The New Kid on the Block…the Variable Annuity! The variable annuity of commonly referred to as a GMWB is on the horizon. In June 2006, I attended the Morningstar Investment Conference, which focused on “Retirement Income Planning”. One well-known speaker, Moshe Milevsky, introduced the concept in retirement planning of not just how to generate retirement […]
I had a great question from a client who recently asked “When I convert my RRSP to a RRIF, how much money must I withdraw each year?”. That’s a great question, so I thought I would explain RRSP and RRIF withdrawals and the basic rules. You can make a withdrawal for any amount, up to […]
Service Canada – Canadian Retirement Income Calculator With RRSP season having just ended and tax season ramping up, the last thing on most people’s minds right now is planning for their retirement. Whether you do your own investing on-line, use your local bank, broker, or a financial planner do you know your “Number”? Experience shows […]
Sid the Kid has $20M Disability DI Policy One of the greatest hockey players is Sidney Crosby. While he has an obvious knack for putting the puck in the net, he is also a hard working forward who doesn’t hold anything back in the corners. Unfortuneately other less skilled player know this and it seems, in my […]
TFSA versus RRSP The Tax Free Savings Account, TFSA, was introduced in 2009. The current contribution limit for both 2009 and 2010 is $5,000. If you don’t use it, you don’t lose it i.e. the limits are cumulative. Therefore, if you are age 18 or over in 2009, you now have $10,000 of TFSA room. […]
To Hedge or Not to Hedge…that is the question! In a recent publication in the Globe and Mail, Scotia Capital’s portfolio strategist Vincent Delisle stated that Canada represents 3.7% of the MSCI World Index (source: Globe and Mail Tuesday, September 8, 2009 02:10 PM, “Buy Canada, says Scotia”). While Canada is undoubtedly a great place […]
Time to Look at the Big Picture While markets have rallied off their March 2009 lows, investors face uncertainty when investing solely in equity markets especially when it comes to their retirement portfolios. This article addresses the issue of stress testing your retirement income plan. I’ve written about this numerous times but it bears repeating […]
Secular Bear and Bull Markets One thing I do is spend time researching the history of the markets. While it does not predict the future, there are some interesting observations that you may be unaware of which could make a significant impact on how you view the markets and how you invest going forward. Over […]