniors? Is it necessarily bad? In a nutshell For seniors on a (nominal) fixed income or COLA indexed income a downward trending inflation or even a mild case of deflation might actually turn out to be beneficial. Seniors who tend to have relatively more conservatively invested retirement savings and/or are beneficiaries of […]
Senior inflation
Senior Inflation We talked elsewhere about the worries of retirees of outliving their assets due to both growing average longevity and the significant individual longevity variability around that average, leading to the risk of significant longer retirements. The longer retirements in turn lead the requirement for larger asset pool at the start of retirement in […]
How much do you need in retirement?
How Much Will You Need in Retirement? One reads that required retirement income is 60-80% of pre-retirement income. However, given the increased time available for leisure and travel, it is not difficult to imagine income requirement equal to or greater than pre-retirement. Clearly there is a difference between essential and discretionary expenses. The traditional approach […]
Withdrawal strategies in retirement
Withdrawal Strategies in Retirement Clearly, unless you are in the fortunate position of having been a longtime employee with an employer providing a guaranteed, generous and indexed pension plan (e.g. you’re a retiree from a government job), withdrawal rates from your accumulated assets will be one of the more stressful decisions that you’ll have to […]
Is retirement past its prime?
Is Retirement Past its Prime? Last week I attended an interesting and informative CFA Institute sponsored talk by Michael Falk of ProManage on the above topic. He points out that, while the nature of retirement is an individual choice, societal implications and fiscal viability of these individual choices will be determined by demographics in the […]
Pension or lump sum
Pension or Lump Sum? Reading Theo Francis’ “Pension tension: figuring out when to lump it” in the WSJ, reminded me of the time when I had to make the decision, about five years ago. For what it’s worth, I’ll later give you some of my rationale for choosing to go with a pension, rather than […]
Vanguard GLWB vs. other decumulation strategies
Vanguard’s GLWB: Credit to Vanguard for delivering on the promise (Originally posted November 7, 2011 and re-hosted in March 2012) In a nutshell Vanguard’s GLWB finally meets the promise of the value inherent in GLWB/GMWB-like strategies. We can only hope that Vanguard will also offer this product eventually in Canada. Vanguard’s GLWB is a great compromise […]
Articles on selecting an advisor
Articles on selecting an advisor Choosing an Advisor and Bang for the Buck from Your Advisor (a couple of blogs I did on the subject over the last few years) “Where to find a true fee-only planner” “Getting advice in a rough market” “Three questions for your financial advisor” “Fee-only then, fee-only now” “Fee-based accounts […]
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